p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"An hour had passed since they left the forest. Amy was seated at the bottom of the TARDIS stairs, her head leaning against the railing. Rory was next to her, silent, hand rubbing soothing circles around the small of her back./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Amy? Rory? Do you mind if I-?" The Doctor gestured to the stairs, so Rory slid over, letting the Doctor sandwich himself in between the two of them. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Would you like to go home?" Amy looked up at him, surprised by his bluntness. She looked over at Rory who gave a slight shrug as if to say, "/spanspan style="font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"it's up to you/spanspan style="font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I don't know." She paused. "What happened to Lucas when we left?" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Right. Well, that version of him is gone now. That timeline is erased. Why do you think we're still alive if time ripped apart? When we left, we destroyed the timeline." Amy blinked a few times, letting the information settle into her brain. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""If there's any possibility of changing it, then I'm staying," Amy said, more confidently than she felt./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Okay, then." The Doctor said, a sad smile flickering onto his face and then vanishing just as soon. "Are you ready for the next timeline?" Though she really wasn't, she nodded. So the Doctor got up and flipped a few levers and they had landed again. "It's the same place, same time, different timeline. We have to be ready to run back to the TARDIS." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"They slipped out of the TARDIS, hiding under the same trees, by the same clearing. "Don't you remember freshman year?" She could hear Maya say, but Amy didn't even hear anything else they said. She just looked at Maya and Lucas, glowing together, laughing, happy and so alive. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The earth shook again, but this time Maya stayed upright and the ground didn't stop. "Lucas!" She screamed, grabbing fistfuls of his shirt, and holding them so tight her knuckles turned white. "What's going on?" Lucas said nothing, just held her close, eyes tightly shut. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""TARDIS! Now! There's something very wrong with this timeline!" The Doctor shouted, barely audible over the noise. Amy stepped out again, despite every reason in the universe not to. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Come with me!" She cried, grabbing Maya's hand. She heard two pairs of footsteps running behind her, and in the blink of an eye, they were back in the TARDIS, the ground still rumbling. The silence was a stark contrast to the tremors outside. Maya stood there frozen for a minute, then looked wildly about her before trying to make a break for the door, only caught by Amy. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Lucas! He's still out there! You have to let me go!" Amy held Maya out at arm's length, scanning her up and down as the girl fought against her. Maya was alive and Amy was determined to keep it that way. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I'll go." Amy said, turning around and slamming the door behind her. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""No!" Rory made a blind dash towards the exit, but the Doctor threw his arms around him, restraining him. "Let me go!" Rory cried, trying to throw everything he had in him, writhing around. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Rory, I'm not losing you both." And then, after an unsure pause, "She'll be back." Rory let himself be lowered to the hard metal floor of the TARDIS, taking deep, shaky breaths, hands pressed against the floor. Neither of them even acknowledged Maya's presence. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Outside, Amy was running, barely dodging falling trees. She stumbled, rolling on the ground, and then back up again, up and running, still running. She got to the clearing, and there was Lucas, curled into a ball, hands over his ears, taking big, heaving, terrified sobs. She didn't even say anything to him, she just grabbed him and he let himself be led like a dog on a leash. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She didn't think she'd ever been happier to see the TARDIS. They were in the home stretch, as a tall large oak began to fall. Amy shoved Lucas, sending them both toppling to the ground. She smashed her head against a rock, but she ignored it and kept going. She stood up, feeling instantly dizzy, her vision weaving in and out of black, but she hurried Lucas to his feet, too, teardrops falling on her hand. With the last of the energy remaining in her, she pushed open the TARDIS doors. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"As soon as she was in the Doctor's line of sight, he pulled a lever and they were gone. The TARDIS stabilized, and they were all happy to be standing on solid ground. Amy stumbled over to Rory, who was only just then pushing himself to his feet. She collapsed against him, knees folding inwards, noises blurring together. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""She's hurt!" He cried, looking at the side of her head, which now had thick, hot blood dripping down onto his shirt. He lifted her up as she shut her eyes, trying to reel in the pain now that the adrenaline had left her. He was telling her to breathe, yelling at the Doctor that she'd gone into shock, and saying that they needed to get her to the med bay, as she felt Rory's feet bouncing as he carried her away. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"Nobody noticed Maya staring at Lucas, overwhelmed with the enormity of the TARDIS and trying to comprehend what just happened. Nobody noticed the last of his tears cease as she buried her face into his shirt, sharp gasps coming from her as he stroked her hair. Nobody except the Doctor. He gave them a look, feeling the ominous hum of the TARDIS grow, and, stroking the console, he muttered, "don't worry, old girl, they'll be gone soon," and went to help Amy./p