Characters: 11th Doctor, Rory Williams, Amy Pond (briefly)
~Pairings: Amy/Rory
Genre: Angst, Drama, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort
Rating: T, hints of torture
Note: Takes place after Asylum of the Daleks
This is inspired by Min Daae's story Damage Control, which is a wonderful fanfic with the 10th Doctor and Jack Harkness that is totally worth the read
Accidental Rescue
Rory had found him by accident, but if he had known what was happening, if he had known he had been down there it wouldn't have been.
Rory would've torn apart the hospital, sword in hand, until he'd found him, but as it was he didn't know and it had been an accident…and Rory had been so unprepared.
oOo
The morning stared as any morning stared, wake up before Amy…wake up Amy because if she doesn't wake up she's gonna be late for work and Rory knows the alarm won't wake her.
Anyways, wake up, wake up Amy, make sure there are no aliens in the house (after the Ood Rory can never be so sure), breakfast, kiss Amy, get in his car, drive to work and well…start working.
Normal, perfectly normal and then he'd found him.
He'd been looking for Doctor Peterson at the time and after watching the man descend a flight of stairs Rory had followed. There was a patient upstairs who for whatever reason refused to have anyone, but Peterson look at him and Rory had been the unlucky soul who had to go bounding around the hospital to find him.
"Doctor!" Rory called, racing down the stairs after him. "Doctor stop I need you too—"
Then the man's entering a room marked DO NOT ENTER, DANGEROUS in big bold letters and Rory halts, unsure.
He could lose his job if he goes in there…then again whatever is dangerous inside the room is probably no worse than dying…twice. Plus the patient needed help right away, with a sigh Rory pushed open the door and entered.
"Hello?" He said slowly, "Doctor Peterson? I'm sorry for not heeding the warning, but—"
"Shhh," suddenly there's a hand over his mouth and Rory jumps, instincts taking over in seconds as he pins the assailant against the wall. "Williams!" The voice is high and surprised. "What are you doing?"
Rory stares in shock and then blushes releasing his co-worker, "I'm sorry you surprised me and—"
"No, no, none of that now we need your help."
Rory frowns, "Where? Here? Because doctor it looks like we're in a cellar and there's a patient that really needs your help."
The doctor waves him off, "yes here and the patient can wait Williams, this is by far more important." The doctor's eyes are twinkling, "we've caught an alien."
"You've what?" Rory yells.
"Caught an alien," the man is practically giddy. "It was a few weeks back and a complete accident mind you, but we caught it and it's incredible."
Rory frowned, he didn't like where this was going. "Why didn't you report it?"
"Report it? Why would we do that when there is so much we can learn from it?"
There was a pit developing in Rory's stomach, "right…and you need my help because…?"
"Oh well you're here and we need an extra set of hands because Simmons got sick yesterday and well since you're here I figured what the heck. Plus that fancy move a few seconds ago tells me you can handle yourself if it gets loose, not that it will mind you."
"Sir, I really don't think that I can—"
"Ahhh don't be scared boy, it'll be fine. It's strapped down and everything."
Rory wasn't scared, no not at all, but right now all he wanted was to get out and call the Doctor. Tell him that there was a poor alien trapped inside a hospital and it needed help, but that wasn't going to happen because Peterson was already pulling him by the hand, leading him down into the blackness.
"As I said before we caught it about a couple weeks ago and since then have been examining it."
"Examining it how?" The pit in Rory's stomach was growing larger
"Oh well you know, dissecting it, taking its temperature, checking its reflexes so on and so forth."
Rory's whole body went ridged, "dissecting it why would you do that?!"
"Because of the things we could learn about it! Given we couldn't find a proper way to sedate it so—"
"You dissected it while it was conscious!" Rory yelled, his anger rising.
Peterson was staring at him now and frowning, "perhaps you should leave Williams, I can find another nurse and—"
"No, no I'm fine, sorry just got a bit overwhelmed," Rory hastily said, he couldn't leave now, not when some poor creature needed his help.
Peterson frowned, "remember Williams, this thing isn't human. It's dangerous."
Rory nodded stiffly, biting his tongue.
Peterson rounded a corner, Rory followed and then froze.
There was a man lying on the table, strapped in, eyes closed and chest rising and falling rapidly.
"What are you doing?"
