The Doctor ran a lazy finger through the cooling come on his belly, his body relaxed from his earlier indulgence, but his mind still buzzing with stress over the realisation of his latest crush.

Rory Williams. Amy Pond. He was completely and utterly smitten. With a married couple.

The Doctor groaned. It had been easier when it had just been Amy. Amelia Pond, sweet Amelia, wife to Rory Williams and therefore off-limits to the Doctor. The Doctor had been content to torture himself with the knowledge that they could never be, and that Rory had come along on their adventures to establish himself as the barrier that kept the Doctor firmly separate from his wife.

Now, the Doctor wondered if he'd been the one using Rory as a barrier to protect himself from the truth – that he would always desire Amy, and on top of that, he desired Rory.

The most frustrating part of the whole thing was that the Doctor had literally run out of reasons to deny himself. Amy had already blatantly stated her desire for him, and Rory's game of dress-up seemed indicative enough. They both seemed to want him, and yet, the Doctor couldn't quite allow himself to believe something that wonderful.

These thoughts played through the Doctors head over the next few hours, keeping him tossing and turning in his bed all night. He couldn't remember sleep ever being this difficult before, and wondered why on Earth he'd thought it would relax him. When he finally did manage to drift off, it seemed like only seconds had passed before a loud thumping woke him up.

"Oi? You in there?" a brazen Scottish accent rang clear through the solid steel door. That voice could break through bank vaults, the Doctor groaned. Somehow, he felt even less rested than when he had first laid down.

"Come in," the Doctor called, if only to stop the incessant pounding both from the door and in his head. Barely were the words out of his mouth before the Doctor realised he was half naked and surrounded by the soiled remains of Amy and Rory's coupling. He only just managed to stuff the evidence under his sheets before Amy walked in. She had clearly just woken up and appeared to be wearing Rory's oversized shirt as a nightie. Even with her hair mussed and her eyes puffy from sleep, she was beautiful.

The Doctor blushed (damn his pale complexion!) and tried very hard not to stare at Amy's legs. "Don't you own any clothes of your own, Pond?" as soon as the Doctor said the words, he wished he hadn't. Suddenly, the incident of the night before was there in the room like an unwelcome elephant.

To the Doctor's annoyance, Amy seemed more amused than embarrassed. "Yeah, about that. That's why I came to talk to you."

"Rory not joining us then?" The Doctor didn't know whether to be relieved or disappointed.

Amy rolled her eyes and sat on the bed, making her shirt ride up to her waist. The Doctor caught a glimpse of pale, rounded flesh and in one double-heart-stopping moment wondered if she was even wearing underwear. "He's sulking in our bedroom and I can't get him to come out. Will you please go talk to him?"

"And say what?" The Doctor asked, an edge of hysteria to his voice. His face was getting redder by the minute. Why in the name of Time and Space hadn't Amy taken the extra two seconds to slip on a pair of pants? Those legs were driving him crazy, especially when he thought about how they would look wrapped around Rory's muscular waist while he… oh Gods, he would not think about that right now.

Amy huffed and blew a ginger strand of hair out of her eyes. "Honestly, I'm travelling with a nine hundred year old Time Lord and a two thousand year old Roman, and somehow I'm the only one who's being grown-up about this?" Amy took hold of the Doctor's chin and made him look at her. "Rory and I have a crush on you. And yes, you walked in on us while we were… exploring that, which is admittedly a little awkward. I can certainly understand why Rory's feeling embarrassed right now, but frankly Doctor, I don't see why you're carrying on!"

"I'm not carrying on, I just…" the Doctor struggled to find the words to explain. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do." He finished quietly, looking away from Amy and down at his hands in his covered lap.

Amy softened – the Doctor might be nine hundred years old, but at that moment, he looked like a scared little boy. "What do you mean?" Amy asked gently.

The Doctor started fiddling with his bed sheets. "This has happened before Amy. Travelling with me through time and space, my companions develop feelings for me. And every time, I've let them go because I can't… I won't take away their chance for a real life. A real, proper, human life."

"But this is different." Amy said, scooting closer to the Doctor. "It's not like either of us is sacrificing anything by admitting how we feel. We're not like your other companions, who have had to choose between you and a mortal life. Rory and me are married Doctor. You're not going to take that away by having fun with us."

The Doctor worried his lip, wanting desperately to believe her, but unable to allow himself. Why should a breaking up marriage be any different to a planet exploding, a civilisation crumbling or a life ending? Everything the Doctor touched, he destroyed.

"What if I do?" The Doctor asked, his voice quieter than he had ever heard it.

Amy rolled her eyes. "This marriage has survived space disasters, hostile aliens, and the universe imploding on itself. No offence Doctor, but I think we can handle you." Amy nudged him playfully with her shoulder and the Doctor found it in him to smile. He hardly dared to believe it – could he really be a part of something as wonderful as a human marriage, without damaging or destroying his companions or himself?

"Amy, you know I care deeply for you," the Doctor whispered sincerely, brushing a strand of hair from her face. "And I feel the same way about Rory, even if it's been a recent revelation. But you have to know that fantasizing about someone doesn't necessarily mean you want to make fantasy a reality. Suppose Rory doesn't feel that way?"

"Which is why you need to talk to him." Amy urged. "You need to tell him how you feel, maybe then he'll actually admit to how he feels and we can be done with this nonsense."

"How?" The Doctor said sadly. Rory was apparently too humiliated to even look at the Doctor, yet alone talk to him.

Amy's angelic features turned devilish as her lips parted in a smile. "On that, I have an idea."