Flesh and Stone, Part 2
It didn't take them long until they finally reached the Primary Flight Deck. It looked similar to the first Flight Deck from the outside, only there seemed to be small hatch in the middle of the hull. River stood guard, her gun ready as she stood on a root to gain extra height, scanning the forest with her eyes, while Octavian examined the outer hull of the Flight Deck, trying to find a way inside. The Doctor and the Hatter stood off to the side together, their heads bent as they fiddled with River's computer, looking up every now and again as the lights around them flickered.
"It doesn't open it from here," Octavian muttered as he continued trying to find a way inside, "But it's the Primary Flight Deck," he stepped closer to the hatch, kneeling beside it, "This has got to be a service hatch or something".
"Hurry up and open it," River called over her shoulder to him, "Time's running out".
"What?" the Doctor's head snapped around to look at her, startled, "What did you say?" he frowned, "'Time's running out,' is that what you said?"
"Yeah," she nodded, sighing slightly, "I just meant…"
"No, but what if that's possible?" the Hatter remarked quickly, her mind racing as her eyes meet the Doctor's, "What if that could happen?"
"What if what could?"
"Time," the Doctor said slowly, catching on, "What if time could run out?"
"Got it!" Octavian announced, managing to open the hatch, finding it leading into a small tunnel.
"Cracks," he began, shifting on the spot, unable to stay still as his mind raced, "Cracks in time, time running out…"
"But could that really happen?" the Hatter frowned thoughtfully, shaking her head, feeling a little silly for even entertaining the idea. She had always been taught that time was a constant, that as long as the Universe had been around, so had time, and yet...what if it was possible for time to run out, after all? Time was such a complex thing, not even the Time Lords could have claimed to have known everything about it, which meant that just because no one had considered it before, that didn't make it impossible. How many other scientific discovery had been treated in a similar way and yet been proven to be true in the past?
The Doctor turned and pointed towards her, "But how is a duck pond a duck pond if there aren't any ducks?" he countered. She inclined her head in agreement, having to admit that he did have a very good point there, "And she didn't recognises the Daleks!" he reminded her.
"Yes, those are very good points," she agreed, nodding slowly, "Right, so time can shift, we know that".
"Time can change," he added as River glanced at them, seeming to struggle just to follow their conversation, "Time can be rewritten…ah! Oh!" he gasped, whirling around to face the Hatter, grabbing her shoulders as she grabbed his, looking at each other with wide eyes.
Octavian cast them a quick look before shaking his head, "Doctor Song, get through, now," he gestured to River, leaning back from the opened hatch to give her room. River hurried over to the hatch and he helped her climb through, glancing over to the Time Lords, "Doctor, Hatter?" but they hardly seemed to hear him, "Sir? Ma'am?"
The Doctor mimed turning something clockwise in the air before turning it anticlockwise before him, his head snapped back to the Hatter, "Time can be unwritten…" he breathed, the corning of his mouth twitching in amazement.
"This is…" the Hatter trailed off, breaking into a stunned laugh, shaking her head, "I mean, this…it explains so much!" she exclaimed, almost jumping on the spot in her excitement, "This has been happening around us for ages and we haven't even noticed!"
Octavian sighed and looked over to them, "We have to move," he tried to tell them.
"The Cyberking!" the Doctor gasped, remembering the adventure, "A giant Cyberman walks over all of Victorian London and no one remembers!"
"We have to move it!" he stepped over to them, eyeing the trees around them warily, "The Angels could be here any second…" he reached out to touch the Doctor's shoulder.
He shrugged off his hand, "Never mind the Angels, there's worse here than Angels!" he shook his head.
Suddenly, the lights went out and Octavian inhaled shakily, making the Time Lords whirl around, just as the lights came back on to find an Angel standing behind Octavian, it's arm around his neck.
Octavian clutched at the arm around his neck, trying to pull it away, "I beg to differ, sir," he breathed quietly.
The Doctor flashed his sonic at the Angel as the Hatter carefully stepped closer towards Octavian, her eyes flickering back and forth between the two, horrified, "Let him go," he ordered.
"Well, it can't let me let me go, sir, can it? Not while you're looking at it".
"I'm sorry, Bishop, but it will kill you if we look away," the Hatter reminded him gently, looking at him sadly.
"It's going to kill me anyway," he replied, "Think it through. There's no way out of this, you have to leave me".
"Can't you wiggle out?" the Doctor asked, sounding hopeful.
He tried to move before shaking his head, "No, it's too tight. You have to leave me. There's nothing you can do," he insisted, sighing slightly, seeing how reluctant they both where to move, "Sir, ma'am, there's nothing you can do".
"We can't just leave you," the Hatter shook her head stubbornly, swallowing, "If we leave you here…you'll die. We can't just let that happen!"
"Yes," he nodded, "Yes, I'm dead. And before you go…"
"We're not going!" they cut across him quickly.
"Listen to me, it's important! You can't trust her".
"Trust who?" the Doctor frowned, glancing at the Hatter, both already having a pretty good idea.
"River Song," he clarified, his voice still soft as he looked back and forth between them, clearly wanting them to understand just how important it was, "You think you know her, but you don't. You don't understand who or what she is".
"Than just tell us," the Hatter told him, keeping her voice calm despite her hearts pounding in her chest. She doubted that he would tell them anything specifically, but whatever it was that he knew, it was important enough that he would use his last few minutes alive to try and warn them, and that said a great deal about just who or what they might be dealing with when it came to River Song.
"I've told you more than I should. Now please, you have to go. It's your duty to your friends".
