The Wyvern

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"The Great and Endless Hunger, now where have I heard that before?" The Doctor mumbled pacing back and forth in the hut he and Amy had been shown to as night fell.

Amy lay facing him on her side on the cot, watching him bemused. "Why don't you go back to the TARDIS and look it up?" She asked sleepily.

"I told you, I'm not leaving you here alone." He replied.

"Fine, then pipe down so I can get some sleep!" Amy complained light heartedly, smiling at him to soften her words.

He looked down guiltily, as if suddenly realizing that she was trying to sleep, and closed the distance to the cot, lowering himself onto it. He stroked Amy's hair back from her face, smiling down at her. "I forget about sleep sometimes." He apologized. He slipped out of his shoes and stretched out facing her, waiting for her to turn her back to him and assume their normal sleeping positions.

Amy looked into his eyes, "you can't really be comfortable like that, can you?" She gestured to his bowtie, braces and trousers.

"I'm fine" he replied distractedly, still waiting for her to roll over.

She reached up and brushed his hair out of his eyes, mirroring his earlier action with her.

"You need a haircut." She observed, tucking a stubborn lock behind his ear.

His eyes closed and he sighed while a shiver raced down his spine at her touch.

"You OK?" she asked him. He nodded in reply, not trusting himself to speak.

Amy cupped his cheek in her hand. "You take care of all of us, but who takes care of you?"

He opened his eyes, "I'm fine Amy, really."

Amy looked unconvinced, and on a hunch combed her fingers through his hair, drawing it away from his face. Once again his eyes closed and his whole body shivered.

"It's alright, you know? To need people, and let yourself relax for a change." She chided him gently.

His eyes opened lazily, and gazed into her emerald eyes. Sometimes could see forever when he looked at her like this. A future stretched out before him, a future that included Amy. He could envision himself somehow figuring out how to extend her fleeting existence, and travelling with her to the end of his days. He shook himself out of his reverie.

"I do need you Amy, more than you can possibly imagine. Don't ever believe that I don't need you. You are the most important part of my life." He smiled sadly down at her.

She looked up at him, confused at the emotions she saw playing out across his face. There were times when he looked at her she could feel something inside of her connect with him, like pieces of a puzzle unexpectedly fitting together and the picture of her life suddenly coming into sharp focus; then his expression would become guarded and the picture would blur out of sight again. She sighed and started to turn over, then stopped. There was no window looking out into the universe here in this hut, nothing for her to gaze out at as she drifted off to sleep. She made a quick decision, and pushed his shoulder down so he was forced onto his back.

He looked at her, surprised, and let her guide him onto his back. She reached down and unclipped his braces, pushed them out of the way, pulled off his bowtie and tossed it aside, and putting her arm across his abdomen she snuggled into him. She rested her head on his chest. He couldn't see the smug smile on her face as she nestled into him, letting the rhythm of his beating hearts lull her to sleep.

With his arm around her shoulders, he pulled her closer to him, kissed the top of her head, and began stroking her hair with his free hand. He sighed in contentment and closed his eyes, unaware that Amy had just scored a personal victory. The two drifted off together, unaware of the presence of the trees in their minds.

Amy knew she was dreaming. She was walking through the forest, the Doctor a step ahead of her. They could feel their minds linked together, a link that was shared with the trees they wandered through dream. In this dream state, she could see the trees as living entities, not just as trees. Something was in the forest with them. The Doctor reached his hand back, and Amy took it, amazed at how tactile it was. She could feel the coolness of his hand, her own hand hot in contrast. He gripped her tightly, looking over his shoulder.

"Can you feel it? We're not alone." He acknowledged her uneasy nod.

"We're asleep, aren't we?" She asked, and he nodded in reply. "Is this like a Dream Lord thing again?"

He shook his head. "This is the trees. They want to show us something, and this apparently is the easiest way." He let go of her hand and turned front, they continued to make their way through the trees.

Amy looked around, taking note of the details of their dream journey. She could see the mountains to her left, and the sun rising behind them. Something seemed wrong. She suddenly realized what it was. They were on the other side of the mountains. She began to look around to see if she could see the ruined city. A whisper in the back of her mind told her it was too far away to see. They were being shown something else.

