Hello all. This is the part of a story we call the end. This fic has been a long way from the short torture scene I couldn't keep in my head, and I want to thank everyone who reviewed/favourited/story alerted/ect ect. Virtual hugs to you all. There might be an epilogue coming, but no promises. Thanks so much for reading, and I really hope you enjoyed it. Also if you don't mind telling me just how much you enjoyed it, the review button is right down there... ;) Nice and convenient, right at the bottom of the page... Feel free.
So one last time, Thank You. And without further ado:
There was a long silence after the door slammed shut. Rory was struck with an insane urge to laugh, but somewhere along the way it got lost and he cried instead. Amy, who had been caught between the two broke down and cried as well. The Doctor compromised by leaving the room to throw up.
"Sorry." he said weakly, returning. No one cared. They could hear muffled thumps from outside, meaning the soldiers were once again trying to force the doors open.
"They won't get in." said the Doctor tiredly, and Rory knew he was repeating this more for his own sake than anyone else's. He moved to the console and started flipping levers. Rory turned to Charity, who stood with her back to the doors and her mouth hanging open.
"Bigger inside." said Rory before she could say a word. He took her arm and guided her up the stairs. "Come on."
Charity accepted this without comment. She sat down on the steps and watched the Doctor work. Amy stood opposite him, Melody in her arms, her eyes bright with tears. She was beautiful, thought Rory, even when she was crying, but that was all he had time to think before she crossed the room in two long strides and kissed him.
Breaking apart was like coming out of a very bright light. Rory blinked. They stood for a long time, their faces inches apart, her long hair tickling his face.
"I love you." he said. It was one of those rare occasions that he knew exactly what to say.
A tear fell the length of her cheek. "I love you too."
The Doctor was muttering to himself at the console, pressing buttons and typing furiously. Rory had come to learn that this sort of thing was perfectly normal. You wouldn't have known there was anything wrong with him if he hadn't been so pale. Rory made to go to him, as a source of comfort, but the Doctor had spun around, clapping his hands together with a semblance of his old spirit. "Right! You -" He pointed at Charity before dashing around the console to flick a switch on the other side. "Where am I taking you."
"L15." said Charity immediatly, as if she'd had the answer on her tongue all along. "Third from the sun in the galaxy of Portland."
"Portland?" asked Amy.
"Yes." said the Doctor vaguely, typing in coordinates. "Six planets orbiting the sun, a lot like home. Lots of dust and smoke, but then you lot call it pollution, don't you. I'll take you some time." "Got a date in mind?" he added to Charity, who looked confused.
"Sorry?"
"What, all the legends, and they never once told you time machine?"
Rory watched as Charity's mouth formed a perfect O of understanding. "Right. Well, no, not particularly..."
"Christmas, then." said the Doctor. "I love Christmas." he spun a final dial and the TARDIS landed with a jolt. "Go on, then." said the Doctor, throwing open the door. "Happy Christmas."
Charity stared outside at the little village. Snow was falling softly. She turned back to the Doctor, tears in her eyes. "Thank you -"
The Doctor smiled. "My pleasure." Before she could go, Rory stepped forward.
"Thank you." he said.
"No." said Charity, "Thank you."
She looked out into the snow. Every window was alight, bathing the town in warmth. "Well." she said finally. "Best be off. She turned to the three of them. "I hope I see you again."
"So do I." said the Doctor. She smiled, if a little sadly, then stepped out of the box into the snow, snapping the door shut behind her.
She stood in the snow for a long time after the box had melted out of existence, watching the place where it had been. Then she turned toward the village and she walked home.
ooo
"I blocked the signal." explained the Doctor, heading back up the glass stairs. Rory followed him.
"But.." began Rory, unable to keep himself from voicing his fears, "If they found us before..."
The Doctor sat down heavily at the top of the stairs and put his head in his hands. "Yes, eventually they should be able to break the signal through. And when that happens, yes, they will be able to find us."
He looked suddenly very old and very sad, and Rory felt a sudden rush of pity for him. "But not tonight." he said. The Doctor shook his head. "No." he said quietly. "Not tonight."
