Dedicated to my dear friend Saskia – We must live our dreams vicariously through fiction!
Set after Amy's Choice
The Doctor sat in his library, flicking aimlessly through a book on the Castella Galaxy. The happiness that radiated from the image of Amy and Rory danced in front of his eyes. His heart (well, hearts) ached. It wasn't like he felt that way for Amy. She was a great girl, no disputing that, he just…
"Doctor?" he looked up from his book, vaguely registering that it was upside down. It was Rory, with surprisingly, no Amy in tow. He blinked once at the unexpected company
"I was just thinking…"
"Dangerous that." Interjected the Doctor thoughtfully. Rory scowled, before sighing. The Doctor was obviously going to make this hard.
"I need…well, I was really wondering…Look, before you turned up again, Amy and I had decided that when we got married, that we wouldn't go on a honeymoon because of work, and money and - but perhaps when we do…get married, I mean, you could take us somewhere…in our own time, so Amy and I can have a honeymoon?"
Rory came to an abrupt halt as he watched the Doctors face – which promptly broke into a grin. He flung his arms out exuberantly, throwing his book into the pool. (yes, it was still in the library)
"Of course…Where were you thinking?"
Rory blinked, surprised by this easy agreement.
"Ummm…I was thinking Barcelona."
The blood drained from the Doctor's face as the word 'Barcelona' resonated in his ears. Pivoting suddenly on his heel he ran from the room, Rory's shout of concern and apologies fading into nothingness. Running towards a set of stairs he had not yet ventured up, he ran straight into Amy. She took one look at him and grabbed his shoulders.
"What's wrong? What's happened?"
The Doctor merely shook his head and wrenched himself from her grip, continuing up the stairs, still running. He had to get away, anywhere, just away. Her cry of 'DOCTOR!' echoed behind him.
He ran….
….down a corridor….
….third door to the left…..
…fifth door to the right…
…up another flight of stairs…
The Doctor collapsed on the floor of a conservatory of Mauravian plants that he didn't know he had as he let memory reclaim him as he surrendered to unconsciousness.
The pain was unbearable as he turned to his tear stained companion followed him into the TARDIS. The remembrance of the life saving kiss that they had shared managed to burn so much more somehow that the pain, enabling him to prevent the inevitable for just a while longer.
"Rose Tyler. I was going to take you to so many places. Barcelona! Not the city Barcelona, the planet Barcelona. You'd love it, fantastic place! They've got dogs with no noses! Imagine how many times a day you end up telling that joke and it's still funny!" He gave a strained laugh. Rose's face was also pained, but confused.
"Then... why can't we go?" she said
"Maybe you will. Maybe I will. But not like this." He managed as he struggled to hold on for a few more minutes.
"You're not making sense." Rose cried as her confusion increased
"I might never make sense again! I might have two heads, or no head. Imagine me with no head, ha! And don't say that's an improvement... But it's a bit dodgy, this process…. You never know what you're going to end up with." The Doctor forced out before doubling over in pain.
"Doctor!" she called out, reaching for him, as so many had before her
"Stay away!" he called back still trying to mask his pain from her eyes, as her confusion reigned
"Doctor, tell me what's going on" she pleaded, tears streaming from her eyes.
"I absorbed all the energy of the time vortex and no one's meant to do that... Every cell in my body's dying." He explained
"Isn't there something you can do?" She was on the verge of hysteria now
"Yeah. Doing it now. See, Time Lords have this little trick; it's sort of a way of cheating death. Except... it means I'm going to change. And you're not going to see me again... Not like this. Not with this daft old face. And before I go" his breath became restricted as he struggled to remain
"Don't say that!" interjected Rose
"Rose... before I go, I just want to tell you: you were fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. And do you know what? …. So was I!"….and then there was flames.
Hours later, the Doctor regained consciousness on the conservatory floor, the lilac leaves of the Mauravian Roses filling his field of view. He drew in a breath, but his loneliness continued to suffocate him. Climbing to his feet, he felt his full 900 and whatever years. Wandering through the plants he drew his fingers through a small water feature, distorting the image of himself that was reflected back at him. With a sigh he wiped his fingers on his pants before he headed out of the conservatory, returning to the control room.
Amy and Rory were sitting on the bottom of the stairs to the control room. As he looked down on them he straightened his posture, pasted on his usual customary grin and bounded down to the console. They both looked up, startled.