The Doctor eyed him, "Just tell us why she was in Stormcage?"
Octavian swallowed, his face falling, "She killed people, good people. Heroes too many".
The Time Lords tensed, both swallowing thickly, and the Hatter couldn't help but wonder if trusting River right from the beginning had been the best idea after all.
"Who?" the Doctor asked quietly, dreading the answer.
"You don't want to know, sir," Octavian gave them a pointed look, shaking his head as much as he could, "You really don't".
"Please, who did she kill?" the Hatter repeated, forcing her voice to remain steady.
"Sir, ma'am, the Angels are coming," he avoided the questioned, looking over their shoulders towards the trees, his voice turning firm, "You have to leave me!"
The Doctor looked at him for a long moment, really not wanting to leave him behind, "You'll die," he reminded him.
"I will die in the knowledge that my courage did not desert me at the end. For that, I thank God, and bless the path that take you both to safety".
"I'm so sorry, Bishop," the Hatter said sadly, giving him a weak smile, "I wish things had been different, that we had got a chance to know you better".
"I think, ma'am, you know me at my best".
The Doctor took a deep breath, "Ready?"
Octavian closed his eyes, "Content".
"Goodbye, Bishop," the Hatter sighed heavily, pulling off her hat in preparation, knowing that she wouldn't be able to wear it while moving through the hatch.
The Doctor nodded to him and grabbed the Time Lady's hand, turning and making a dash for the hatch. The blonde dived through first, quickly followed by the Doctor as a sickening crunching sound came from behind them. The moment they were through, he closed the hatch behind him and flashed his sonic at it.
"There's a teleport," River announced, looking up from where she was fiddling with a piece of equipment across the other side of the Primary Flight Deck, kneeling on the floor, "If I can get it to work, we can beam the others here…"
"Brilliant idea," the Hatter remarked, climbing back onto her feet as she wiped the cuff of her shirt over her eyes, trying to remove any traces of tears. She took a deep, steady breath and pulled her hat back on as she hurried around the rest of the controls to join River.
The other woman flashed her a smirk, "I learnt from the best, honeykins," she gave her a wink but it was quickly replaced with a frown when she noticed that the Time Lady smiled weakly in return. She looked over to the hatch and her frown deepened, "Where's Octavian?"
"Octavian's dead," the Doctor informed her bluntly, making her look at him sharply, her eyes widening. He marched over towards them, running his eyes over the damaged controls, "So is that teleport. You're wasting your time".
"I wouldn't say that so quickly, Doctor," the Time Lady gave him a look before directing her attention back to the teleport controls, inwardly wincing at the mess of cables and wiring. She had to admit, it wasn't looking good, but with River's help, they ought to have a good chance of fixing it and getting it up and running again. Besides, she had an idea of just what they might be able to use the teleport for, "I always was a dab hand at fixing the near impossible," she continued, the corner of her mouth twitching, "And teleports have always been a bit of a speciality of mine. I built the one that sent us to the Capital when we were trapped in the Death Zone, remember?"
"Vividly," he sighed, running a hand down his face, "It's hard to forget holding you in my arms while you were seconds away from regenerating, dear".
"That almost sounds romantic…well, aside from the regenerating part. I vaguely recall basically calling Borusa, Flavia, and the Castellan all idiots before fainting, too, which is a little embarrassing".
He smiled faintly, almost laughing as he recalled that, but he quickly forced himself to focus. He turned to River, who was simply watching them with an amused expression, "I'm going to need your communicator," he reached across and grabbed River's comm. device, flashing his sonic across it.
The comm. crackled with static for a moment as he stepped over to a second control panel, "Hello?" Amy's voice came over a moment later, sounding panicked, making them all sigh relief to know that she was still alive, "Hello? Please say you're there. Hello? Hello?"
"Amy?" the Doctor called back over it, breaking into a smile, "Amy, is that you?"
"Doctor?" she breathed.
"Where are you?" he asked urgently as the Time Lady knelt on the floor and disappeared under one of the controls, fiddling with the wires, "Are the Clerics with you?"
"They've gone. There was a light and…they walked into the light, Doctor, they didn't even remember each other".
He sighed heavily as the Hatter pocked her head around the edge of the controls, shaking her head sadly, "No, they wouldn't," he nodded.
River stepped around the controls, looking curious, "What is that light?"
"Time energy," the Hatter told her grimly, "It's spilling out of the crack and if you get caught in that…" she trailed off, wincing.
"Amy, I'm sorry," the Doctor turned back to the device in his hand, "We made a mistake. We should never have left you there".
"Well, what do I do now?" Amy questioned.
"You come to us," he told her, flickering a couple of switches on the control before him, "The Primary Flight Deck, the other end of the forest".
"I can't see! I can't open my eyes".
He lifted the device away from his mouth and flashed his sonic at it, "Turn on the spot," he said to her.
"Sorry, what?"
"Just do it!" he cut across her quickly, growing frustrated with her, "Turn on the spot. When the communicator sounds like my screwdriver, that means you're facing the right way. Follow the sound," he paused, listening as a whirring sound came from the other end, growing faster before it sounded like his sonic, "You have to start moving now," he called to her over the sound, "There's Time Energy spilling out of that crack, and you have to stay ahead of it".
"But the Angels, they're everywhere," Amy argued, sounding fearful. The Hatter winced from where she was sitting on the floor, trying to untangle a cable, wishing that she could try to comfort the girl.
"I'm sorry, I really am," he nodded quickly, "But the Angels can only kill you".
"What does the Time Energy do?"
"Just keep moving!"