Amy had seated herself on the Doctor's other side. They sat like that for a long time, staring into nothing, just feeling the warmth of one another.
"Right." said Rory finally. "We're going to bed. All of us."
He stood up, reaching down to pull first Amy, then the Doctor to their feet.
"Good." said the Doctor distractedly. "Bed." He sighed heavily and headed toward the staircase. "Same rules apply. If I'm screaming in my sleep, just let me be." He spun around, pointing an accusing finger at Rory. "That means you."
Rory ignored him. Longer lives meant more nightmares, the Doctor consistently explained to him, and there was no need to come into his room in the night to comfort him. But Rory always did.
"I'm not going to be able to sleep." said Amy.
"Me either." said the Doctor moodily, climbing the stairs. Rory followed him up, sure that he wouldn't be getting any sleep either. But time travel was hard work, and he was asleep before his head hit the pillow.
ooo
He woke up early. Or as early as he could assume, seeing as the Doctor refused to keep clocks in the TARDIS. Time was useless in there anyway, and the timelord always insisted that the tick-tock noise drove him mad. Amy, beside him was still asleep. For a second he hoped, childishly that it had all been a dream, but deep inside him he knew it hadn't. He sat up, and, careful not to wake Amy, swung his legs over the side of the bed.
The nursery where Melody slept attached to their room through a large set of double doors. He eased them open as silently as he could, not wanting to wake his daughter. He needn't have worried. She slept on, her tiny chest rising and falling with each breath. He stood for a long time, just admiring her. Then, as gently as he could, he lifted her in his arms.
He walked to the window, cradling his sleeping daughter. The windows in the TARDIS fascinated him. How they could even exist, he was still unclear on, the Doctor's long winded explanations holding no significance to him, but he enjoyed the fact that they did indeed exist. It gave him a semblance of home to hold onto, despite being able to see nothing outside these particular windows but stars.
He looked out at the stars with his daughter, they way he was sure he'd never be able to again. And then , watching the tiny points of light in the sky twinkle and fade, he sang.
He sang the song twice, and when he had reached the end for the second time, he kissed Melody's forehead and placed her back in the crib. He left the room silently, passing the bed where Amy slept and stepping out into the hallway. The carpet in the corridor muffled his footsteps as he walked toward the Doctor's room.
The door was very heavy, made of some dark alien wood he didn't recognize. With some difficulty, he eased it open and peered in.
The Doctor's bed was empty.
Rory finally found him in the console room. The timelord sat on a chair, his knees hugged to his chest, his chin on his knees. He stared at the console. Rory hesitated, unsure whether or not to speak.
"I know you're there, Rory." said the Doctor suddenly, without looking away. Rory, feeling suddenly guilty, stepped forward. "You weren't in your bed. I was worried you were sleepwalking -"
"That happened once -"
"Into the swimming pool!"
"I woke up!"
"Because you were drowning!"
The Doctor pulled a face and went back to staring at the console. Rory pulled up a chair next to him and sat down.
"Are you okay?" Rory asked automatically.
"No." said the Doctor quietly. Rory, surprised at his honesty, could think of nothing to say.
There was a long silence in where they both struggled to find words.
"I don't deserve you." said Rory finally, feeling tears sting in his eyes.
The Doctor looked at him. "I don't deserve you, either."
Nothing more was said. They sat side by side in the console room, lost in their own thoughts. Rory was the first to break the silence.
"Come on." he said suddenly, standing up. "You're going to bed. You need to rest."
"I'm not tired."
"Yes you are. Come on."
The Doctor obeyed with surprisingly little objection, allowing Rory to lead him to his room. He sat down heavily on the bed.
"Go to sleep." said Rory sternly, turning to leave.
"Rory." called the Doctor before he had reached the door.
"What?"
The Doctor gave him the tiniest of smiles. "You're a good doctor."
Rory returned the smile. "Thank you." he said.
He shut the heavy door behind him as he left. Tomorrow there'd be more danger. But tonight was silent. Tonight there was peace.
