Sowly, the pain began to recede. The relentless flow of memories ebbed too, until I'd finally caught up. Suddenly I realized that Rory was kneeling next to me. I also found tears drying on my face, put there by mental, emotional, and physical pain. I pulled myself up to a sitting position. It felt like some mysterious, intangible yet enormous weight had been lifted from me, replaced by the comforting mantle of my identity. The Doctor. Breathing a weary, contented sigh, I carefully leaned my head back and closed my eyes. I was so bloody tired.
"Amelia Pond and Rory Williams... Of course she would bring me here."
"Who?" inquired Rory. Good question. I missed his good questions.
"The Tardis," I murmured, still feeling drained. "She knows how much you two meant to me. Something must have happened, something that put you two in danger. So I must have erased both your memories, all the ones about me anyway, and put you safe at home. But then the whatever-it-was caught up with me, tried to kill me. The Tardis brought me here, unfortunately not before I'd lost my own memory. No, not lost- erased. Did I erase my own, too? Must have. But I left the sonic with you, so I must have known that I'd need me back. And what safer place to leave it than with the Ponds? So I did the smartest thing I could think of, and then the Tardis was clever enough to pop off somewhere she wouldn't be noticed. So where is she hiding?"
I opened my eyes. Rory had stepped away, much as he would from an angry dog. He was looking at me like I was a complete raving madman. Which, for all he knew, I could be. I met his gaze and held it.
"Rory, I know you," I said, determination in my voice. But something else, too. Friendship. Genuine warmth, and worry. "You and Pond. Amelia. You grew up in Leadworth together. You've always loved her, and always will. You love her so much that you spent nearly two thousand years watching over her, waiting and waiting for her to wake up again."
Rory looked really confused now. I knew he could tell that I wasn't lying. But that didn't mean he thought I was telling the truth. I pressed him, hoping that he could recover at least a glimmer of his memories.
"Why do you think you kept that outfit anyway? It was just for a silly costume party," I continued, refusing to back down. There are few things more stubborn than I am when there's a friend of mine at stake. Ah, but when it's friends, plural? I'll dig my heels in until the end of time if need be.
"And why d'you think it's so worn? You wore it as the Last Centurion. Guarding Amelia from harm. For two thousand years! How could you lose all that? It must have been one heck of a memory wipe I gave you."
"The Last Centurion?" he said, even more confused than he had been. "That's just a local myth. Like the Loch Ness monster. And I kept it because I like it. It helps intimidate mad burglars."
"What about that gladius? Just popped off to the local blacksmith and picked it up, did you? No. You and Pond traveled with me. It was for so long... Why can't you remember anything?"
Poor Rory looked like he was having trouble deciding whether to take my temperature or hit me over the head and call the mental institute. Fortunately for me he did neither, merely sitting down on the stairs, head in hands as if this were the longest day of his life. You and me both, Pond.
"Who are you?" he asked again, wearily.
"I've told you already. Weren't you listening? I'm the Doctor. You know, Amelia's imaginary friend as a child- the Raggedy Doctor. She used to make you dress up as him. Well, me."
"I don't know what you're talking about."