"Tell me!" she demanded.
The Hatter quickly pulled herself back onto her feet, casting the Doctor a concerned look, seeing how upset he was getting, "Sweetheart, let me explain it to her," she walked over to him and took his free hand, giving it a tight squeeze as he took a deep breath, closing his eyes at the touch, "You're getting worked up, which isn't going to help anyone right now. Just take a step back and calm down a bit, okay?" she fixed him with a look that clearly said not to bother arguing with her.
He opened his mouth before seeming to think better of it, and handed the comm. over to her as River stepped around the teleport control, picking up where the Time Lady left off. He had to admit that the stress and worry was beginning to affect him more then he would have liked and that he could feel it starting to bubble over. The Hatter was right, he did need to step back before he ended up saying something he regrated.
"Right, then," the Hatter lifted the device up to her mouth, "Hello, Amy".
"Hatter?" Amy asked, sounding surprised, "What happened to the Doctor?"
"Oh, he's right here, you just focus on walking," she assured her, glancing at the Doctor beside her, "Now, if the Time Energy manages to catch up to you, then you will have never been born," she explained to her, keeping her voice calm in an attempt to stop Amy from panicking even more, though, she doubted if that would work, "Basically, it will erase every moment of your entire life. You will never have lived at all".
She handed the device back to the Doctor, who took it and brought it up to his mouth, "Now, keep your eyes shut and keep moving," he ordered her sternly.
"It's never going to work," River remarked from across the room, shaking her head as she continued working on the teleport.
"What else have you got?" the Doctor suddenly shouted, turning on her as she flinched, "River, tell me!"
"That's enough!" the Hatter said loudly, stepping around in front of him, giving him a sharp look, "Believe me, I get it, Doctor," she began, lowering her voice back to its normal level, "I'm scared for Amy and worried about her, too, but shouting won't fix this. You need to calm down and focus, that's what Amy needs us to do right now so that we can save her, which we will. Now," she took a deep breath, softening her gaze as she reached up and placed a hand on his cheek, "Sweetheart, you focus on keeping Amy moving, River and I only need a bit more time before we can get her to safety, but until then, you need to stay calm," she sighed heavily, "I hate seeing you get so upset".
He winced, looking ashamed of the way he had shouted at River, "You're right," he admitted, meeting the Time Lady's eyes, "I…shouldn't have shouted. Sorry, River," he looked over to her.
River opened her mouth, when a loud clanging sound came from overhead, startling them. She gasped, "What's that?" she asked, alarmed.
The Hatter tilted her head up at the ceiling, "That's the Angels trying to run from the crack," she explained to River, "They came here to feed on the Time Energy, but now that energy is going to feed on them".
The Doctor grabbed his sonic and flashed it at the comm., "Amy, listen to me," he called over it as the Time Lady stepped back over to help River with the teleport, "I'm sending a bit of software to your communicator. It's a proximity detector. It'll beep if there's something in your way. You just manoeuvre till the beeping stops. Because, Amy…" he lowered his sonic, "…this is important. The forest is full of Angels," he closed his eyes tightly, sighing, "You're going to have to walk like you can see them".
"Well, what do you mean?" Amy asked, sounding as if she was frowning.
He shook his head, "Look, just keep moving".
"That Time Energy," River said slowly, a little wary of just how the Doctor might react to the question, even now, when he seemed to have calmed down. She looked at the Hatter as she stood by the teleport controls, hitting a couple of switches, "What's it going to do?"
The Hatter paused, grimacing, "Continue to eat," she answered.
"How do we stop it?"
"Well…" her grimace grew as she looked over to her, "By feeding it, I suppose".
"Feed it what?"
"Ah, a lovely big, quite complicated space time event should keep it happy for a little while".
"Like what, for instance?"
Her hand rose to toy with her bowtie as she swallowed, glancing at the Doctor, who was listening tensely, "The Doctor and I would do," she eventually replied, her voice sounding soft, "Or just one of us would work, too".
River stared at her, horrified, when a high-pitched beeping sound came from the comm. device.
"What's that?" Amy came over, sounding worried, obviously hearing the beeping.
The Doctor took a deep breath, running a hand down his face as he lifted the device up to his mouth, "It's a warning," he informed her, keeping his voice calm, "There are Angels round you now," the Hatter looked at the device nervously, "Amy, listen to me," he continued, "This is going to be hard but I know you can do it. The Angels are scared and running, and right now they're not interested in you. They'll assume you can see them and their instincts will kick in. All you've got to do is walk like you can see," he closed his eyes tightly, "Just don't open your eyes. Walk like you can see," he opened his eyes and they waited, but silence fell, "You're not moving," he sighed, "You have to do this," still, nothing, "Now. You have to do this!" he began hitting the controls in front of him in frustration.
"Come on, Amy," the Hatter muttered, growing even more anxious for the girl, "Come on, you can do this".
They listened closely and after a moment, the beeping grew faster before slowing, and they could hear Amy gasp loudly on the other end. The beeping slowed, speeding up after a moment before slowing once more, when there was suddenly a loud thud and what sounded like Amy yelping distantly.
"Doctor?" Amy cried out, "I can't find the communicator! I dropped it," her voice grew even more frantic, "I can't find it, Doctor! Doctor…Doctor! Doctor…!"
"Here we go!" the Time Lady called brightly, slamming her hand down on a button on the teleport control, finally managing to get it working, and in the nick of time.
A bright white light filled the room and Amy appeared as the light faded and River caught her, pulling the red head into her arms.
