In the world of sci-fi/fantasy, it turns out there are quite a few beloved characters who sort of died and/or stopped existing at some point. I thought it might be quite fun to see where they all ended up while they were waiting around.
Obviously, none of these belong to me-not even the waffle shop, which I borrowed from Season 8 of Stargate. Not even a potted plant to call my own this time. Oh well...
(There are a lot of fandoms mixing together in this one-in case you don't know them all, there's a list at the end. Bonus points if you can guess them!)

The world slid out of focus, fading slowly to black as Rory felt his eyes close. The pain was overwhelming now—he wanted to scream but he couldn't cry out, couldn't even moan. It hurt too much to breathe, and so he stopped, and found the pain fading. In fact, everything was fading now. The touch of Amy's fingers faded from his cheek, her screams faded from his ears, and his last thought was regret that Amy was screaming—he didn't like it when she was sad—and then he was fading away too…..

…And then he wasn't. "Ow," he moaned, rubbing his chest where the gun had hit him.

"You okay?" a man's voice asked.

With a start, Rory's eyes snapped open. He wasn't lying on the floor of the cave anymore. He was sitting in…okay, that was weird. He was sitting in a chair. At a table. The table was yellow faux-marble, and a flower in a vase and salt, pepper and a sugar bowl sat at one end. The air was warm and smelled of coffee, bacon and syrup. A gentle hum of conversation filled the air. His eyes widened as they darted around the room, finding him no answers as to what was going on.

"Are you okay?" the voice asked again.

Rory looked across the table to see another man sitting there. He looked to be a few years older than Rory. He wore a blue shirt with long sleeves, and had several cuts held together with butterfly strips on the left side of his face. Right now he was looking at Rory, concerned, but also somewhat amused.

"I…I'm not sure," Rory said. "What the hell is going on?"

The man smiled. "Well, that's…complicated. What's the last thing you remember?"

"I got shot," Rory started. "And I was…oh." A knot formed in his stomach. "Am I dead?"

"Maybe," the man said.

"Well that's helpful, thanks."

"What I mean is, whatever this place is, it's not the afterlife."

"Well, that's good. I can't say I was expecting a diner from the 1950's, to be honest," Rory said. "So, where are we, then?"

"We're somewhere kind of in the middle of everything. Not dead, but not alive, just somewhere…in between. So yes, you may have died, but then something else happened to keep it from being that simple," the man said, taking a sip of his coffee.

Something flashed across Rory's memory. "That light," he said. "There was this…crack in the universe, and this light was coming out while I was dying…What did it do?"

"Well," the man said, looking apologetic. "I have no idea what the light is that you're talking about, but I'm afraid you don't exist anymore."

Rory blinked. "What?"

"You don't exist. And you never did. So even though you should be dead, you couldn't quite die because you were never born to start with."

"What!? What do you mean I was never born?" Rory demanded.

"Sorry," the man said. "Like I said, I don't know the specifics on you, but you don't exist. That's why you popped up at my table." He took another sip of his coffee and smiled ruefully. "I don't exist either."

"Oh," Rory said quietly. "Sorry. What, ah, what happened to you, then?"

"Well, I used this machine to build a bridge between our universe and my original universe, because they were tearing each other apart, and I thought if I could get the two sides talking, then we could fix the holes and save both universes. I think it worked, because I was standing there with my father and his alternate version, and my girlfriend and her double, and then I just sort of…stopped. Then I was here."

As Rory tried to come up with a response to this, a waitress approached the table. "You gonna be staying long, honey?" she asked Rory with a kind smile.

"Oh, um…I don't know," he answered.

The waitress smiled. "Waffles it is, then. And I'll get you some more coffee, hon," she said to the other man before walking away.

"What?" was all Rory could find to say.

"I don't know." The other man shrugged. "If we have to hang around not existing, at least there's food."

Rory tilted his head in agreement. "I guess. Sorry, what's your name? I never asked."

"Peter," he said. "Peter Bishop. You?"

"Rory Williams."

"Nice to meet you. So a crack in the universe, huh?"

"Yeah. I'm not really sure what that's about, to be honest. The Doctor said something about things exploding somewhere and shrapnel in time, but I was a bit distracted by the lizard people." He shrugged. "And dying."

Peter laughed. "Lizard people?"

"They were going to invade Earth from somewhere down under the surface, but we got that sorted. I say 'we', it was mostly the Doctor, but you know, Amy and I were there…" He trailed off wistfully. "I don't suppose I'll ever see her again, will I?"

"Oh, I don't know about that," said a new voice. Rory and Peter looked up to see a man in a green shirt pulling up a chair. He was older than both of them, with short, spiky brown hair and glasses. He was smiling. "People tend to come and go here. This is my second time through. Daniel Jackson," he said, holding out a hand, which Rory shook.

