"Oh, this is Christmas!" Hello everyone, I am semi-back. I am currently at college and things are a bit dodgy as far as having free time to write. But, I have started multiple stories and this is one I finished!
Now, on to the more important subjects. Such as Amy, Rory and Eleven. Don't like Amy, like Rory, getting to like Eleven. There. I said it.
Enjoy my first new fic in quite some time!-WWM
The Doctor turned on all the stabilizers, flipping the toggles rapidly. He stepped back to admire his work. He brushed his long bangs from his brow and nodded in satisfaction. That was exactly what his newly married companions needed. Their wedding night, he had plenty of time to be sure they landed perfectly on some romantic planet. This would be the best honeymoon this side of the universe had ever seen. He'd make sure of it.
The TARDIS purred under his feet, quiet and peaceful.
"Dok-toooor!" Amy's voice was unmistakable, she stumbled down the stairs to the console room. Her rust coloured hair was disheveled and her eyes frightened. She was wearing a long dressing gown, it must have been Rory's, she tripped on the last stair and skidded across the floor on her knees.
Darting to her side, the Doctor jerked her to her feet and glanced around behind her. Nothing seemed to be chasing her. "What is it, Pond?" He furrowed his forehead, how could there be a problem? He'd been monitoring the TARDIS for the last few hours, there had been nothing abnormal.
"Rory. It's Rory, he's acting all weird, twitchy and somethin'… Just come'on!" Amy's fingers entwined in the Doctor's and they sprinted up the stairs.
The twisting halls of the TARDIS were still silent and glowing warmly, as if to reassure that everything was going to go smoothly tonight. The Doctor glanced at doors, keeping track of where they were. Amy pointed to his right, and her…well, the Pond's door was ajar.
The Doctor snatched at Amy's sleeve, and leaned close. "What were you two talking about?"
"What're you on about?" His Scottish friend retorted with a snarky tone, scowling at him and concerned looking at the same time.
"Before he started going bonkers, what were you Ponds talking about?" The Doctor urged, his brow furrowed and he swiveled his head back and forth, trying to take in exactly Amy's reaction to his question.
"How'd you know we were talkin'? You listening in on-"
With a snorting sound of disbelief at the insinuation, the Doctor wrinkled his nose in a childish way. "Egh… no, no, no. Just answer the question!"
"We were talking about our first date, when he proposed, a bunch of different stuff. I don't know...Then he started into things we never did. Places we never went." Amy gave a limp shrug, checking the door over her shoulder.
"Reminiscing." The Doctor muttered, his attention leaving the annoyed Amelia and settling on some unimportant wall. A cold feeling settled in his stomach, and he took a long breath through his nose.
Amy pulled back, grabbing the Doctor's shoulder, pulling him out of his thoughts. Holding a finger to her lips, her hazel eyes conveying a warning to him. She moved forward slowly, her head tipped slightly as she approached the door. "Rory? Can I come in?"
"No! Stay away!" Rory's voice echoed out, it was taunt and painful to the ears.
"Rory, I'm comin' in!" Amy announced; her voice sounding more confident then she obviously was. She pushed the door open a little further, peeking her head around the door, she walked slowly into the room.
The Doctor lost sight of her, and his hearts began pounding. He had a horrible gut feeling, and he dearly hoped that he was wrong. Following in Amy's footsteps, he looked around the edge of the door.
Rory was standing in the far corner of the bedroom, dark green shorts on, but bare-chested, his scrawny frame heaving with each breath. His head twitched, his eyes looked panicked and his hands were clenched tightly at his side. His neck showed the tendons beneath his skin and he let out a short burst of words. "I told you to stay out, Amy-Amy, please leave! I don't want to hurt you!"
Amy approached him, each step settled onto the golden carpet before taking another. She held out her arms to her husband, her smile wavering. "You won't hurt me. I need you to trust me. The Doctor-"
Rory spun around, slamming himself against the wall and sliding to the ground, face away from them both. His shoulders heaved, in anger or despair it was impossible to tell from this angle. "Don't let him in!"
Her husband's reaction to the name made Amy leap back. She quickly made up the ground, leaning down next to him and hesitantly wrapping her arms around him. "Shhh…We're gonna help you." Rory's head fell down against his chest and he twitched beneath Amy's hug.
Watching it all from the hall, the Doctor walked into with more confidence then he actually had, he put on his most calm smile.
The reaction from Rory was violent. His movements were swift and smooth. He was on his feet in a matter of seconds and his arm swung out, shoving Amy into the night table. Amy yelped and crumpled, obviously hurt, grasping her left shoulder.