"Don't open your eyes!" River told her quickly, helping to steady her as Amy stumbled, "You're on the Flight Deck. The Hatter and I teleported you," she shot the Doctor a smirk, "See? The Hatter and I said we could get it working".
The Doctor grinned at her, "Ha, ha!" he laughed, pointing at her before turning to the Hatter, wrapping his arm around her waist as the Time Lady smiled cheekily at him, "Oh, I could bloody kiss you, dear," he murmured, leaning closer to her.
"And you said we were wasting our time," the Hatter mock scolded, shaking her head at him, "Perhaps you ought to have considered kisses before making that remark".
"So…I don't even get to kiss my brilliant wife just because her husbands a silly, old idiot?"
"Oi!" she lightly smacked his arm, "Be careful about calling yourself old, there's only a four month age gap between us".
He groaned, dropping his head onto her shoulder, "Nothing I say is going to make things any better here, is it?"
She laughed and lifted his head, cupping his cheek, "You are just so easy to tease, sweetheart," she commented, placing a lingering kiss on his lips before pulling away with a cheeky smirk as he tried to prolong the kiss.
He opened his eyes, trying to give her an annoyed look but his smile ruined it, "You really are a tease, dear," he muttered, shaking his head.
Before the Hatter could resort, an alarm began blearing throughout the room.
"What's that?" River asked, frowning as she looked around.
The Doctor stepped back over to the controls, looking down at the readings, "The Angels are draining the last of the ship's power," he informed them, looking up from the controls, "Which means…" he grabbed the Hatter's hand and they moved to stand in front of the doors leading out into the forest, "The shield's going to release," he finished, eyeing the doors.
The sound of air being released sounded and slowly, the shield rose, revealing all the Angels standing before them just out of reach of the blinding light of the Time Energy, one of them looked directly at the Time Lords, holding a comm.
"Ah," the Hatter narrowed her eyes at the Angel with the comm. device, not looking pleased, "So, you must be Angel Bob, yes?"
"The Time Field is coming," Bob called to them over the comm., "It will destroy our reality".
"Yeah, and look at you all, running away," the Doctor scoffed at him, "What can I do for you?"
"There is a rupture in time. The Angels calculate that if you throw you or the Hatter into it, it will close, and they will be saved".
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," he nodded, "Could do, could do that. But why? You tried to emotionally manipulate my wife, remember?"
"Your friends would be saved".
"Well, there is that. Still, you tried to hurt…"
The Hatter cleared her throat, squeezing his hand, "Let's not go there again, Doctor," she said quickly, giving him a pointed look.
River stepped closer to the Time Lords, "I've travelled in time," she tried, glancing at the Angels, "I'm a complicated space-time event, too. Throw me in".
"Not a chance," the Time Lady shook her head firmly, casting her a small frown, "Besides, no offence, but compared to myself or the Doctor, these Angels would be more complicated then you, and it would take all of them to amount to either one of us".
"Exactly," the Doctor agreed with her, focusing his attention back on the Angels, "So get a grip".
"Hatter, Doctor, I can't let you do this…" River began stubbornly.
"No, seriously," he glanced at her, the corner of his mouth twitching, "Get a grip".
"You're not going to die here!"
"River, we mean it," the Hatter told her, flashing her a quick wink as she pulled her hat off, ready to stick the brim in her mouth as she grabbed a bar behind her on the controls. She gave her a pointed look, "Amelia, River, get a grip".
River stared at her, frowning, when her eyes caught sight of her hand clutching onto the railing behind her, "Oh, you geniuses!" she breathed, catching on as she turned and hurried over to Amy.
"Sir, ma'am," Bob called to them, gaining their attention, "The Angels need you to sacrifice yourself now".
"Thing is, Bob," the Doctor began calmly, trying hard not to smile, "The Angels are draining all the power from this ship, every last bit of it. And you know what?" he raised his eyebrows, "I think they've forgotten where they're standing. I think they've forgotten the gravity of the situation. Or to put it another way, Angels…"
River grabbed Amy's hand and pulled her over to one of the controls, placing her hand on the bar attached to it, "You hold on tight and don't let go for anything," she told her firmly, keeping her voice low as she grabbed the bar beside Amy's.
"Night-night," he finished, grinning cheekily before whirling around and grabbing hold of another bar beside the Hatter's, just as the gravity failed and they were all lifted off their feet, only just saving themselves from being dragged into the crack by their grasp on the bars, but the Angels weren't as lucky as they were all thrown backwards, disappearing into the white light of the Time Energy, gone for good.
….
Eventually, once the crack had closed and disappeared, the backup power had come on, restoring the gravity. Much to Amy's disappointment, they were all forced to make their way back through the ship and the Maze, since there wasn't enough power to teleport up to the beach, but at least there returning trip was far less frightening now without the threat of the Angels hanging over them.
Amy sat on a rock a short distance from the TARDIS with a blanket that the Hatter had grabbed from the time machine wrapped around her shoulders, taking a moment to simply enjoy watching the waves of the ocean. Now that she was allowed to open her eyes, everything just seemed so beautiful, even the cloudy, grey sky that looked as if it was about to start pouring any minute looked wonderful.
"How do you feel?" the Hatter asked her from where she stood beside the Doctor, the Time Lords hands entwined.
"Ah…" Amy groaned slightly, "Bruised everywhere".
"Me too," the Doctor nodded.
The Hatter shook her head at him, looking amused. He seemed to be the only one who actually did manage to get out without a single bruise, even River had a couple, and the one on her knee still throbbed every time she put her weight on it, but she hadn't been able to check to see just how big it was without taking her boots off.