"Rory Williams. So, there's a way for us to get back?" he asked hopefully.

"Probably. I don't know how it would work exactly for the two of you, but nobody stays here forever."

"I guess that means we can't leave however you did?" Peter asked.

Daniel shook his head. "Nope. Me, I was just dead. Well, not dead, exactly—ascended to a different plane of existence. Which I seem to have done again."

The waitress returned with Peter's coffee and Rory's waffles. She also brought him a steaming cup of tea, which he hadn't asked for, but realized he desperately wanted. He may or may not be dead and in some sort of waffle shop outside of the universe, but at least there was tea. It was easier to pretend things were normal that way.

"So this is some sort of cosmic waiting room, then?" asked Rory.

"Yeah," Daniel said. "People who didn't die properly end up here until where they're supposed to go gets figured out. There's some Ancients in here too, but I think they just come for the waffles."

Rory was about to ask another question when a man popped into existence in the booth across from them. He appeared with a startled yelp, clutching his chest where blood was pouring from a myriad of bullet holes. Rory jumped at his sudden appearance, but Peter and Daniel seemed unfazed.

"Hey Jack," Peter said.

"Peter. Daniel," Jack said with a nod. "Who's the new kid?" he asked, smiling at Rory suggestively.

"Rory," Rory said. "And stop that, please."

Jack laughed. "Sure thing. Maybe next time," he added with a wink, but he dropped the unsettling smile.

The waitress appeared at Jack's table. "Can I get you anything?"

"Nah, I don't think I'll be here long," Jack said. Just as he finished speaking, he disappeared.

"What was that?" asked Rory.

"Jack Harkness," Daniel said, shaking his head. "Apparently the man is incapable of dying. He'll get killed, make it this far, and then whatever is making him immortal pulls him back again. He pops in and out a lot."

"Oh. Okay." There didn't seem to be anything else to do with that. "So, how do things get sorted out for people here?" asked Rory, taking a bite of his waffles. They were very good. "Who decides where they go?"

"Well, for the most part, they do," Daniel said. "Like in my case, I can leave any time I want. I just have to decide whether I would rather go back and help my friends save the world from the Goa'uld, or go full-out ascended and stay here."

"What's holding up your decision?"

Daniel sighed. "If I could go back with everything I learned from last time I was here, we might actually have a shot. Trouble is, once you leave, you forget all about this place—you can only remember it while you're here. I'm trying to convince some of the Ancients to help us out, but I'm not having a lot of luck." He sighed, pushing his chair back and getting to his feet. "I'm gonna give it another shot before I go, though." He put a hand on Rory's shoulder. "Don't worry," he said kindly. "The fact that you're here means that at least a little bit of you still exists somewhere. Something will pull you out of here before too long." He raised a hand in farewell and returned to the other side of the room.

"So you're building a bridge between universes, I was stopping a Silurian invasion, and Daniel was fighting Goa'ulds, whatever those are," Rory said. "Is everyone in here saving the world from something?"

"Possibly," said Peter with a laugh. "Apparently, it's a hazardous line of work."

As he said this, Jack appeared at his table again, this time pale and sopping wet. He barely had time to shake the water out of his hair before disappearing again.

"Did he just die twice in the last five minutes?" Rory wondered.

"Probably not. Time's really weird in here."

"Well, at least that's something I'm used to," Rory said under his breath, grinning in spite of himself. Aloud he said, "So how did all these other people end up in here?"

"Well," Peter said, leaning towards him conspiratorially. "The old guy in the corner seems to have gone out in a fight with some kind of fire demon." Rory looked around Peter to see an old man with a long grey beard and grey robes sitting alone in a corner booth with his eyes closed. He did indeed look somewhat singed. "I asked him about it, but apparently however he's getting back to wherever he came from takes a lot of concentration, so he told me to go away." Peter shrugged. "It might be working. Does he look kind of blurry to you?"

"Maybe a little," Rory said. "What about him?" he asked, nodding at a man a few seats over. He was wearing nothing but a pair of boxer shorts, and was very pale, wide-eyed and rather sickly-looking. He seemed unaware of the fact that he was in a diner and was holding a rather animated one-sided conversation with the air.

"Oh, him. I don't know," Peter admitted. "He's not all the way in here, I think. At least, he doesn't notice when you try to talk to him. From what I've gathered, he seems to be talking about tsunamis with a giant spider."

"Alright," Rory said. Why the man was in nothing but his pants, he had no idea, but a giant spider—sure. He'd seen weirder. The thought made him laugh.

"What?" Peter asked, raising an eyebrow.

He took a sip of tea, pointing at the man talking to nothing. "It just occurred to me that with all that's going on in my life lately, the man talking about the weather with the invisible giant spider would probably be just an average day. Well, back when I had a life, anyway," he amended.

