The Oncoming Storm
Summary: During the time Amy and Rory decided they wanted to go home so they could lead their normal lives, the Doctor, sad and unused to travelling alone, takes his anger out on his wife.
A/N: Trigger warnings for verbal, emotional, and physical abuse. Also for obvious undiagnosed Stockholm Syndrome. Dark!Doctor and very unrealistic because the Doctor is against violence and would never stoop so low. Sometimes.
Chapter One:
Amy laughed at her husband, Rory's, joke. They were stood in the kitchen, leaning against their granite counter, with a cuppa each. As it had been two months (for them) since they had last been travelling with the Doctor, they had gotten to talking about him after Amy was positive she had seen something green walking outside. Rory had told her it was obviously the wind moving the bushes and somehow they had started joking about how they had changed since they had started travelling with their best friend. Then, somewhere along the line, Rory had made a joke about the Sontaran's they had encountered a few years back.
"I mean, imagine me as a Sontaran nurse!" Rory exclaimed with a smile. His joking elicited a loud laugh from his red-headed wife. She laughed even more when she nearly spilled her tea and almost fell when trying not to spill it. "Oh, my God..." she laughed, whilst wiping tears from her eyes. "Wait, do they have female Sontaran's?" She continued, suddenly serious. There was silence as both Pond's stared at each other. Out of nowhere, they both burst out laughing at the mental images running throught their heads of female Sontaran's.
Their moment was cut off by the sound of their doorbell ringing. The noise ran throughout their house and they glanced at each other in confusion. Amy looked at the clock on the wall and read midnight. She placed down her cup with a heavy sigh, "probably the neighbours coming to complain about the noise," she groaned. "I'll get rid of them," the Scot said as she stood up straight and turned to the direction of the front door.
Amy passed through the living room and into the hallway on her way to the door. When she reached it, she mentally prepared herself for the lashing she would get from her neighbour for 'having too much fun'. With one last silent sigh, she reached for the door handle and pulled open the door. What she opened the door to, however, wasn't what she'd prepared herself for. There, on the front step was River Song, shivering with wet hair and looking over her shoulder.
When her daughter realised the door had been opened, she turned back and smiled at the sight of her mother. River quickly moved passed her mother, into the house and out of the rain that usually came with England, rambling on about 'space' and 'lovely weather on Earth, tonight'. When Amy broke out of the shock of seeing her daughter on her doorstep, she closed the door and followed the half Time Lord into the house.
She stopped in the living room when she saw her daughter stood in the middle of it, hugging a confused Rory who had come to see who Amy had let in. "Uh, River, I don't know if you noticed, but it's raining," Amy started, cautiously.
"Is it? I hadn't noticed," River replied airily as she let go of her father. She walked over to the wall which held a large rectangular mirror and took in her appearance. Her once beautiful, curly hair was now a wet mess atop her head. "Ah, yes. It seems it is raining a bit," she admitted. "Oh well," she sighed. She started messing with her hair, trying to force it back into its natural curls and give it some life.
Getting nowhere, she groaned and gave up, muttering about 'stupid hair' and 'stupid curls'. "I like your hair," Rory said, attempting to lift his daughter's mood and fill in the father role that had been suddenly placed upon him. Amy nudged him in the ribs and shook her head, to which Rory held up his hands in surrender. Turning to River, Amy spoke what was now on both hers and Rory's minds, "River, are you okay?" She asked. Her daughter turned to her and Rory with a confused expression.
"Of course, why do you ask that?" She replied, seeming genuinely confused.
"I don't know, you just seem... different?" Amy tried. She didn't know how to describe River's behaviour other than unusual.
"'Different' how?" River pressed.
"I don't know. It doesn't matter," Amy concluded. She knew if there was something seriously wrong, River would tell her. Maybe. Hoping to change the subject, Rory clapped his hands and moved over to the kitchen area with a, "who wants a cuppa then?" Both women chorused 'I do!' and followed the former Roman.
Whilst Rory made their tea, Amy washed up the cups from earlier and River sat at the counter Rory and Amy had stood at earlier. She leant her elbows on the table and her head on her hands. She watched quietly as her parents conversed whilst doing their mundane tasks. It was boring, in her opinion. She needed action, to go out and fight some aliens or help someone- not sit at her parent's house and have a cup of tea.
Her leg bobbed up and down on the floor as she thanked Rory for the tea and he and Amy came to join her at the table. "So," River started, "who wants to go see a planet?" She held up her vortex manipulator and swayed it slightly in the air with a smirk. Both Rory and Amy looked at each other in shock and confusion. "Is that why you came here?" Amy asked.
"Not exactly. I came to see you because from my point of view, I haven't seen you in three years," River admitted with a sad smile.
"Three years? What about the Doctor? Where's he?" River tensed at Rory's question and slightly shifted in her seat.
She placed down her manipulator, "oh, you know him. He'll be travelling somewhere, saving the universe, defeating Cybermen, that sort of stuff," River told them. Rory and Amy shared a look at River's refusal to look them in the eye. "And when was the last time you saw him?" Amy then questioned, suddenly curious.
"I dunno, a few minutes ago for me. I'm not sure how long ago for him..." She trailed off, messing with her vortex manipulator. She put her finger in her mouth when it shocked her after pressing a wrong button. "'A few minutes ago'?" Rory repeated. River simply nodded.
"So, about that adventure," she then smiled, holding up the manipulator again with a smile. Rory and Amy looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders, not seeing why they shouldn't go with her. She could be reckless at times, but they knew that if she was with them she'd settle down and make sure they stayed safe. "Okay, why not?" Amy said with a smile.
"Great! Let's go," she exclaimed, sliding off her seat and walking into the living room.
"What? Now?" Rory asked incredulously. It was passed midnight now and she wanted to travel.
"Yes, I don't see why not, you're not doing anything are you?" She questioned.
"Well, no, but it is midnight," he pointed out, looking at the clock on the wall. River followed where he was looking and noticed it was indeed midnight. On Earth, at least. "Ah, yes. I see. Well, how about tomorrow?" She suggested hopefully.
"That sounds like a good idea," Amy told her, causing her to smile. "Good, I'll see you then," River said and turned to leave.
"River?" Amy called out, following her into the hallway. River turned around to face her and see what she wanted. "You're leaving?" Amy asked.
"Well, yes," River laughed in confusion.
"Where will you be staying, though?"
"I won't be staying anywhere, I think I'll just have a look around until tomorrow. Maybe go to Paris. Always wanted to go there, really," she trailed off.
"Paris? How are you going to go to Paris and back in one night?" Amy questioned. River simply held up her Vortex Manipulator as her answer. "Ah," Amy let out, suddenly feeling stupid. "Well, don't you want to stay here tonight instead? It can't be too warm out there in the rain and you'll need your sleep if we're going to a planet tomorrow. After all, you did just come back from the Doctor."
"I don't know..." River said, fiddling with her Manipulator. "Come on, you must be exhausted. And your hair's still wet," Amy pointed out.
"I suppose I could," River gave in after a second of thought, putting her Vortex Manipulator in her pocket until tomorrow. "Come on," Amy said and held her hand out for her to grab. River did so and allowed her mother to lead her upstairs and to the spare room.