When the Doctor woke up, something was wrong. He wasn't sure what, but he could tell that there was something not quite right in the TARDIS. He sat up, ran a hand through his hair and tweaked his bowtie whilst scanning the control room for any obvious physical differences. None. There was nothing visually wrong with the TARDIS. So the Doctor listened. And that's when he noticed it. The usual dull but rhythmic thudding was there, but there was something else; something new. There was a high-pitched melody intermingling with the cacophony of the universe that the Doctor usually heard, and it unnerved him. It sent a shiver down his spine as if he'd heard that sound somewhere before but he couldn't quite place it. Shaking his head, he decided he needed a break from all this gloom and doom - it was driving him mad. Well, more mad than he already was. So he decided to visit the Ponds.

"Doctor!" exclaimed Amy, dropping the dish she was currently drying up and running towards the TARDIS that had just materialised in her kitchen. Rory skillfully dove and caught the falling dish before it had chance to hit the ground as the Doctor opened the TARDIS doors and collided with the fiery red head.

"The Ponds!" he laughed, hugging his best friend and nodding at Rory who was beaming.

"Doctor," he began, walking forward for a hand-shake. "Haven't seen you in a wh-"

"RORY THE ROMAN!" The Doctor interrupted, pulling him in for a hug too. Amy laughed as Rory cringed and awkwardly patted him on the back.

"So what's up?" Amy asked as her husband broke apart the hug and attempted to recover from the assault.

"Hm? What? Nothing! Why does something have to be up for me to come see you? No, nothing's up, just a house call," the Doctor lied, talking quickly. The Ponds looked at each other disbelievingly.

"Right," Rory said, patting the Doctor on the shoulder. "Whatever you say." The Doctor shrugged the hand away, annoyed.

"Okay, okay, there may be something slightly, er, 'up'..." he muttered, his mind returning briefly to River's warning. "But that doesn't matter! What's up with you two? Haven't seen you in-"

"192 days," Amy finished. "You haven't been to visit in over half a year." The Doctor stared at her and Rory awkwardly returned to the sink where he resumed washing up. The two stood there, eyes locked, the silence of the situation weighing down on both of them.

"Blimey," the Doctor muttered with a low whistle. "A hundred and...?"

"92," Amy repeated. She smiled sadly. "Yeah, I've been counting."

Sighing, the Doctor looked down at his feet and closed his eyes. 192 days. He'd completely neglected his best friends for the best part of 6 months, and he hadn't even realised. How long had he stayed holed up in his TARDIS, worrying about events he couldn't do anything to change? He looked back up, about to recommence conversation when Rory spoke.

"She's been to see us, by the way. River. Even she's managed to come say hi and she's in prison, so you better have a bloody good excuse," he said, disappointment threatening to come through in his voice.

"Well, yes actually, I do," he replied defensively. "I'm dying."