"You didn't have to climb out with your eyes shut," the red head resorted.
"You didn't either," the Time Lady replied, casting her a small smile, "The Angels all fell in the Time Field, which means that the Angel within your mind never existed in the first place," she shrugged, "It can't hurt you if it never existed".
She frowned, "Then why do I remember it at all?" she questioned, sounding confused, "Those guys on the ship didn't remember each other".
"You're a time traveller now, Amy," the Doctor reminded her, giving her a small smile, "It changes the way you see the Universe…forever," Amy slowly returned the smile, "Good, isn't it?"
"And the crack, is that gone too?"
The Hatter sighed slightly, exchanging a wary look with the Doctor, "For the time being," she eventually answered, her tone turning grim, "But the explosion that caused it is still happening," her eyes drifted off towards the ocean, watching the wave's crash gently against the cliff surrounding the beach cove, "And it's happening out there, somewhere in time and space…" she trailed off, looking back to Amy, giving her a comforting smile as she noticed the girls worried look, "It'll be okay, though, I'm sure".
"There's River," the Doctor suddenly said, nodding across the beach to where River stood with her hands cuffed a short distance away with a couple of clerics, who had stayed behind.
"We ought to say goodbye," the Time Lady remarked, glancing at Amy, "We'll be back in a tick".
They walked over to River, who looked at them as she noticed them approaching, smirking, "You, me…" she held up her cuffed hands as they beeped, "…handcuffs. Must it always end this way?"
The Hatter struggled to hold back a wince, recalling just what happened the last time they encountered River with handcuffs involved. She tried to fix a smile to her face, but she doubted it was very convincing, "So, what happens now?" she asked her curiously, "To you, I mean?"
"The prison ships in orbit," River told them, "They'll beam me up any second," she smiled faintly, "I might have done enough to earn a pardon this time. We'll see".
The Doctor eyed her carefully for a moment, "Octavian said you killed people," he said meaningfully.
Her smile faded almost at once, "Yes, I did," she agreed.
"Good people," the Hatter added softly.
"Very good people," she nodded, swallowing, "The best people I've ever known".
"Who?" the Doctor questioned, unable to stop himself, despite knowing that she wouldn't answer. He felt his hearts racing in his chest and he tightened his grip on the Hatter's hand, feeling fear spread through him.
"It's a long story. It can't be told, it has to be told. No sneak previews. Well…" she paused, giving them a cheeky wink, "Except for this one. You'll see me again quite soon, when the Pandorica opens".
He shook his head, exchanging a wide smile with the Time Lady, "The Pandorica, ha!" he laughed.
"That's just a fairy tale, River," the Hatter grinned, looking highly amused.
River laughed along with them, "Oh, Hatter, aren't we all?" she smirked, giving them a nod, "I'll see you two there".
The Time Lady tipped the brim of her hat to her, exchanging a quick look with the Doctor, "Well, it certainly sounds like fun," she commented, very intrigued by the idea, "I look forward to it".
"I remember it well".
Amy stepped over to them, "Bye, River," she smiled at her.
"See you, Amy," River looked at her, returning the smile, just as her cuffs beeped loudly, catching her attention, "Oh!" she looked down to them, "I think that's my ride".
"Can we trust you, River Song?" the Doctor asked her quickly, eyeing her.
"If you like," she shrugged before laughing again, "But where's the fun in that?"
And with that, River disappeared in a swirl of sand, along with the rest of the clerics.
The Doctor sighed slightly and let go of the Hatter's hand to wrap his arm around her waist, turning to watch the waves on the ocean. They simply watched for a long moment, both Time Lords thinking over everything they had learned as Amy stepped closer to them.
"What are you thinking?" Amy questioned, eyeing there thoughtful expressions.
"Time can be rewritten," the Doctor muttered quietly.
For a few more minutes they continued to watch the waves before deciding it was time to leave and heading over to the TARDIS. The Doctor slipped his key into the lock and they made their way inside, stepping up to the console as the Time Lords set to work on the controls, sending them off into the Time Vortex as Amy sat on the console chair, watching them work with a strange look on her face.
The Hatter couldn't help but note that the red heads eyes seemed to be fixed on the Doctor's back, watching every move he made like a hawk with that same expression on her face that she couldn't quite work out. She felt a small spark of concern as she lowered her eyes back down to the controls before her, reaching out to ideally flick a switch, wondering just what was going through Amy's head.
"I want to go home," Amy spoke after a long moment of silence, her eyes still only on the Doctor.
The Time Lady's eyes snapped back over to her, surprised by her sudden request but she supposed that she really ought not to have been after everything that had happened to the girl.
The Doctor's face fell, making sure to keep his back to her, "Okay," he nodded, his voice quiet.
Amy smiled slowly and stood, "No, not like that!" she shook her head, moving to stand closely by his side as the Hatter tilted her head curiously, looking around the Time Rotor, taking note that once again, the red head only had eyes for one person. She almost felt invisible, to be perfectly honest, "I just…" she continued, "I just want to show you something," the Doctor looked at her, "You're running from River. I'm running too".
….
The Doctor and the Hatter found themselves sitting on the edge of Amy's bed next to the red head, staring at the wedding gown that was hanging on the open door of her wardrobe across from them. The Time Lady had known that Amy was hiding something from them, but she hadn't quite expected that it was the fact she was getting married, though, she was almost positive she knew who the groom was.
"Well…" the Doctor remarked after a moment, eyeing the dress in surprise.
