Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who. Otherwise David Tennant wouldn't have left, and Matt Smith would be Doctor alongside him (I'd be thinking of some excuse!). Also, there would be a lot more Doctor Who on our screens, and the poor actors would probably never sleep. Kidding! Kind of...

AN: This is not 11th Doctor/Amy. I don't like that pairing. Even though it might read like that to start with. I like reviews (hint hint!). One shot. Enjoy!

A nightmare to remember

It was cold on Earth.

Amy had never known her home to be so cold; even harsh Scottish winters had the decency to thaw a little when the sun shone. This was a different type of cold, not even snowing. It was too cold to snow. The very air was icy, settling near to the ground, weighing heavy on anybody crazy enough to walk about this close to nightfall.

She shivered, drawing her heavy grey cloak around her quickly. The Doctor had warned her about the weather, but she thought he had just been exaggerating. Now that she thought about it, he had never really exaggerated about things. Just... acted enthusiastically sometimes.

''Well!,'' he exclaimed behind her, making her jump. ''We're home!'' She turned around, flicking her red hair as she did so, in the way that always made men go mad. Yet she'd learnt a long time ago that the Doctor was impervious to her charms. It still made her blush thinking about the night before her wedding, after the Weeping Angels had been taken care of, in her bedroom. What she had tried to persuade him to do. She was fairly sure that he'd forgotten it by now. She hoped he'd forgotten.

''I'm home, you mean,'' she replied loudly. His home planet was destroyed, he had no home anymore. She hadn't meant it to be a snide comment, but most people she knew would have taken it as that. Fortunately, the Doctor wasn't 'people'. He grinned wildly at her, and slapped her on the back. Hard.

''Earth, England, 3782AD. Welcome to your world,'' he rattled off happily, as though he'd said the words before. For all she knew, he had. After all, he had 907 years of space-time travel. A lot more time than most people. 'Not 'people',' she reminded herself. She turned to him fully, taking in what he was actually wearing. Bowtie, jacket, trousers, braces. At least he didn't have a fez anymore.

''At least you don't have a fez anymore,'' she said to him. His face dropped.

''Hey, what's wrong with fezzes? Fezzes are cool!'' he cried defensively. Amy rolled her eyes, kicked a loose pebble out of the way with her left foot, and thought of something she didn't yet know.

''Hey, Doctor?'' she called out to the peculiar man behind her who was currently tasting the soil.

''Mmmmmm?'' he mumbled. She coughed.

''Where exactly are we?'' she asked. He spluttered, made some gagging noises, then called back to her.

''Errrrm... I'm not sure... Let me just...'' He struggled for a reply. She came up with one.

''We're lost, aren't we?'' He laughed at the thought.

''No. No! We're not lost, of course we're not. We're on Earth. At the right time, of course. Why?'' She scoffed.

''No, that's not what I meant. I meant which part of Earth are we on?''

''A part which has land on it. At least, I think this is land. You'd be surprised at how advanced fish can be. Around the time you we born, I think, a group of fish had opposable thumbs, and they were really advanced. Other fish would bow down to them, it was really strange. They were... What use would thumbs be without a well developed brain? There's a type of crocodile that lived on Gallifrey which had opposable thumbs, but no brain. Well, it has a brain, obviously it has a brain, but it's not advanced. I remember once, I thought it would be a good idea to trick one of them...''

Amy coughed again, and he realised that what he was doing, the talking bit and the wild hand gestures, wasn't what he was meant to be doing.

''Anyway, where was I?'' He turned away from her, clearly avoiding answering the question. ''Just remember what I told you. This place is dangerous. We can't take chances.''

The word 'again' pressed itself against Amy's lips. She refused it, refused to say the word and remind them both of what they had lost.

A harsh breeze swooped in between them, cutting off their conversation in a swift motion. Amy gasped as it hit her, feeling it pounding against her like a wave of icy water. She couldn't even keep her eyes open, the cold would freeze the tears in them. All of the warnings that the Doctor had given her jumped into her head at once, making it so much harder for her to sort through her thoughts to the one which really mattered.

The wind stopped as suddenly as it had started, leaving a trail of dead leaves behind in its wake. She kept her eyes shut, almost afraid to open them again, not knowing what was out there. It was strange of her to think like that, especially since nothing was different to how it had been before she shut her eyes. Except the sense of foreboding which had plagued her for a lifetime was coming to the fore once more.

She didn't realise that the Doctor had moved until he was standing right in front of her, his warm breath on her nose.

''It's okay,'' he said, more softly than before. ''You can open your eyes now.'' He grabbed hold of her frozen hand in both of his, and squeezed it gently. She smiled. And opened her eyes.

He was even closer than she thought. His strangely shaped nose just about brushed the tip of hers. She looked up, directly into his eyes, and held his gaze defiantly. The Doctor stared at her for a second, but it seemed that more would be too much for him. He looked away awkwardly, let go of her hand, and stepped away, muttering about 'transfiguring', or some equally strange words she couldn't quite hear. He walked towards his 'blue box'. Or she presumed he did. That general direction anyway. Amy took the opportunity to look around her planet, as seen 1700 years in the future.

They were standing on top of a dead hill, looking down on a grimy grey city. It looked as though it should have been bursting with life, filled with vibrant people, alive with colours and smells and everything else that made up a city. But the only life which they could sense was at the far right, a small girl running along the very edge of the dull buildings. She seemed to be calling out, maybe for her parents, or anybody who would take her in. It was no surprise. The Doctor had warned her how dangerous it could be out on the streets after the sun had set. She just hoped that the girl was taken in somewhere before she was shut out. But it wasn't close to nightfall yet, it couldn't be. Or at least, it shouldn't be.

