A/N: Disclaimer: I do not own either The Walking Dead or Doctor Who, and that applies to all chapters within.
This story is post S3E1 for TWD, post S6E8 for DW, and will loosely follow the events of S3 in TWD. Individually, some elements from each respective show are AU. For DW, I completely diverge from the cannon events between S6E8 and the start of this story. Those events will be revealed in a series of flashbacks.
I should let you know that romance is not the main focus of this fic, hence the genres listed, but I will strive for a balance. I have so many other themes and issues to address as well. This story starts off as 11/Amy through flashbacks and eventually turns to a very slow moving Daryl/Amy. Lastly, rest assured that there will not be any full-fledged, drawn-out love triangles either.
Warnings for the overall story: Some violence and gore, occasional language and adult content, sad/ dark-ish themes, and character deaths.
He didn't have to do this, she thought bitterly.
Amelia Pond trudged down a quiet road engulfed by a dense forest. She looked for a road sign that might give her some clue as to her current location but found none. Next she peered into the forest, but it appeared as endless as the road. The noon sun streamed through the leaves overhead and illuminated the mixture of tears and mascara running down her face. She angrily brushed the tears away.
He'll come back, she thought.
Amy wanted to head into town and get her bearings. Given the oppressive humidity, she would take any town.
"It's time you had your own adventures without me," he said. So here I am, wandering around lost on some road, somewhere in America, and it's bloody hot out. Some adventure this is.
After a solid fifteen minutes of walking, Amy reached a bend in the road. Her rising anticipation fell when only more road and trees appeared before her. More walking brought more bends which only led to further disappointment. As she rounded yet another twist in the road, something caught her eye. Up ahead, a man was walking away from her. A wave of relief washed over her as she called out to him. Maybe he could point her in the right direction. Amy called to him again.
The man staggered around, and Amy's eyes widened at the sight. She took in the tattered clothing that hung loosely over his emaciated figure. Dark, sunken eyes sharply contrasted the pale skin of his face. Thinking the man must be gravely ill, Amy rushed toward to him. But as she neared him, she realized this was not the case.
The man reached his bony hands toward her while making a low sickening growl. Amy leapt away. He grabbed a hold of her jacket but she managed to tear herself free, stumbling with the effort. Regaining her stride, she took off at a dead run, something she had become all too familiar with over the years. While running, she took a look back over her shoulder only to find that the man was running after her, albeit with a strange hobbling gait. He was still too close for comfort. She looked forward again, long red hair obscuring her vision. She cleared the hair away to see a pale green SUV driving toward her.
"Help! Help! Please stop!" Amy screamed at the car while flailing her arms.
The car did not stop, but a hand holding a gun appeared out of a rolled down window. A shot rang out, and Amy heard the body fall behind her. Stunned, Amy stopped and looked behind her to see the man lying dead. The car stopped and out jumped a young, wiry Asian man and a young, brown-haired woman. They approached Amy.
Amy could only stand there shaking and breathless, partly due to running, but also from shock and fear that these people resorted to shooting the man dead. Sure, he attacked her and staggered after her in a deranged way, but the last thing Amy expected to hear was gunfire.
Amy gave them a wary glance. She looked to the dead man again and studied his features, confirming her eyes had not previously deceived her. She no longer could keep the horror she felt to herself.
"What…what was wrong with him?" she asked them with wide eyes.
The young man and woman returned her wary glance. This woman before them with the fiery red hair wore a mini-skirt and tight leather jacket. Her hair appeared vibrant and clean. No one dressed or looked like that anymore. And how could she possibly not know what was going on? They wondered if this was all an act on her part. However, they also noticed the smudged mascara streaks on her face.
In short, they did not know what to make of her.
The young Asian man questioned Amy, "What are you doing alone in the woods?"
"What do you mean?" Amy demanded. She quickly added, innocently, "A girl can't just go for a quiet stroll?"
"Are you crazy?" he hissed. "That walker nearly got you!"
Feeling threatened, Amy snapped, "Why don't you answer my first question?" She raised her voice, emphasizing each word, "What was wrong with that man?"
He just answered her with a perplexed look.
The woman with the brown hair observed all of this silently, but she finally addressed her partner with a worried look, "Glenn, we need to get going. More could show up soon."
Amy's dark eyes narrowed upon hearing that last line. After a moment she replied in a softer tone, "Look. I don't want to cause any trouble. Actually I'm in a bit of a situation myself, I'm quite lost." She took a step forward. "Do you know of someplace I could stay?"
Amy quickly realized she had not chosen her words wisely enough. Glenn snatched his gun and trained it on her. She startled and raised her hands.
"Cut the act. How can you not know what's going on? What do you want?" Glenn hissed.
Defensive, Amy replied, "Oi. I'm just passing through. I need to get back to England."
More puzzled than ever, Glenn could only manage to ask, "What?"