"Yeah," Amy nodded, her eyes still seeming glued to him. The blonde would have been sure she was invisible had the Doctor not taken her hand when they first sat down.
"It's a lovely dress, Amy," the Hatter sent her a smile around the Doctor.
"Thanks," the red head returned to the smile briefly, her eyes drifting back to the Doctor's face almost at once.
"Blimey!" the Doctor exclaimed.
"I know. This is the same night we left, yeah?"
The Hatter sniffed the air, "Yep," she replied, "You've only been gone for five minutes".
Amy leaned across to her bedside table and picked up a little red ring box, popping it open to show them her diamond engagement ring, "I'm getting married in the morning".
The Doctor took the box and frowned at it, "Why did you leave it here?" he asked, glancing at the Hatter, his eyes drifting down to the two rings sitting on her own finger. She only ever took her engagement and wedding ring off if she was swimming, showering, or tinkering with something that might be greasy or end up getting snagged on her rings for safety, but she always had them back on immediately after. He was the same with his own wedding ring.
"Why did I leave my engagement ring when I ran away with a strange man the night before my wedding?" she raised her eyebrows at him, her tone sounding almost flirty.
"And my wife," he added, seeming to notice that she hadn't mentioned the Hatter. The Time Lady cast Amy surprised look at her tone, "But, yeah," he shrugged, looking curious.
Amy laughed, taking the box back, "Hmm, you really are an alien, aren't you?"
"Okay," the Hatter stood suddenly, feeling a little uncomfortable by just how flirty Amy was being. She wasn't jealous or threatened at all, but it was just a little bit too much for her to sit there and listen to another woman try flirting with her husband, "Ah…I think I'm going to get cleaned up," she said quickly, ignoring the Doctor's small, concern frown as he looked at her, completely oblivious to Amy's gaze on him.
"Are you okay?" the Doctor questioned, watching her step over to the TARDIS, grabbing the door and opening it.
"I'm fine, sweetheart," she smiled back to him, shrugging, "It's just the stress of today catching up with me, also, I'm covered in dust and dirt, which isn't very pleasant," she glanced at Amy, "I'm very happy for you, Amy. I would love to hear about your wedding plans later," she gave them a final smile before slipping through the TARDIS doors and out of sight.
"Right…" he nodded slowly, still looking a little unsure before shaking his head, turning back to Amy, "Anyway, who's the lucky fellow?"
"You met him," Amy informed him, placing the ring box back on her bedside table, fixing him with an intent look.
"Ah, the good looking one..." he paused, glancing at her, "…or the other one?" he mimed a long nose.
She gave him an unimpressed look, "The other one," she lightly smacked his arm.
"Well, he was good too".
"Thanks," she smiled a little embarrassedly, laughing a little, "So, do you comfort a lot of people on the night before their wedding?" she asked him, her tone turning flirty again.
He frowned, looking confused, "Why would you need comforting?"
"I nearly died. I was alone in the dark, and I nearly died. And it made me think".
"Well, yes, natural. I think sometimes. Well, lots of times…usually about the Hatter…" Amy sighed loudly, closing her eyes in exasperation. He really was making things hard by talking about his wife all the time, "She says I should be careful or else I'll end up hurting myself…"
"About what I want," Amy cut across him, raising her eyebrows at him, "About who I want. You know what I mean?"
"Yeah…" he began nodding before quickly shaking his head, looking confused, "No".
"About who…" she gave him a pointed look, "I want".
"Oh, right, yeah…" he eyed her for a moment before frowning, shaking his head again, "No, still not getting it".
She sighed, but still remained determined, "Doctor, in a word, in one very simple word even you can understand…" she moved closer to him, almost climbing on top of him.
"No!" the Doctor yelped, trying to push her away, leaning as far away from her as he could, "You're getting married in the morning!" he managed to grab the bar at the end of the bed and climbed over it, "And I'm very happily married myself!"
Amy simply jumped off the bed, moving around towards him, "Well, the mornings a long time away…" she pushed him against the TARDIS doors and trapped him, smirking at him, "What are we going to do about that?" she pushed his bracers down his arms.
"Amy, listen to me," he quickly pulled his bracers back up, his eyes wide as he tried pushing her away, really not liking how close she was to him. What would the Hatter say? "I am nine hundred and seven years old," she tried to undo the buttons on his shirt and he pushed her hands away, "Do you understand what that means?" he managed to step away from her, turning around so that his back was facing the bed.
"It's been a while?" she followed him, trying to place her hand on the back of his neck.
He shoved her hands off him again, shaking his head, "No, only last night the Hatter and I…" he coughed, realising who he was talking, "Ah, never mind," she stepped closer to him and he leaned back, "Look, I'm nine hundred and seven, and look at me! The Hatter and I don't get older, we just change. You get older, we don't, and this…" he whirled back around to the TARDIS, trying to get away from her, waving a hand around, "Can't ever work, besides the fact that I'm married".
She laughed at him, "Oh, you are sweet, Doctor," she commented, "But I really wasn't suggesting anything quite so…" she stepped closer to him, trying to wrap her hands around his neck as he quickly pushed them off him, her voice growing lower, "…long term," she leaned towards his face, closing her eyes, about to kiss him…
"Amelia," the Doctor grabbed her shoulders and pushed her back a little rougher then he meant to, holding her at arm's length, his voice turning sharp, "I'm already married".
She sighed, rolling her eyes, "She never has to know, Doctor," she told him, trying to move closer to him, but his grip on her shoulders made it impossible, "Oh, come on. Just one night, it'll be our secret…"
"No," he cut her off, his voice taking on a dangerous edge that immediately made her close her mouth, "The Hatter is my wife and I would sooner die than ever even think about betraying her. She's my entire world, Amy, the reason why I wake up is because of her, and you think I would hurt her for even a second?" he shook his head, giving her a dark look.