A roar echoed off the mountains and through the forest. The trees seemed lean away from the sound and to shudder in fright. Another roar, deeper and to her alarm much closer reverberated through the forest.

"No, that can't be!" The Doctor muttered. "Amy, pray that I'm wrong. I thought they all died out long ago, how can they be here now? If we're hearing what I think we're hearing, I'm not sure the Gamma Forests can be saved."

"What is it?" Amy asked fearfully.

"On earth, men would call it a Dragon. The creatures are an ancient race, as old as the universe itself." The Doctor explained. "They call themselves The Wyvern, they are the size of a building and they breathe fire when they are in an atmosphere with oxygen. They used to live in deep space, only coming to a planet or other bit of rock with an oxygen based atmosphere that could support carbon based life, in order to mate and bear their young. They would then depart when their young to hatched, the young then razing the planet, leaving only smoking ruins behind when they too departed."

"Dragon? You said dragon. You're telling me, we are dealing with space DRAGONS?" She demanded, slightly hysterical.

"I don't know for sure. I won't know until I see one." The Doctor said, looking eastward.

The sun was suddenly blocked, and an impossibly huge winged creature flew over them. It carried two giant trees in its talons, like twigs, and was greeted with another roar from its mate as it circled down towards where they were building their nest.

"Not good. That is very-very not good." The Doctor turned towards Amy in alarm, grabbing her hand. "Run!"

They awoke suddenly, both drenched in sweat and breathing hard as if they had been running for their lives. Her fear having manifested itself through her sleep, Amy found herself clinging to the Doctor. His arms were around her tightly protective. Their breathing eased, and their pulses slowed.

"That was real, wasn't it? I mean, it was a dream, but it was real." She asked him.

"Yes." He replied, an undercurrent of fear echoed in his words. "We need to go and see Lorana. Now. This won't wait until the morning."

They heard a scratch at the door; the Doctor got up and walked over to open it while fixing his clothes back to normal. He opened the door to find a group of women led by Lorana, and the expression on their faces told the Doctor that the dream had not been limited to Amy and him.

"We dream this every night." Her voice trembled. "You know these creatures?"

He nodded. "Yes, and you need to prepare your people to evacuate the planet. The Wyvern can't be stopped."

A look of unease came across the faces of the women.

"Doctor, we can't leave. If we leave here, the trees will be destroyed by that creature, and we cannot allow that to happen." Lorna informed him.

"You have a problem then. The Wyvern are extremely intelligent, but even more savage. Their drive to reproduce overrules what little sanity they have to begin with." He began pacing about the hut, "there are stories, old stories, of some contact with them in space. Usually those trying to make contact ended up as lunch. Some contact was made; I suppose the Wyvern weren't hungry at the time. Travelers found a way to communicate with them, and learned enough to know to avoid them after that. There is no evidence that anybody was ever able to communicate with them during a mating cycle."

"We must find a way to communicate with them or to drive them away. Surrendering the Gamma Forests to these creatures is not an option." Lorana replied. A look of grim determination was upon the faces of all the women.

The Doctor looked unhappy. "You're sure about this? You're sure you can't just…"

The look on their faces ended that line of thought.

"OK. We can try." He again began to pace about the hut, his face took on an excited anticipatory expression, like a child with a new toy. He turned to Amy, "we're going to need a plan. We need a giant net, a vast source of water, and bait."

A worried look came across Amy's face. "What exactly do you use to bait a creature like that?"

"Fish." The Doctor looked enormously pleased with himself, which did little to dissuade her alarm.

The Doctor turned back to the women of the Gamma Forests, reassured them, informed them that he would reveal his plan to them the following morning, and instructed them all to go back to bed for the night.

"Do you really have a plan?" Amy asked the worry on her face speaking the concern she was unable to verbalize.

"Yes. No. Sort of. This is a forested planet, and it only stands to reason that as with wood everywhere else in the universe, the forest is vulnerable to fire. That being said, there must be a way to prevent or fight fires that do occur." He paused for a breath. "I need to find what it is. If they don't have what is required, we need to help them invent it, and I really hope they have something already because we don't have time for that."