"Easy there son, I know it looks human, but it's alien and—"
"So?! It doesn't make this right! You have a man strapped to a table, in the hospital basement."
Everyone is looking at him now and out of the corner of his eye Rory can see the man stirring…he can also see a woman starting towards him, needle in hand.
She isn't even able to grab him, with quick movements training takes over and Rory throws her away from him and into Peterson. They both topple to the ground and Rory darts over the man's side.
"Hey," he says softly, undoing straps. "Hey you okay? Come on you gotta wake up."
Eyes creek open just a bit and Rory smiles, "oh thank goodness, if you were dead Amy would've killed me."
"Hmmm," is the reply.
Suddenly there's a hand on his shoulder and somebody's smashing a fist into his face. Rory yelps and falls back, surprised.
"You can't let it go, it's dangerous!"
"Does he really look dangerous to you?!" Rory gestures at the alien on the table.
"Fine have it your way," Peterson growls. "It's a pity that poor Rory's work finally went to his head. He's going on and on about aliens in the basement. We followed him down here and when he attacked, well we had no choice, but to sedate him."
Another fist comes flying towards him, but this time Rory is ready and there is no stopping the Roman now. The Lone Centurion surges forth and within moments Peterson is on the ground, with Rory standing over him.
Rory's eyes are burning and he's ready to finish it when—
"Rory don't…" the voice is soft, hoarse and Rory turns.
"Why not? After all he's put you through why shouldn't I?"
The man just stares at him from his place on the table, eyes sad, "because that isn't Rory talking is it? That's the Lone Centurion and right now I really….I really just need Rory….Please?"
The voice is soft...almost scared and Rory finds himself slumping as the adrenaline surges out of him, "right course…"
He makes his way over to the man, to the alien, and finishes undoing the straps, all the while trying not to stare at the stitches on the man's chest.
Allowing the man to sit up, "Rory the Roman." The man coughs, "knew you would come."
Rory doesn't have the heart to tell him that it was an accident.
"Course I came, could you imagine what Amy would do if her Doctor died."
The Doctor smiles floppily, but it doesn't reach his eyes, then he shivers, "You don't happen to have a shirt, it's a bit cold here and they took mine…and my bow-tie." He's frowning now, eyes hard, "they took everything actually…wonder what they did with it."
Rory looks at his friend anger burning in his chest, "Easy, we'll find it later. For now why don't you try this on for size?"
He pulls off the jacket he had been wearing and wraps it around the Doctor's bare torso.
"Hmmm…Jackets from Romans defiantly cool," the Doctor mumbles and Rory wonders if they had drugged him, despite not being able to properly sedate the Time Lord.
"Come on Doctor," He says slowly. "Let's get moving…can you walk?"
The Time Lord shrugs, "don't know…maybe? It's been days since…" He trials off and doesn't look Rory in the eyes, ashamed, then he's sitting up straight again, "I suppose now's as good a time as any to find out."
He eases himself off the table and starts to stand, only to collapse into Rory's arms.
"Sorry," he mumbles into Rory's chest. "Legs have fallen asleep."
"You're fine," Rory's voice is soft and calm, the voice he uses when talking to patients. "I've got you." Slowly Rory stands so that he can support the Time Lords weight as best he can.
"There's stairs," Rory continues as they make their way around unconscious bodies and towards said stairs. "I'm sorry, but—"
"No, no, it's fine," The Doctor says, eyes bleary. "Honestly let's just go."
Rory nods and they topple up the stairs, none to gracefully and by the fourteenth step they have to stop and rest.
"Rory," the Doctor says quietly.
"Ya?"
"Hospitals really are not cool…like really really not cool."
Rory can't help it, he laughs and to his surprise so does the Doctor…right before losing consciousness. Rory's laughs turn to curses.
oOo
In the end Rory managed to get his friend up the stairs and out the doors, a miracle in of itself, before loading the Time Lord into the car and driving home.
Amy was going to have a fit when she saw him, demanding answers left and right and Rory knew that the Doctor would never answer them all. Preferring to take the dark memories and shove them away with all the rest.
"I've called the police," he tells the unconscious body. "And UNIT, they'll deal with Peterson and the others…oh gosh Doctor I'm so sorry."
The body of course, doesn't answer.
oOo
Rory was right about the questions and demanding, the second he entered the house Amy was upon him. Noticing her best friend right away, bundled up in her husband's arms.