Peter chuckled. "Don't I know it. He'd fit right in at the lab back home. In fact, his invisible giant spider wouldn't be out of place there either." He took a thoughtful sip of coffee. "Although it would probably eat Walter's cow, and then there would be trouble."

"Excuse me," said a woman's voice from behind Rory. "Can I borrow some sugar, please?"

He turned to see a young woman standing behind him. She had thick curly black hair and was dressed all in grey. Something about her seemed rather insubstantial, like a gust of wind might blow her away.

"Sure," he said, sliding the sugar bowl across the table. "You can have a seat if you like."

"Thanks," she said, taking Daniel's abandoned chair. "I'm not staying long," she added, holding up her take away cup before dumping a spoon of sugar in. "But I'll sit a bit before I go. So how did you two end up here?"

"We're the boys who don't exist," Peter said. "I'm Peter and this is Rory. What about you?"

"I'm Annie. Don't exist, hmm? I thought being murdered was rough, but I think yours tops that."

"You were murdered?" Rory asked, shocked.

Annie nodded, and turned so they could see the back of her head. She pulled her hair aside and they saw a deep gash running the length of her skull. "Pushed me down the stairs," she said. "I think I broke my neck as well. It was a bit sore when I first came in."

Rory winced as he caught a gleam of bone in the middle of the cut. "Are you alright?"

She dropped her hair, turning back to him and raising an eyebrow. "I'm dead."

"Right. Sorry. I'm, or rather, I was a nurse. Force of habit."

"It's alright," Annie said, smiling kindly. "It takes some getting used to. And I do appreciate the concern."

"So what's got you here, then?" Peter asked. "I mean, I don't want to offend you, but murder seems like a pretty standard way to die. How'd you end up here?"

"I'm not sure," Annie said. "I think I was just so angry—it was my boyfriend that did it, you see—and I was so angry and I wanted to get him back. So once I got here and calmed down a bit, I decided to go back and haunt him," she finished, taking a sip of her tea.

"You're going to haunt him?" Rory asked.

"Oh yes," Annie said, a smile playing on the corner of her lips. "He was cheating on me and he killed me. See if I ever let him sleep again."

"What about the memory thing?" Rory wondered. "I mean, you've decided to haunt him, but once you leave here you won't remember that."

"I know," she said. "But I should be able to work it out again when I get back." She stood. "I'd better get going. I hope things get sorted for you."

"Thanks. Uh, good luck," Peter said as she made her way to the door. She waved and stepped out into the white fog surrounding the diner, the door closing behind her with the tinkle of a bell.

"Good luck?" Rory asked.

"Well, what else do you say to someone who's going to haunt her murderous ex-boyfriend?"

"Yeah, alright," he agreed. He jumped again as a crash announced the sudden return of Jack. He turned to see Jack struggling to his feet next to his usual table. There were scorch marks on his torso and his hair was smoking slightly. He was also completely naked.

"Oh, not again, Jack," Peter groaned.

Jack turned to face them. "Hey there. Captain Jack Harkness. Didn't get to introduce myself last time," he said with a grin, holding out a hand to Rory.

"Yeah, um, that's okay," Rory said, shaking the hand quickly before backing his chair away. "Stop that," he said, as Jack gave him that look again.

"Well, if you're sure," Jack said, smiling. "Pretty face like that, I had to give it one more shot. But I promise, I'm done now."

There were so many ways that that statement disturbed Rory, he wasn't sure where to begin. "I'm engaged. Well, I was. And I hope to be again, should I start existing again in the future," he finally said, feeling there was much more he should be saying than that.

"Well, if that's all," Jack said, taking a step towards him and raising an eyebrow.

Rory reached for his silverware. "I will stab you with this fork if you come any closer." Jack laughed and raised his hands in surrender, stepping back.

"Leave him alone, Jack," Peter said.

"Oh, sorry. Not feeling left out, are you, Pete?" Jack answered.

"Don't start that again," Peter sighed. "What happened to you this time?"

"Daleks," Jack said, sliding into Annie's vacated seat.

"Aw, Jack, people have to sit there," Peter groaned.

"What? It's not my fault!"

"That you're dead, maybe not, but that you're naked?"

"Yeah, okay, that part might be my fault," Jack said with a smile.

"You got shot by a Dalek?" Rory asked.

"Well, about seven of them," Jack said. "Hence the hair." He pointed to his still-smoking locks. "Got a little over-cooked. They caught me by surprise—I wasn't expecting Daleks in a bar on Castillo-4. I'll take care of that when I get back, though. How do you know about the Daleks?"

"Amy told me," Rory said. "She said she and the Doctor met them during World War Two—"

"You know the Doctor?" Jack asked excitedly.

"Yeah. I travel with him. Or I did, anyway." He cast a skeptical eye over the part of Jack that was safe to view. "How do you know him?" he asked, just a little bit afraid of the answer.