Amy took a step back frown him, lowering her gaze to the floor, unable to meet his glare, "It was stupid," she muttered, moving around to sit on the edge of her bed, "I just…I knew it probably wouldn't work, but I needed to try".
He watched for a long moment, trying to calm down. He was furious at Amy that she would even think for one moment that he would hurt the Hatter like that, that he would ever betray their marriage, and to make matters even worse, that he would keep it from her, "And you," he began, his voice sounding cold, "You're supposed to be getting married in the morning…" something dawned on him and he blinked, the coldness in his voice fading, "In the morning," he repeated slowly.
She noticed the change and frowned, looking up, "Doctor?" she asked carefully, worried he might snap at her again.
"It's you," he breathed, his eyes drifting up to look at her, making her even more confused. Hadn't he already made it clear he wasn't interested in her? "It's all about you," he continued, "Everything! It's about you".
"What's going on?" she stared at him, growing even more nervous with how quickly his mood seemed to have shifted.
"Amy Pond," he stepped closer to her, "Mad, impossible, Amy Pond," he shook his head, "I don't know why, I have no idea, but quite possibly the single most important thing in the history of the Universe is that I get you sorted out right now," he reached across the bed and grabbed her arm.
"Would you make up your mind?" Amy huffed, yelping as he pulled her off the bed.
"Come on," he said firmly, pulling her towards the TARDIS.
"Doctor!" she called, very confused by exactly what was going on.
He pushed the TARDIS doors open and pushed her inside, glancing back across the room to the alarm clock on Amy's bedside table, just as it turned midnight, the 26th of June. He eyed it for a moment before following after the red head, shutting the doors behind him.
…
The Doctor immediately went looking for the Hatter, ignoring Amy's questions as he strolled through the console and down the hallways. He first checked their room, but she wasn't there, though, she had obviously been in there recently as there was still moisture in the air when he checked the bathroom. Next, he tried the closet kitchen, knowing her love of food, and finally, he found her.
She had her back to him as she stood at one of the benches, holding the kettle as she poured boiling water into a mug with a picture of a puppy wearing a top hat on it. Her companion, Katie, had bought it for her as a joke for their wedding, knowing that the Hatter was far more likely to enjoy a simple gift like that then a toaster or something, and she certainly had. She now had quite the collection of mugs with pictures of puppies or kittens wearing hats or bowties, much to his amusement.
"Cocoa, sweetheart?" the Hatter asked without turning to look at him, pushing a strand of damp hair out of her face. She had changed back into her usual clothing after showering, save for her boots, revealing the brightly coloured, striped socks she wore and she had left her waistcoat open, showing off her Gallifreyan pendant.
"Ooh, dangerous question, dear," he couldn't help but smile as he strolled across the room to join her, turning around to lean against the bench beside her, watching as she sat the kettle back down and picked up a spoon, stirring the contents of her cup, "You know, I once got engaged accepting a cup of cocoa…" he remarked, recalling the adventure during his First body.
"Yes, I know," the Time Lady replied, rolling her eyes slightly as she looked at him, "You tell me every time something to do with cocoa comes up. It's wearing a little thin, even for me, sweetheart…" she paused suddenly, a frown crossing her face, "Is something wrong?"
"Wrong?" he blinked, surprised.
"Something just seems a little…off about you," her eyes drifted over his shoulders, narrowing slightly, "You look tense. What happened now?" she sighed slightly, going back to stirring her cup.
"Amy's connected to the crack".
The Hatter cast him a look, not seeming to understand just how important that detail actually was, "I thought we already knew that. We found it in her bedroom wall, after all".
The Doctor ran a hand down his face, shaking his head, "No, I mean it's connected to her," he stressed and she frowned at him, still not seeming to understand, "Just then, in Amy's room, it was midnight when we left and guess what the date was?"
"I don't really see how…oh!" she gasped, her eyes widening in realisation as she made the connection, "Amy's wedding day," she said slowly and he nodded, growing excited now that she had caught on, "The 26th of June is her wedding day, which means that either the reception was the best party the Universe has ever seen or that something a lot less pleasant is going to happen".
"Our reception was pretty cool and nothing exploded," he couldn't stop himself from saying.
The blonde laughed, reaching across to pat his cheek lightly, "Well, then, that must mean whatever is going to cause the explosion wasn't Amy and Rory's wedding reception," she smiled at him.
His eyes snapped over to her, looking confused, "How did you know she's marrying Rory?" he questioned, "She could have been marrying the good looking one".
"What good looking one?"
"The…" he waved a hand around, feeling his cheeks heat up a little bit, "The one with the laptop".
"Oh, him," the Hatter tilted her head at him, raising her eyebrows, "You thought he was good looking?"
"You didn't?"
"Well, his staring, while flattering, was a little unsettling. Not to mention what he had on his laptop still haunts me. No, personally I thought Rory was better looking…for a human. Anyway, it was obviously Rory, he was mad on her when we first meet him".
The Doctor watched her as she picked up the spoon and stepped over towards the sink, knowing that he needed to tell her just what Amy had tried to do, "Speaking of Amy," he cleared his throat a little nervously. He knew that if someone had tried to do what Amy had done to him on the Hatter he would have thrown them into a black hole, "She…er…" he took a deep breath, closing his eyes, unable to think of any other way to say it, "She tried to kiss me".