"Don't just stand there yelling! Make yourself useful and help me!" Rory tells her, maybe a bit harshly, but it's been a really long day and who can blame him.
Together they manage to carry him up into a guest room and onto a bed, Rory isn't sure if he should be relieved or concerned when the Doctor doesn't even move.
oOo
"Do you think he'll be alright?" Amy asks as she and Rory camp out on the couch downstairs.
"Sure he will," Rory smiles. "You know him, he's always alright."
Amy gives him a look and Rory sags.
"I don't know Amy…he just, what he's been through I couldn't imagine…" Rory trails off unsure of how to proceed, not knowing exactly how much he should tell his wife.
"You don't have to tell me," Amy says quietly and it's so unlike her that Rory stares at her in shock. "I mean I know it's not exactly your story to tell and I don't think he'd want me to know."
Rory nods, "thank you."
Amy smiles, she may have been a bit slow before, but she's learning.
oOo
The Doctor wakes up slowly despite his greatest wishes not to, with alertness comes pain and he's had enough of that to last life times.
Keeping his eyes closed the Doctor tries not to move. Once he starts to move, starts to struggle they notice and then they…they, the Doctor stops that line of thinking abruptly.
He's so tired, maybe he should just regenerate…that way he could escape, just use all the energy and—
Hands are upon him and he's fighting trying desperately to fight them off.
"Doctor stop its Rory! Doctor please you're going to hurt yourself!"
He freezes and cracks his eyes open, almost daring to hope, but yes there he is and he's in a nice bed, fluffy, nothing like the cold hard table he's known for weeks.
Oh the Doctor could kiss Rory right now…that is if it didn't hurt so much to move.
And there's Amy, his wonderful Amy, standing next to him her eyes worried. Oh the Doctor could kiss her too…although Rory might object.
His glorious Ponds come to rescue him. No, they had rescued him and he vaguely remembered Rory the Roman sweeping him out of the hospital. Rory the Roman, now there was a force to be reckoned with, the perfect match for the Girl Who Waited, he realizes suddenly that said Roman is talking.
"See," Rory's voice is soft and calm, nothing like the harshness of the people before. "You're safe, I've got you."
"Right," the Doctor swallowed, "Right of course, Rory the Roman, always saving the day." The Doctor smiles, but it feels empty, probably looks it too.
Rory smiles back anyways, "Is there anything you need?"
"The TARDIS," The Doctor mumbles, that's what he wants anyways. He wants her singing in his head and her walls protecting him. He needs her, a beacon of light in a terrible storm, that's what she was.
"Of course, where is she?" Rory continues softly and the Doctor looks at him.
"Can't tell you," The Doctor says. "I need to keep her safe."
Rory frowns, "it's okay, we're just going to go and—"
"NO!" The Doctor screams and sits up abruptly, ignoring the pain that shoots through him. He notices the shock and Rory's eyes and softens his voice, "No, she stays where she is…I can't…they might…"He trails off, eyes distant.
For a moment Rory just stares at him, eyes confused, waiting for an explanation.
"They wanted her," The Doctor says at last, trying to explain without going into detail, without remembering what they had done. "I told them no." Oh they hadn't liked that, apparently no wasn't an answer they were willing to accept.
He waits for Rory to object, to dig deeper, but he doesn't and to the Doctor's surprise neither does Amy.
Instead Rory just nods in understand, "whatever you think is best. Now why don't you get some rest. I um…I found your clothes, they're on the table for you when you wake-up."
And then they're gone, the Doctor turns to look at the clothes and laughs in astonishment.
Rory, glorious and wonderful Rory, had gone back for his clothes. Lying in a neat pile on the table was everything he had so desperately wished for in the past weeks…well minus the TARDIS. Reaching out he carefully fingered the sonicscrewdriver and felt relief wash over him.
His laughs turn to cries as he realizes he's safe. That it's over.
The Doctor sinks into his pillows, and it's soft and wonderful, just like his glorious Ponds.
Then for the first time in a long time he relaxes and closes his eyes.
He's going to be alright.
And it's over! I hope you enjoyed this one-shot and that it was worth your time
I'm a bit worried that it didn't turn out very well and that the Doctor was a bit OOC, but eh oh well. I don't write the 11th Doctor a lot and he's harder for me to get a grasp on then the Tenth Doctor
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