"Where to, my friends, where to?" he cried, all enthusiasm
"Uhhhh...Doctor?" asked Rory tentatively
"Shall we once more to the breach? Arua, Loringo, the Mystic Moon of Seria?" The Doctor continued his spiel.
"Did I say something wrong?" Rory wasn't going to give up either. Pain glanced across the Doctor's face. He sighed.
"Just brought back things that were best forgotten..." He trailed off.
Amy walked up next to him and placed a comforting hand on his arm.
"Want to talk about it?" she asked as his eyes lost their focus.
"Rose..."he breathed out "Rose was...no...wasn't mine...will never...God, not even me anymore...ha!" his incomprehensible stream of words confusing Amy. He looked to her with pain stricken eyes.
"What does it say about you if you lose the one you love to yourself?"
Amy gazed into his pained expression, seeing all the despair and loneliness that he contained, yet his question still made no sense as she felt the stirrings of pity within her. With a shake of his head the Doctor was back in control, back in the present and bounding around the console as usual.
"Right...any suggestions? No? How about a mystery trip? Well that's basically the only option for you pair really...life is a mystery and the convolutions of time merely make it more complex...oooh, that was profound. Sounds like something Socrates would have said if he had thought of it...and maybe he did say it, or maybe he didn't. Lovely chap is Socrates. Pity that they killed him..."
Amy rolled her eyes at his customary behavior. She moved to stand next to Rory, the loneliness that she had seen in the Doctor still affecting her.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand away we go!" cried the Doctor as he spun handles and pulled levers, while holding onto a rail of the console, as the TARDIS bucked beneath them. Rory, unlike Amy and the Doctor wasn't quite prepared and was sent hurtling across the room.
"Doctor, what do the green flashing lights mean?" asked Amy over the din of the TARDIS.
"What green flashing lights? Oh, those green flashing lights. They give indications of the transmorphigal digressions of the machinations of dirospelectic life forms in the time vortex that we are currently travelling through."
"Really?" asked Rory as he clung to the base of the chair.
"No, you gullible fool. Their just flashing green lights! And nothing can survive the time vortex...well, nothing except good old Captain Jack. Wonder if he'd recognise me, new face and all..."
"Doctor?" asked Amy again
"What now, Pond?"
Amy pointed at the screen of the console, where in large capital letters the words 'CODE MAUVE' flashed. The Doctor grinned like a child at Christmas.
"Code Mauve! I love code mauve!" The Doctor clapped wildly, dancing round the TARDIS and somehow managing not to fall over.
"But what does it mean?" Amy peered intently at the screen as if it would enlighten her
"Danger!" yelled the Doctor, "Wonderfully gut-ripping danger!"
"Isn't that Code Red?" asked Rory, looking a bit startled at the Doctor's reaction as he climbed back onto the platform. The Doctor gave an exasperated sigh
"You humans. Always mixing things up. As far as the rest of the Universe is concerned, red stands for candy." He pulled a lever with a flourish. "And here we are!"
The TARDIS juddered to a halt.
"Sorry to be a fool..." muttered Rory "But why are you excited about danger?"
The Doctor merely shrugged.
"Life would be boring...and there would be no running – you have to love the running! You can stay here if you want..."
Amy laughed, and smiled encouragingly at Rory. He smiled hesitantly back.
"No...No, I'll come." He was rewarded with a affectionate hand squeeze from Amy as the Doctor busily checked his dials on the console.
"We are in the Contridion System, on the planet of Avalon" This caused the Doctor to grin.
"What?" asked Amy warily
"Avalonians are highly evolved humanoids, that used to visit Earth quite frequently...they still may for all I know. Basically they are the origin of all your supernatural fairy story characters."
Amy and Rory simultaneously gawked at him.
"Well then, let's not waste time!" The Doctor said, bounding over to the door and flinging it open with a flourish
"Welcome to Avalon!"
Well, that's my first chapter of my first Dr Who fic. Little worried about characterization, feedback would be most welcome.
Just a heads up for all 11/Amy shippers – not going to happen in this fic. Sorry, but she made a choice (I'm in Australia, we haven't seen past Amy's Choice) and now I am going to make her suffer.
Other than that, I hope you enjoyed!
Kylara Jade