"Rory, Rory, Rory!" The Doctor held up his hands, waving them at the man, trying to calm him. "I need to know what's happening. You need to tell me… You're remembering... That's tough." The Doctor approached, his hands still out in an attempt to calm him. "Tough, not impossible though. We can still fight this."
Still standing near the wall, Rory jerked forward then swayed back, as if unsure of if he wanted to move or not. His head twitched on his neck, and his eyes conveyed confusion and pain. "Don't move!" He warned, raising his hand and crying out as the bones in his hand snapped. A drizzle of red splattered on the honey coloured flooring, and a hinge appeared in Rory's skin. A short wicked looking tube pushed its way out, his hand semi-sealing over with something that resembled skin.
"Oh…Rory. You can't remember this… it never happened." The Doctor said softly, watching that gun one moment and the reaction of his companion the next.
Rory stared at the metal protruding from his wrist and shuddered. His dark eyes met the Doctor's gaze and sputtered out another sentence. "I waited and waited for her! I…I…"
"Yes, you did Rory, but there are so many memories… and the malleability of the universe as of late. Oh, Mr. Pond. You remember two thousand years of being an Auton, just like Amy remembered me and here I am. You remember being part of the Nestine…"
"I can't…" Rory's arm was shaking, his body stiff as he took a step closer to the Doctor. "You've killed…hundreds of…"
"Autons. Not you. Not Rory." There were only a few steps between them now, and the Doctor saw Amy blink hard, dragging herself up from her slumped position near the bed. She let out a whimper and held tightly to her arm, it hung limply. Dislocated most likely.
"Rory, you have'ta let the Doctor help…"
"Shut up!" Rory roared, and turned enough to point his hand gun at her. His eyes traveled down her arm, his mouth opened and closed before he could find words. "I'm sorry! I…didn't…"
The Doctor took the chance to reach out to Rory, he placed a hand on Rory's neck. Stiffening, Rory went still, his body tense. The Doctor moved his fingers down slightly to feel Rory's pulse. "You need to let me help, you're still human, let me lock away-"
Grabbing the Doctor by the shoulders, Rory tackled him to the ground with a scream.
"Don't touch me!" The pistol within Rory's hand pressed down on the Doctor's chest. He was shuddering violently, but with the expertise of a warrior, the Doctor's arms were pinned down beneath the man's knees.
He'd effectively neutralized the Doctor in a matter of seconds.
Laying with his back pressed to the floor, the Doctor watched Amy struggle to pick up a reading lamp with her uninjured arm. "No! Don't! Talk. Talk to him." The Doctor stared up at Rory, who winced as if there was a cramp in his chest. "Your heart is going to stop soon. You'll end up controlled by the Nestine consciousness… your wife, Amy, she will lose you forever."
"Amy?" Rory hissed through gritted teeth, wrapping his fingers around the Doctor's arm and tightening his grip, his other hand still pressing down into the Doctor's shirt.
Taking this as a cue, Amelia Pond began break-neck chattering. "We just got married, yeah? Remember? There was a really nice wedding? Lots of dancing, food, family and…Rory? Rory?" She knelt down next to him, her uninjured hand reaching out to his face. "Rory, listen to me! You're my husband, and I'm not gonna lose you again! You listen to me you dunce, you're not going anywhere…not on our wedding night!" There was a threatening tone in her last few words and if the moment hadn't been so dire, it would have struck the Doctor as quite funny. As it was, he opted not to laugh.
The Doctor watched the reaction from Rory with interest, Mr. Pond pressed his face into his wife's fingers, his eyes closed slowly. "I'm not-"
"You're Rory… and you're going to let the Doctor up now."
"No! I can't! He's…he... I…" Rory's body tensed and with an agonizing reluctance he slid his gun away from the Doctor's chest, the muzzle leaving a perfect ring of his blood on the Doctor's shirt.
The Doctor slowly slipped his hand out from under Rory's kneecap and gently guided the gun towards the floor. Amy's hand left her husband's cheek, she grabbed The Doctor's other arm, and helped him scramble out from under her spouse.
Getting to his knees, The Doctor studied Rory's prone body. It was stiff as if every muscle was on edge, ready to snap him into action. Rory let out a cry, an awful pitchy sound, and his back arched.
"With the Nestine consciousness pushing him on, these memories are becoming more and more real. It's going to destroy him this time… inside out." The Doctor muttered to himself, trying to think faster then Rory was remembering.
"Can't you-" Amy was still kneeling down beside the Doctor and he slapped a hand over her mouth.
"Shh! Thinking!" He chided, staring at her husband. "If I can suppress the memories, dis-attach the control of the Nestine. Yes!" The Doctor nodded to Amy, and he grabbed her hand. "Put your fingers on his neck, keep track of his pulse. Keep talking to him."