A loud clatter of metal hitting against metal sounded throughout the room as the Hatter dropped the spoon in the sink, her mouth dropping open slightly as she spun back around to look at the Doctor, who cautiously opened his eyes, "She what?" she stared at him, her mouth snapping shut.
"And…" he inwardly winced, not quite sure what her reaction was going to be, "…tried to seduce me".
Silence filled the room as the Hatter could only stare at him, seeming unsure of just what to say, "When you say tried…" she began after a moment.
"I stopped her," he told her quickly, his voice firm. He felt a spark of anger remembering what Amy had tried to do, what she had suggested.
"I didn't doubt it for a second, sweetheart," she assured him, giving him a small smile, but it soon faded as she grew serious once more, "But when you say kissed, I assume you mean on the mouth," he nodded, "Right," she tilted her head at him, "Are you sure she was actually aiming for your mouth? I mean, it rather easy to aim for the cheek and get the corner of a person's mouth or fully on the lips if they move," she shrugged, "We've done that in the past".
"Yeah, I might have turned my head on purpose," he admitted quietly, avoiding her eyes.
The Hatter blinked at him, her cheeks colouring, "So every time…"
"Not every time," he said quickly, "Just…most of the time".
She sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of her nose, "I really have to rethink everything now, don't I?" she muttered more to herself then to him, but he couldn't help with smile slightly. After a moment, she looked back to him, "Anyway, back to Amy".
"I'm tempted to take her home and leave her after what she did".
The Hatter's eye widened slightly at the anger she could see written across his face, "By rights, we probably should," she agreed, stepping back over to him and pulling herself up onto the bench, grabbing her cup, "We've fulfilled our promise, and by doing what she did, she betrayed our trust," she inclined her head, "She's disrespected out marriage, possibly destroyed it had you not been…well, you," she gave him a smile, leaning across to kiss his cheek, "And not only that, she also almost destroyed her own impending marriage".
He pulled himself up on the bench beside her, tangling one of his legs with hers, making her smile broaden, "I sense a 'but' coming on," he commented, glancing at her sideways.
She took a moment to sip her cocoa, swallowing the warm, sweet liquid, "You know me so well".
"You know, if you want her to leave then I will be more than happy to support you in this. I was the one she tried to kiss and believe me, I'm not happy about it".
"I know you're not, sweetheart," she leant her head against his shoulder as he wrapped his arm around her waist, "But I do feel partial responsible. I saw the signs, though, I never expected she would ever do anything," she frowned slightly before sighing, "Even still, trust can be rebuilt, hurt and betrayal are feelings that can fade. We're both old enough to know that and before this happened, we worked well together, which is why…" she took a deep breath, lifting her head to meet his eyes, "I think we should give her one more chance, just the one, and this time I have an idea in mind of just what will prevent anything like this happening again".
"She tried to seduce and kiss me, and you still want her to travel with us?" the Doctor couldn't help but stare at her, shocked.
She gave him a small, wary smile, "Oh, don't think I'm not angry and hurt by what Amy did," she told him, her tone turning sharp, "I trusted Amy and she betrayed that trust, something that I have never found easy to forgive, but as I said, trust can be rebuilt and hurt feelings fade, and with this curious crack with its connection with Amy, we are going to have to find a way to move past this, aren't we?"
"That doesn't mean she has to travel with us…"
"Of course it does," she cut him off quickly, giving him a look, "Besides, as I said, we can move passed this, and if my idea actually works, then we should never need worry about Amy trying to do anything like she did tonight".
He eyed her curiously, "And what is this idea of yours?"
"Simple. We ask Rory to travel with us, which he will since Amy's travelling with us. We take them somewhere nice and romantic, let them reconnect with each other. It's a win-win situation. I like Rory, he kind of reminds me of my old companions, Rory and Amy get each other, plus time and space, and we need not worry about this happening again".
"That's to say that Amy loves Rory, I'm a little unsure after what she tried".
"She does," the Hatter assured him, smiling broadly as he gave her a skeptical look, "She does," she repeated confidently, "If Rory had been here, this wouldn't have happened. She loves him, I don't doubt that, she just needs to relies just how much she loves him. When you get used to something, you end up taking it for granted, and that's what happened with Amy. To her, Rory is boring village life, while you are space and time, going on mad adventures, now we just have to show her that Rory can be as much a part of those adventures as she can be".
The Doctor's mouth twitched, struggling to hold back a laugh, "We're playing matchmaker to an already matched couple?"
She seemed to consider him for a moment, "I suppose you could say that, yeah," she nodded, breaking into a smile as he laughed, shaking his head at her, "You could also say that we're rematching them with each other, too, but that makes them sound like missing socks".
"Aren't we all?" he grinned, dropping a kiss on top of her head.
"Doctor, did you just liken us to socks?"
"Ah, nice and clean, brightly coloured socks with pictures of hats and bowties on them".
They meet each other's eyes and burst out laughing.
Ooh, I've been waiting to write that kiss scene for ages. I was going to write a scene at the end with the Hatter and Amy talking, but I figured that it was a good time to end this chapter, so I'll probably end up turning it into a one-shot.
Next chapter, the Hatter has a naive moment, Amy's feeling guilty, and the Doctor remembers the worst bet he ever made. Tell me what you thought, please review :)
Guest reviews:
Guest: Ah, so like the Valeyard or the Dream Lord sort of thing? I've actually considered doing a Hatter version of the Dream Lord…or rather a Dream Lady as a spin-off story. Either way, I'll keep it in mind. Thanks for the suggestion and the review :)