Amy looked back for the Doctor, but he wasn't there. The TARDIS's doors were closed, and she supposed that he was in there. Still, his absense made her feel uneasy. More uneasy, she should say.

''Doctor?'' she said loudly. She got no response, but she was expecting that. Maybe she had to be a bit louder.

''Doctor!'' she shouted. Her shout echoed around her, until the air was filled with many tiny whispers. 'Doctor...Doctor...Doctor...Doctor...' It seemed to run into one long continuous word, that didn't fade away. It got louder.

'Doctor...DOCTOR...DOCTOR...DOCTOR...DOCTOR..DOCTOORRRRRRRR!' The last cry was drawn out, whilst the other voices were laughing. Amy whimpered in fear.

Out of the very air came several faces, each one very familiar to her, each one making her step backwards to avoid it. They began to encircle her, swooping in towards her face and making her scream. Eventually, she was curled up on the hard ground, sobbing in fear.

Then the first face spoke.

It was her mother. A pale version of her mother, blue and ghost-like, snarling with rage, glowing red circles where her eyes would have been. But it was still her mother.

''You!'' it spat out hatefully, and the other faces cackled madly. ''You think you're perfect? You think I liked you, let alone loved you? Praying to Santa every night for petty little treasures you didn't deserve? I was glad when I left. Oh yes, so very glad to be rid of you, to finally have the peace and quiet I deserved after so long. And I thought I'd actually be free, but no! I have to follow you around, see everything you're doing with that strange man. It's pathetic, how you think you're so important. You haven't done anything worthwhile, ever. So save me the tears, save me the grief, and jump out of the blue box before I make you!''

Amy cried out again. Everything her mother had said was true. She was pathetic, she was useless, she should leave now before she could mess up again.

Another face jumped out at her, stopping an inch from her own, and she moaned in fear. It was Rory.

''No, no please don't! Please, don't! I don't want to know what I've done wrong! Don't tell me why you hate me! I don't want to hear it! I love you Rory, I don't love him. Don't be jealous, please don't, Rory, I love you. I love you.'' She whispered the last words. ''I've always loved you.''

The echoes started again, with another name this time. ''Amy...Amy...Amy...''

...

''Amy! Amy, wake up. Wake up! It's okay, you're safe now, you're in the TARDIS. Come on, wake up.'' The voice was smooth, not harsh, kind, not mocking, content, not desperate. It was one she was so happy to hear, she sat up straight, opened her eyes, and smiled.

''You always wear a bow tie, don't you?'' The words slipped out of her mouth before she realised what she was saying. The Doctor was standing by her side, hands on both her shoulders. She could feel the slow steady rhythm of the TARDIS below her, soothing her away from her nightmare. At least, that's what she thought it was. Had been.

She glanced around herself, taking in the orange walls, the glowing controls around the main column in the room, and Rory, sitting in one corner by himself. Not corner exactly, the TARDIS control room was round, but it was a secluded area near the door.

''Rory,'' she murmmured. The Doctor spoke again, removing his hand from her shoulders so that he could use them in his thinking process.

''You were asleep. At least, I think you were. You screamed a lot, panicked poor Rory a bit,started saying things, you know, the usual.'' She smiled shakily at him, then stopped and thought about something.

''What do you mean, 'the usual'?'' she asked sharply. He paused for as long as he could. Which wasn't very long.

''Rory!'' he yelled. Above him, the TARDIS screeched breifly. ''Sorry, love.'' he whispered to it.

Rory looked up, and relief flooded his face. He shot towards her like a bullet, and pulled her into a warm hug. She responded enthusiastically. They stayed like that for a minute or so, whilst the Doctor bounced around the two of them awkwardly. Eventually, they let go of each other, and she stared at the two men/boys with narrow eyes.

''Why are you acting like I've been gone for ages? I was only asleep for... I don't know, fifteen minutes or so.'' Rory looked at the Doctor hesitantly.

''The thing is, Amy,'' he began, still staring at the man who was now pulling a purple bow tie out of his pocket and attempting to take off his current blue one. ''You've been gone...'' This time the Doctor finished off Rory's sentence.

''You've been asleep for days. We tried to wake you, but...'' His voice was surprisingly gentle, not filled with energy like it usually was. Amy gaped at them both in shock.

''You mean... You mean I've been asleep for ages? I didn't...'' She stopped. They were both trying to control their faces, like they wanted to laugh. She kicked Rory on the leg, hard. He exploded. The Doctor followed suit. In ten seconds, they were both on the floor, helpless with laughter. She glared at them, a Medusa like look that terrified them if they ever saw it.

''YOU EVIL...'' She couldn't find the words to describe how she felt about them, or what she was going to do to them in five seconds if they didn't stop laughing. But she thought of a much more important thing to sort out. She could kill them both later. For now there was something else to be done.

She waited until they had calmed down a little bit, and were capable of talking. It took ten minutes of kicking them softly and death-glaring them before they were ready to answer a sensible question. She took a deep breath.

''Doctor?'' she asked the man who had suceeded in changing his bow tie whilst having something similar to a fit on the floor.

''Yeah?'' he replied, pulling himself to his feet, and staggering a little while he tried to help Rory up.

''You know how you said that I'd been talking in my sleep?'' she asked him. He nodded. ''What was I talking about?'' The last question, she unconsciously directed at Rory, who had turned a faint pinkish colour. He looked rather pleased as well, like he'd heard some really good news, and felt relieved about it.

The two guys looked at each other, then at Amy, perched on the edge of the metal seat she'd been sleeping in.

''Nothing,'' they chorused sheepishly.

But Amy wasn't so sure.