"Oi! What're you gonna-"
"Rory, look at me." The Doctor pitched his voice lower then usual, on command, Rory's head snapped up to stare at him. His wide eyes frightened. "This is very important. If you ever want to be with Amy again, you have to let me do this. Don't move."
Rory's eyes locked onto Amy, the Doctor watched the hand gun grind further into the carpet. With gentle fingers, the Doctor reached to Rory's head and placed them on his temples. "Talk to him, Amy."
"Yeah." Amy's hand snaked out and she fingered her husband's neck, feeling around until she found his pulse. She began to whisper to her spouse. The Doctor closed his eyes. "Remember when we met? The first time I made you play Doctor with me? You were so annoyed because I always would cook, and you were never allowed to eat any of it. You hated that game for the longest time…"
The Doctor nodded encouragingly, his fingers testing the receptiveness of Rory to his telepathy.
Amy continued on, her voice soft and secretive. "Tell me about when you asked me to marry you. What did I say?"
"You said… You… didn't say anything, you laughed at me. I had it all planned, the mall, just outside your favorite shop, and you laughed." Rory responded in a quiet tone, and the Doctor could feel a bit of resentment come through in the words.
"Stupid, yeah? I mean, here we are married and all." Amy gave a little nervous laugh.
Taking the moment to chime in, the Doctor piped up. "This is going to be kind of…uncomfortable. Just try to focus on Amy. Ask him lots of questions, keep him on track, let me know if his pulse slows. Ready?"
"For wha-" Rory's hesitant response came out strangled as both he and the Doctor began to scream, their voices in sync.
Amy felt her husband's heart start to pound, and she swallowed hard. Both of the men were silent now, the Doctor's eyes were closed and his brow slightly furrowed. Rory was a mess, tensed all over and glistening with sweat. The gun in his hand was pressed into the carpet and the carpet was getting stained maroon.
"Talk." The Doctor muttered, sounding frustrated and distant.
"Right then. Let's talk about…oh, the school dance. Remember that? You wore that horrible blue suit and that awful purple dress shirt? What'd I wear?" Amy asked, feeling his heart settle into a steady rhythm beneath her fingers.
"I…don't remember. You wouldn't go in with me." Rory responded, a smirk quirking his lips for just a second. He pitched forward slightly, and Amy felt his heart give a frightening pause.
"Dok-tor! How we doing?"
"It's rather crowded. Four in one brain, things are a bit dodgy right now, do you mind not distracting me?"
"Right. I'll just not distract you then…" Amy was silent a moment. "How'd you get four?"
"You really are impossible. Me. Rory. Roman Rory. Nestine. We clear then?"
"Yup." Amy turned her attention back to her husband, his eyes were flickering open and closed. His trembling getting worse. "You made me take a photo with you."
"You turned down Ryan, he date beat me up afterward. I never told you…I wasn't…there was so much blood. The first battle, the first man I killed…I couldn't believe how…" Rory convulsed, and Amy's eyes widened as the Doctor mimicked the twitch, his eyes opening wide for a moment.
"Hard to pack things away when you're letting him tear the boxes apart." The Doctor complained at Amy, his eyes closed again and his face went calm.
"Oi! What'm I supposed to do? Talk, yeah talk Amy, just keep talking!" In a nasty mood, Amy diverted her attention from the Doctor to her husband. "No. You're a nurse. You save people. You're going to become a Doctor someday, remember? You were so excited about that… never shut up about it."
"I wanted to impress you. I…" Rory's voice faded off, Amy watched his hand-gun move from the carpet, rising slowly, as if pulled by a string. It shifted angles until it was starting to aim for the Doctor.
Amy pulled her hand away from Rory's neck and took his wrist, forcing his hand back down.
"Ask him questions!" The Doctor suggested under his breath, an almost inaudible whisper.
"Yeah…Where'd you grow up?"
"Athens." Rory responded instantly, his head nodded in unison with his words. He shivered, and Amy watched something resembling skin ripple, squirm its way across his arm and towards his chest.
"Doctor! It's not working!" Amy hissed, her attention on the plastic that was beginning to creep across her husband's skin. It was the right colour and texture to be flesh, but there was something different about it, a smoothness, there was no sweat on it. Just unflawed peachy colour.
"Keep him focused, I'm busy, Pond!" The Doctor responded in a very far-off tone, his hand shifted slightly on Rory's face, and Amy noticed that they both flinched at the same time.
"Rory, where did you grow up?"
"Athens." Rory responded with a stronger voice, Amy noticed his heart was pounding again. She wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing.