The Doctor put his arm around Amy's shoulder and guided her back to the cot. "Get some rest; we're going to be busy tomorrow."

Amy settled down while the Doctor remained standing. "You're not…?"

"I need to take a look around, without an escort this time." He replied. "I won't be long, try to sleep. I'll see you when you wake in the morning."

He bent over and to her surprise he kissed her on her cheek and not the top of her head, and then he turned and left abruptly.

He closed the door quietly behind him, and set out to find what type of fire apparatus was available. He could feel the presence of the trees in his mind, curious as to his intent. He sent his thoughts out to them, hoping they would understand what it was he was looking for. The trees seem to consider his thoughts, and sent back an image to him of a building on the outside of the community. He followed the route they showed him, and soon came upon of a small barn-like structure. Inside he discovered exactly what he wanted, if not a bit primitive, the community had a fully functioning portable pump with multiple hoses of varying lengths. To his surprise, he also found pipes that he followed to the river. The community had a virtually endless source of water, and the means with which to pump it out onto a fire anywhere within a reasonable distance from the river or other water source.

Satisfied, he made his way back to the hut, letting himself in quietly. He settled himself down next to Amy, who was curled up around a cushion and snoring softly. He spooned himself behind her, a feeling of comfort and familiarity coming over him. He inhaled deeply, taking in her scent of strawberries, and pulled her to him more closely.

The movement caused her to stir, and she rolled over to face him, still asleep. Her arm wrapped around his waist, and she snuggled into him, her breath warm against his neck sending chills coursing through his body. In her sleep, she nuzzled his ear, and her lips found their way along his jawline burning a trail to his mouth, and suddenly he couldn't stop himself. His passion took him by surprise, overwhelming all thought or reason, he found himself consumed with desire for this fantastic and amazing woman in his arms. He had dreamed about this more times than he could count, Amy in his arms returning his kiss. Her lips seemed as hungry for him as he was for her.

He didn't know when he became aware that she was awake. She was returning his kisses voluntarily and not just a response to a dream. He pulled back, looking into eyes. There was no question in her eyes, but to his surprise a passion looked back at him that seemed to match his own.

"Amy…" she choked his words off with another kiss.

"Shhh," she whispered. "Just please don't stop."

Their lips met again and electricity coursed through them both. Their blood pounded in their ears, and their minds were open to each other. He could see into her mind, feel what she had felt for him for all of those years since that first night he had met her as a child. He could see why she was doing this now; her fear of losing someone else she loved so soon after losing Rory was driving her into action before she was truly ready to move forward.

"No. Amy, stop." He pulled himself away from her, and her whimper at the sudden loss of contact was almost his undoing. "Not like this. Not now."

Tears filled her eyes and she started to turn away from him.

"Amy, look at me." He pulled her back around, his finger under her chin forcing her to look up at him. "You're doing this because you're afraid, and I won't let that happen." He kissed her cheek and pulled her into an embrace.

"I will show you, that nothing is going to happen to either of us. After you see that, and this is all over, you will see that there was nothing to fear. I won't have you regretting your actions tonight when that happens." He pulled back and looked into her eyes again. "There will never be regret between us Amelia. Not ever." He pulled her back into an embrace, and stroking her hair he rocked her softly until he felt her fall asleep.

Her kisses, and what he had seen in her mind, gave him hope. Hope for something he had not felt in almost 700 years. He closed his eyes, and for the first time in longer than he could remember, he allowed himself to fully remember his wife and children. The love he had felt for them in his youth had defined him, and gave him purpose in his life. The overwhelming grief that led to his madness when he lost all of his family except his infant granddaughter had almost destroyed him. If it hadn't been for that baby girl, he would have followed his wife gladly into oblivion, but his granddaughter Susan had taught him that he could go on, even when he did not wish to.

Now, this woman in his arms stirred up feelings in him he thought he would never experience again. Surely if he could love again, she could also, and a spark of hope in him burned with the possibility that they could find enough strength in each other to heal those wounds and bring them closer.

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