"Oh, I travelled with him, on and off. Nothing like that," he said, laughing again at the look on Rory's face. "Not that I didn't try, mind you…"

"Jack, you are a strange man," Peter said.

The waitress appeared beside them and sighed, hand on her hip. "Again, Mr. Harkness?"

He turned and flashed her a charming smile. "What, this?" He gestured down at his lack of clothing. "You keep turning me down, gorgeous; I wanted to show you what you were missing."

She giggled. "Mr. Harkness, you know the rules. I don't fraternize with mortals."

"Yeah, but I'm not mortal, am I?" he said, waggling his eyebrows mischievously. She smiled, but said nothing and walked back to the kitchen.

"You died naked just so you could flirt with the waitress?" Rory asked incredulously.

Jack shrugged. "I'm in here a lot. Gotta do something to mix it up. Oh," he said, cocking his head as if listening to something only he could hear. "Catch ya later, fellas. I'm off." With that, he disappeared again.

Rory pointed to the empty seat. "Even given the fact that I seem to have died, been erased from history and am now eating waffles on another plane of existence, I think that man is one of the most bizarre things I have ever come across."

"He does keep things interesting," Peter agreed, edging Jack's chair away from their table with his foot. "If they had anything like a normal day in here, odds are he'll be back a few times before the end of it. And probably naked for at least one of those."

"Great," Rory said. They sat in silence for a few minutes as Rory finished his waffles. "Look, something's happening with the spider-guy over there." He nodded to where the man was sitting. He had stopped talking and he was staring ahead as if he had seen a ghost (a thought Rory found quite funny, given the circumstances). He didn't seem to notice the jerking motions his chest was making. "It…it looks like someone's giving him CPR," Rory said. "That's never gonna work, with as long as he's been in here."

"Time's weird, remember?" Peter said, looking over at the man with interest. "For all we know, he's been dead for like a minute."

The man gave a couple of sudden gasps, then shimmered around the edges and was gone. "Well, that was different," Rory said. "I guess it worked?"

"Looks like it," Peter agreed.

The bell over the door chimed and they turned to see a boy walk in, looking very confused. He looked to be about seventeen, and the nurse in Rory cringed at the sight of him. However he had died, it hadn't been pretty. He was covered from head to toe in blood, dirt and bits of leaves and twigs. The black robes he wore were ripped, and his glasses sat askew on his pale, dirty face. He opened and closed his mouth, unable to find anything to say, and looked around, utterly bewildered. Rory caught his eye and waved him over.

"Let me guess: Saving the world?" Peter asked as the boy stopped and stood beside the table.

"What's going on?" the boy asked.

"Well," Rory started awkwardly. "I hate to say it, but…I think you're dead."

"No, I know that," he said, catching them both by surprise. "I let him kill me, and then…I was in a train station, and got on a train to go back…Why am I not back? I didn't die in a waffle shop."

Peter and Rory looked at each other and shrugged. "Who knows why any of us are here? Maybe the universe thought you needed a cup of coffee before you went back," Peter suggested.

"Coffee?" the boy asked incredulously.

"Or waffles," Rory suggested. "They're quite good."

The boy seemed about to respond, then thought better of it. He sighed. "Actually, it has been a while since I've eaten."

"Well, pull up a seat," Peter said. "No, not that one," he added, as the boy moved towards Jack's chair.

The boy pulled over another chair. "What is this place?" he asked.

"That's a long story. You got a name, kid?"

"Harry," he replied.

"What was that?" Rory asked suddenly.

"What?" asked Peter.

"It felt like something tugging on my shoulder." Rory jerked abruptly. "There it is again."

Peter stared at Rory for a long moment, then grinned widely. Harry stared at the pair of them like they were both mad. "I think you did it," Peter said.

"Did what?" Rory asked.

"Look at your hand."

Rory looked down at his hand and gasped. The edges were hazy and shimmering. "I'm…I'm going back?"

"Looks like you still exist after all," Peter said with a smile.

Rory's reply was cut short as he felt a particularly violent tug. The shop lurched out of focus, and Peter and Harry became a pair of blurry shadows. Everything disappeared into white mist, and Rory felt himself dissolving, floating away. It seemed like nothing happened for quite a while (or it could have been no time at all—it was hard to say), but slowly felt himself growing solid again. He was aware of the world around him before he could see it, heard it reappearing like a radio suddenly being turned on and growing slowly louder. He was almost there. Almost home. Back at home, back in Rome…Wait, what? Rome? Well of course. He was a Roman centurion, after all. Where else was he meant to go?

Fandom List in order of appearance:
Daniel Jackson from SG-1; Jack Harkness from Torchwood/Who; the old guy in the corner is Gandalf; the man talking to the spider is Will Zimmerman from Sanctuary; the murdered girl is Annie from Being Human (BBC version); and, last but not least, Harry Potter.