"Leadworth." The Doctor responded in a whisper. His lips giving a half-smile. "Ugly apartment over Mr. Tavish's place."
"How'd you know that?"
"Complicated, doors open both ways you know. Keep asking!"
Watching the Doctor now, even while she kept her fingers on her spouse's neck, she posed another question, a trick question. "What's your favorite colour?"
Immediately, Rory responded. "Green."
"Red." A second later, the Doctor answered as well.
Amy knew her husband's choice in favorite colours was always switching between the two. She thought of something the Doctor wouldn't know. "How many sibling have you got?"
The Doctor answered again, something about his tone sounding out of place. "A half-brother and three sisters. Do half-brothers count?"
"No." Amy responded automatically, mostly because she didn't like Rory's half-brother all that much. She leaned closer to the Doctor, wincing as she shifted her limp arm slightly. "How are you doing that?"
"It's an open door, I'm letting him retreat in here, keeping him safe while I do some…house cleaning. The Nestine is getting stronger with every memory. Roman memories are being boxed up and put in the… oh, let's call it the 'attic'." The Time Lord's voice petered out, and Amy noticed the heartbeat beneath her fingers was slowing.
"Right. I'm lost." She quipped, and then in concern stated. "His heart's slowing. Doctor! Rory!"
The Doctor's head tilted slightly and there was no response.
As if cut from a sting, Rory collapsed. Amy grabbed him immediately, crying out as her injured arm moved. He lay limply on the floor half on top of her and Amy rolled him over. "Rory! Rory, hold on, it's going to be alright!"
"It is alright, Pond. He's just unconscious." The Doctor opened his eyes and gave a half-smile. "I 'evicted' the Nestine Consciousness, and I…not sure how to put it…boxed up all his years of being a Roman, his years watching over you in the Pandorica. It's all tucked away…for now."
"What're you going to do? I remember all of that, but he shouldn't. He didn't have the crack in the wall to make it possible, you said it never happened for him!" Amy got louder and louder with each sentence, her eyes darting between her husband and her 'imaginary friend'.
"It's complicated, and the less he remembers, the better, alright? That particular adventure is best off forgotten. But, he's an anomaly, brought back only by your memory, like I was. It's all a bit…wobbly right now as far as the rules of the universe go." The Time Lord got to his feet, and weaved slightly, looking a tad off kilter.
"You alright, Doctor?" Amy asked, unsure which man needed more attention now.
"Fine. I'm going to get some medical equipment. Be back in a moment…and Pond, don't try to wake him up."
"Why not?"
The Doctor hurried through the door, and Amy was left to stare at the body of her husband.
A few minutes later, the Doctor returned, carrying what looked to be a tool box.
He settled onto the floor with Amy and reached over, placing a hand just below her shoulder. Amy winced and opened her mouth to tell him not to touch her injured arm, but before she had the chance, he shoved upwards and there was an audible 'Pop!'
Amy screamed and slapped The Time Lord in the chest. "Ow! No warning?"
"Nope. Sorry. Element of surprise." The Doctor wriggled his fingers in-front of her, and then opened the box he'd settled next to him. Reaching out with one hand, he tapped Rory's forehead and her husband's eyes opened. He looked around, frightened.
"Where am I?" He lifted his head a little and continued lying on the floor.
The Doctor grabbed a gadget that looked like it should be checking the price on fruit, rather then being used as a medical tool. Amy rose her eyebrows as the Doctor waved it over her husband a few times. "You're in the TARDIS. You're safe. You're paralyzed for the moment, oh look, here's Amy. I'm sure you're glad to see her, aren't you?"
"What happened?" Rory asked, obviously trying to shift his body around, but unable to move anything below his neck. "...Were we attacked?"
Tapping at the tiny buttons on the price-checker the Doctor gave a small smile and then promptly frowned. "It's complicated. Let's say it's all sorted now. It's not though, it's not all sorted. But for the sake of argument, let's say that it is. Oh, and let's say it's not likely to happen again. Yes, denial and delusions, that's the way." He spoke almost faster then Amy could follow, and as soon as he was finished with that paragraph, he went on to switch topics.
"A little time I'm sure you'll be able to control the memories and the gun, ah yes, the gun. Let's not deal with that now either. This is a..." Grabbing a small round shaped thing that looked like a metallic cricket ball, the Doctor tapped it up and down Rory's arm. "You know, I am not sure how to explain this. This'll sting though, just a bit at first. I think. Hard to tell." The metal cricket ball glowed a dim amber and then faded to a light orange. The Doctor pressed it to Rory's arm and began to drag it down towards her husband's fingers.
