Poor Hero, poor Doctor... Their new marriage just can't catch a break, can it?


Amy and Rory had decided to retreat to the TARDIS console room, now that the Doctor seemed out of immediate danger, to go through all the data gathered by the time machine to figure out what had happened.

I remained with the Doctor, cradling his head in my arms. We stared at each other for a few moments, and then I spoke very sternly, "Don't... ever... do that to me again, okay? I thought you... I thought..." Words failed me as all of my bottled-emotions flooded out. I couldn't stop my eyes filling with tears, one spilling out onto my cheek. His brow furrowed in concern, the Doctor reached up a hand, wiping away my tear and then looking at his fingers like he'd never seen anything like it. He swallowed, his gaze returning to mine.

"I promise," he murmured, as I traced his temple and cheekbones with my fingers, not wanted to move away from him. "I'm sorry I was pulled away... on that night of all nights, not to have control over what was happening..." He shuddered, and I pulled his blanket more around him. "I never stopped thinking about you, Hero," he whispered, his ancient eyes full of pain, "You kept me going, I was able to escape and make it back because of you."

"Es-escape?" I stammered, arranging his hair with my fingers.

"I'm afraid that there are some... unusual occurrences that have just started affecting Earth, occurrences which may be caused by the same temporal anomaly which forced the TARDIS to take off with me the night of our wedding. Hero, it appears that... that our marriage may have caused a few problems. Some people don't want us to be together, they're trying to... distract me..."

I stared at him, confused and worried at what he was saying.

"How could anyone possibly know? That priest, he didn't..."

"No, he hasn't breathed a word, but we didn't keep very tight security, and apparently someone out there, someone who... doesn't like me... is creating trouble on earth for me, giving me a problem which must be solved before it's too late. They know I can't simply turn away as humans die, they're hoping to keep me away from you, maybe even long enough so that they can get to you..." He clutched at my hands, his eyes wide. "This can't happen! As soon as I felt the TARDIS leaving, I realized how much danger you were in, and... I hated myself for leaving you behind..."

I tenderly kissed his forehead, letting him know that it was alright, resting my forehead against his to share a bit of calm with his mind.

"These wounds..." I murmured, "what happened? How did you get hurt? Will... will you be okay?" I couldn't help the wobble in my voice.

The Doctor smiled at me, "Ah, well, Rory the Roman has managed to take great care of me, I'm sure I'll be fine in a few hours or so, remember our Time Lord physiology? You healed much faster than the normal rate, even as a human. I'll be just fine, I promise." His told me that he was telling the truth, and it made me feel less panicky. "When the TARDIS re-materialized after it took me, I decided to go and see where I was, which... was a bit reckless of me, I admit..." His angular face flushed slightly as he smiled apologetically at me. "Anyway, some thugs were outside waiting for me, and they grabbed me and questioned me for a bit, they thought I knew something about what was causing the temporal distortions. I told them I didn't, of course, but... they, er, didn't believe me."

I bit my lip as I slowly traced one of the healing knife cuts on his chest, counting eight in total. They'd "questioned" him for quite some time. And the bite on his leg... Probably from one of their animals they had all riled up just for such an occasion as getting information from the Doctor.

"Hey..." The Doctor placed a hand against my face, getting me to look at him, "I'm alright, I promise. It's all over now, they didn't harm me permanently." I nodded wordlessly, still feeling the creamy-smooth skin of his abdomen which was crossed with the scabbed lines. I hadn't touched him like this before, and despite my intense emotions which had be on the verge of tears, I could feel my hearts race a bit faster than normal, and I swallowed. His eyes held mine, and his face flickered as I watched it. Thinking I'd hurt him, I quickly removed my hand and felt a bit embarrassed, even if he was my husband now. His eyes flew open wide as he blushed, and he sat up slightly, kissing me so suddenly that I didn't have time to breath. I could feel his fingers tangling in my hair as he pulled me closer, and I slipped my arms around him to hold him up close to me.

Keeping his mouth close to mine, the Doctor looked deeply into my eyes, and I could tell that he was nervous but also determined. "I love you," he breathed, "It was very cruel of those thugs, taking me away from you when we'd only just begun... Can you forgive me?"

I smiled, the first genuine smile I'd have in a while, "I love you too, I'm so glad you're back here with me..." I kissed him again, harder this time, and he clung to me. I smiled against his mouth, once more surprised and pleased at the level of thoughtful passion he put into each and every kiss we shared. I had a feeling the Doctor was the sort of person who would, kindly, return even the most unexpected kiss. I felt heady as we enjoyed our closeness, despite the awkwardness of the Doctor lying on a hospital bed.

After a moment, we both pulled apart as footsteps sounded in the hallway. I didn't move far away, but made the Doctor lie back again just as Amy and Rory peeked in the medical bay. I waved them in; I suppose that they suspected that the two of us Time Lords wanted a moment to ourselves, but the two humans looked so bursting with information they couldn't help but come back.

"There's a lot of... stuff... that the TARDIS picked up," Rory began, checking the Doctor's vital signs and looking relieved at the results.

"You get some rest, Doctor," Amy added, patting the Doctor and I on our respective shoulders, "We can all take a look later, but for now you need to sleep, yeah?" The Doctor looked resigned, I knew he didn't sleep very often, but I gave him a firm look and he relented with a small smile.

"You should be almost completely back to normal when you wake up," Rory went on, straightening the Doctor's blanket in a business-like manner, "After that, my nursing duties shall be turned over to your wife, she can take it from there." He offered me a small grin, and I couldn't help but chuckle quietly. Amy and Rory bid the Doctor and I goodnight, leaving us alone once more.

"TARDIS, please dim the lights," I instructed the general air, and the time machine complied. Apparently she'd decided to accept me as a functioning member of her crew, which pleased me. Plus, I was taking care of her favorite Time Lord.

The Doctor watched me sleepily as I rolled another hospital bed over next to his, grabbing an extra blanket for myself from the shelves nearby. I plopped down onto the bed, reaching out my hand to my husband and squeezing it.

"Go to sleep, love," I instructed, looking at him very seriously. His eyes were wide as I lay a hand against his bare chest, enjoying the freedom of touching his warm skin.

"Yes, dear," he murmured, smirking, and he closed his weary eyes and fell asleep almost at once. I stayed awake for a while longer, watching his composed features and feeling my hand on his chest rise and fall as he breathed. At last, though, sleep claimed me as well.