Trying to maintain her cool, Amy replied evenly, "Please, just let me go. I won't tell anyone you shot..."
But before Amy could finish, a raspy growl of a nearby walker caused the brown-haired woman and Glenn to whip around. The woman rushed forward to stab it in the eye with her knife. Amy screamed, and Glenn responded by stepping closer to her with his gun motioning her to stop it. It did not matter though as a herd of walkers poured out of the woods. Glenn turned his attention to the herd and fired off a few rounds at the nearest walkers.
The brown-haired woman yelled to Glenn, "Come on! We'll just have to take her!"
Glenn let out a frustrated sigh and grabbed Amy by the arm to shove her into the backseat. He took a seat beside her, still pointing the gun at her, while the other woman slammed the driver's side door closed. She let out a previously held breath before promptly stepping on the gas. A dozen pair of walker hands slipped off the windows as the SUV lurched forward.
Glenn picked up a bag off the floor and tossed it at Amy, "Put that on."
She shot a look at him. "Is that really necessary?"
Glenn pointed the gun closer to her.
"Fine," she muttered.
Amy lowered the bag over her head and darkness reigned.
Amy leaned against the railing surrounding the TARDIS console, her slender arms crossed. She stared darkly at the Doctor as he fiddled with the console controls. "You don't have to do this."
The Doctor wheeled around and yelled, "Of course I do!" He had a wild, yet pained look in his deep, ancient eyes.
Amy replied firmly, "Doctor, we are doing just fine."
When the Doctor would not look at her, panic rose in Amy's chest, "Please Doctor, I need you in my life. Rory's gone and there's no one else besides you." Her eyes gleamed with tears ready to spill over.
"No, Amy. You don't. I've put you in danger for far too long. It's time you had your own adventures without me."
Amy was so overcome by his words that what he said next sounded like a distant echo in her ears.
"I can't do this to you anymore, Amy. You have your entire life ahead of you and I'm not going to stand in the way."
In what she hoped came across as firm, Amy said, "I know what you're doing. Pushing me away like this."
The Doctor turned his head to glare at her, before returning his attention to the console.
Amy continued, "Doctor, I think you're just scared and won't admit it. And that's okay. Just think about this for a bit."
The Doctor snapped, "All I do is think!"
Taken aback, Amy did not respond for a few minutes.
Choked by anger, Amy asked shakily, "Where are you taking me? Some place terrible?"
The Doctor replied, "No, Amy. America. Present day. I think you can handle that." He was using that tone. The one when he explained something obvious.
"Why America?" Amy demanded.
The Doctor lashed out, "Because you need to focus on something. You don't like it there, focus on getting back home."
If Amy had not been furiously gripping the railing behind her, she would have fallen due to the unforgiving landing of the TARDIS. Before she could settle, the Doctor grabbed her firmly by the arm and led her out the doors. They ended up standing in the middle of a road and the noon sun radiated off of the tarmac.
The Doctor's face softened, as he placed his fingers under Amy's chin and gently lifted her head to stop her from staring at the pavement.
"Look at me," he murmured.
Her eyes flicked up to meet his. The hurt and pain in Amy's face was almost too much for the Doctor to handle, but he had made up his mind.
Both of his hearts broke as he said his next words, "Amy, you know that I care about you deeply. Always have, always will. So trust me when I say that it's best that you leave. I know that it doesn't feel that way now, but you will find your way. You are the magnificent Amy Pond."
And with that he placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.
Amy stifled back a sob, but mascara stained tears begun to run down her cheeks. She could hear them hitting her jacket, one by one, as she watched the Doctor approach the TARDIS door. Once there, he hesitated for a second.
He half turned around and called to her, "Please don't cry, Amy. I always come back, you know that."
With a slight smile on his face, he waved goodbye to her before closing the door behind him.
Inside the TARDIS, the smile slipped off the Doctor's face. He crept to the console and directed the TARDIS to drift through empty space. With a look around, he realized the space around him had not felt this deserted in a long time.
Outside, Amy's heart constricted painfully when the TARDIS door closed and consequently blocked her view of him. However, she took in the loveliness of the blue police box and tucked it away in her mind, like a prized treasure, to always remember.
Goodbye raggedy man, she thought as the TARDIS dematerialized.
Not wanting to accept that only air remained where the TARDIS stood just moments ago, her eyes traveled to the ground again. She stared at the yellow rectangle beneath her feet, not quite sure what had just happened. After a moment, she took in a shaky deep breath in an attempt to calm herself. She looked up, took in her surroundings, and walked off following the broken yellow line.
A/N: Thank you so much for reading! I am so excited about this story and to be finally sharing it!
I'd also like to say a huge thank you to my RL friend, M, for looking over this chapter and patiently listening to me go on and on about this story.
Lastly, in my hope to make this story and my writing the best I can, I am always looking for more critique. I have written more about this matter on my profile if you are so interested.