"Ah! That's not stinging, that's burning!" Rory yelped, trying to move away and unable to do so.
"I needed to see if there was skin under the plastic. Good news, there is. Bad news…the entire weapon's system is integrated with your right side. Your acceptance of being an Auton goes down to your very molecules…I'm not sure if even I could get it out." The Doctor rocked back on his heels, running a free hand through his bangs and sweeping them aside.
Amy grabbed his "How-"
The Doctor dropped the cricket ball and slapped a hand over each of his companion's mouths. "Shhh! If you value Rory's life, we're going to stop talking about it, wondering about it, thinking about it, and all of the above. We are going to accept this is how things are…until I can think of a better solution."
Amy pushed the fingers off her mouth and reached over to the limp mutilated hand of her husband. She gently picked it up off the carpet and touched the metal tube that protruded through the seam that ran down through his palm.
"How'm I supposed to forget that?" Rory lifted his head as much as he could, and stared at the hand that Amy hoped he couldn't feel. It was raw and red, a thin ugly metal cylinder with blood dripping from around the edges, she laid his hand back on the floor.
The Doctor regarded her husband very solemnly. "I'm going to seal it over, this'll-"
"Burn?" Rory suggested in a weary tone.
"Probably, yes." The Doctor dragged the metallic round object down Rory's arm and a ripple of plastic dragged itself down in the ball's wake. Rory hissed through his teeth and Amy watched the Doctor very carefully lead the plastic around the gun muzzle.
Gently, the Doctor pushed the metal tube with his fingers, and it slid back, Amy watched it actually displace the skin in her husband's arm. There was only a small bit left when the Doctor grasped the other half of Rory's hand, which looked to be on a hinge made of thin muscle and skin, and pressed it back into place. The plastic sealed it immediately, and there was no trace of there ever being a gun except for the blood all down Rory's hand.
"That'll help for now. Time for you to get up, Mr. Pond." The Doctor placed his fingers on Rory's head again, and both pairs of eyes closed at the same time. After a long moment, the Doctor's hand pulled away and he stood up. Rory struggled to get his elbows behind him, obviously no longer incapacitated.
With her help, Amy was able to get Rory into a sitting position. Immediately, her husband began to study his hand, then he looked up at the Doctor, and Amy followed his gaze.
Standing at his full height, and looking down at them, the Doctor made a rather ominous figure, regardless of is silly bow tie. "Rory, do not ask what happened. Do not question. Just be content with everything you have." His piercing blue eyes went to Amy now, and she realized how alien her friend was. "Amy, don't ever bring this up. If something like this happens again, you come to me. Straight to me." He crouched, grabbed his tool box, and tossed things back inside. "What's important is that you two have each other. Look at you. This is your wedding night…what'm I doing in here? Off you go then." He motioned them towards each other and smiled, as if expecting them to get at it.
Amy was only too happy to comply, she grabbed Rory's face and gave him a long, proper snogging. She pulled him close, trying to kiss away what had happened, and knowing those 'boxes' of memories were going to keep teetering on the edge of his mind. Not until there was someway to mesh everything, without destroying her Rory. As it was, she pulled back and glanced at the Doctor.
He had a goofy looking smile, and was backing out the door. "It's so domestic, oh, just look at this. I'm getting all soft in my old age." With a laugh, a care-free laugh that only the ancient Doctor could produce, he shook his head and closed the door behind him.
Rory stared after the Doctor, his mouth less receptive then it had been a moment ago. He shifted away from Amy until he could talk. Amy pouted and cocked an eyebrow at him. "Amy, what happened? Why don't I remember?" Rory asked pointedly, studying his hand again, and staring at the plastic 'skin' up his arm.
"It's my wedding night, Rory Williams. If the Doctor says that to keep you, I can't tell, then you can bet I'm not telling. You're my husband. Now stop chatting and-"
Rory's lips silenced her.
The Doctor put the box away in the infirmary, tucking it back onto its shelf. Those two human kids were going to enjoy their night, he'd make sure nothing else went wrong.
He walked the halls back the console room and paused, listening to the TARDIS's thrumming. "They deserve one night of peace." He muttered, checking all the controls to be sure everything was still set as he'd left it. Leaning against the console, he stared up the stairs towards the hall. "One night may be all they get."
Wishing he could put everything right for the millionth time in his very, very long life, he ran a hand through his long hair and turned back to the console. He could at the very least keep the TARDIS steady and quiet for them tonight.
I wrote this before the Christmas Special, it was written quick, forgive me for that. =)
Hope you enjoyed, I would love to hear some opinions on the current TARDIS crew...and my story, a little constructive criticism is very, very welcome!
Tootles!
-WWM
