A/N - Oh, my goodness! We got to 200 and then some! Wow, you guys are brilliant. Not only will I thank you here, but I'm going to personally message each one of you. Seriously, thank you!

Disclaimer - I don't own Doctor Who. I only own my OC, Emma Walker.

You think you might cross over
You're caught between the devil and the deep blue sea
You better look it over
Before you make that leap

The four awoke in the now empty lounge of the retirement home. Emma groaned, quickly shoving Rory off of her and sitting up to look around. "Where did all the old people go?" Her confusion turned to anger when the Dream Lord strutted in, this time wearing a suit and holding an X-ray in his hand.

"This is bad. This is very, very bad." He approached them as they all stood. "Look at this X-ray. Your brain is completely see-through. But then, I've always been able to see through you, Doctor."

"Always?" Amy loomed over him. "What do you mean, always?"

"Now then, the prognosis is." As he spoke, the Doctor sat in the chair that Mrs. Poggit had occupied before. "If you die in the dream, you wake up in reality. Healthy recovery in next to no time. Ask me what happens if you die in reality."

Rory hesitantly took the bait. "What happens?"

"You die, stupid. That's why it's called reality."

"You know, I think I was right." Emma gave a sarcastic smile, crossing her arms over her chest. "You're just here to be the biggest arse in the universe." That said, she made her way to the Doctor and laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. Dream or not, she'd developed a bit of a maternal instinct and the look on his face reminded her of a child, so she couldn't bring herself to not comfort him.

"Have you met the Doctor before? Do you know him?" Amy stepped even closer to the Dream Lord, looking over to the Doctor for comfirmation. "Doctor, does he?"

"Now don't get jealous. He's been around, our boy. Never mind that. You've got a world to choose. One reality was always too much for you, Doctor." He approached the chair slowly. "Take two and call me in the morning." He made a hand gesture for a phone before he disappeared.

"Okay, I don't like him."

"The Devil probably doesn't even like him, Rory." Emma rolled her eyes as she rubbed the Doctor's shoulder gently. "Bloody maternal instinct..." She murmured under her breath and he looked up at her.

"What?"

"Nothing!" She averted her gaze.

"Who is he?" Thank God for Amy, changing the subject and crossing her arms over her chest.

"Don't know." The Doctor shrugged one shoulder, not wanting Emma to remove her hand. "It's a big universe."

"Why is he doing this?"

"Maybe because he has no physical form. That gets you down after a while, so he's taking it out on folks like us who can touch and eat and feel." He suddenly seemed to realize he was still wearing the jumper that Mrs. Poggit had knitted, so he stood and yanked it over his head.

"What does he mean, deadly danger?" Rory asked. "Nothing deadly has happened here. A bit of natural waste, obviously."

The Doctor turned around slowly, looking around the room. "They've all gone. They've all gone." He burst into a run, followed quickly by Emma and Rory, while Amy ran as fast as she could behind them. He stopped outside the door for a moment, watching the children run around a playground across the road.

"Why would they leave?"

"And what did you mean about Mrs. Poggit's nice, old lady act?"

He spun back around at Amy's question. "One of my tawdry quirks — sniffing out things that aren't what they seem. So," he slapped his hands together. "come on, let's think. The mechanics of this reality split we're stuck in...time asleep matches time in our dream world, unlike in conventional dreams." He started to walk away, but turned right back when Rory said,

"And we're dreaming the same dream at the same time."

"Yes, sort of communal trance, very rare, very complicated. I'm sure there's a dream giveaway. But my mind isn't working because this village is so dull! I'm slowing down, like you three have."

"Well, maybe we should see if we can fly in either of these dreams! That could tell us!" Emma snapped. Her anger quickly turned to concern when Amy cried out, grabbing at her stomach. "Amy?"

"Ow. Really. Ow!" She screamed. "It's coming!" She grabbed onto both Emma and the Doctor, almost dragging them both to the ground.

"Okay, okay!" The Doctor held a hand up, looking to Rory. "You're a doctor, help her!"

He snapped his head to the side to look at him, panic clear on his face. "You're a doctor!"

"It's okay, we're doctors!" He kneeled down, holding his hands out between her legs as if to catch the baby when it came out. "What do we do? Emma, you've had a baby in this world!"

"I don't know! I didn't take it out myself! However, I do know that it's not a ball, you idiot!" Emma smacked his shoulder, far different from the comfort she'd been trying to give him before. "You can't just catch it and then throw it to one of them!" She turned her attention back to her friend. "Amy, just take deep breaths, alright?"

That's when she stopped completely and anyone who happened to pass by wouldn't even be able to tell something had been going on. "Okay, it's not coming."

"What?" The Doctor rose to his feet.

"This is my life now and it just turned you white as a sheet. So, don't you call it dull again, ever. Okay?" She stared him straight in the eyes and it took him a moment to mutter,

"Sorry."

"Yeah." She walked off, Rory following behind her.

The Doctor narrowed his eyes at Emma when she gave a quiet laugh. "I'm sorry." She cleared her throat to try and stop, but her laughter only increased. "God, it was terrifying to think you actually figured that was okay when we thought Amy was having the baby, but the more I think about it, the funnier it gets. It was like you were getting ready to play American football."

"Oh, laugh it up." He gave a sarcastic chuckle of his own, but his lips twitched into a genuine smile for half a second before he spotted something.

"What?" She turned around to see that Mrs. Poggit was heading up the steps of some nearby ruins that the children had run to. "Is that Mrs. Poggit? Odd place for her to..." She trailed off when she realized he had gone after Amy and Rory, taking the swing next to Amy before Rory could. "Oi!" She jogged over to them, leaning against the swingset. "Warn a person before you walk away!"

"Sorry, but we all know there's an elephant in the room." He began to swing, thought Amy stayed still and turned her head to glare at him.

"I have to be this size, I'm having a baby."

"No, no." He looked back at Rory. "Hormones seem real, but no. Is nobody going to mention Rory's ponytail?" He slowly started to smile when he saw Amy's grumpy look disappear. "You hold him down, I'll cut it off." They both laughed.

"This from the man in the bow tie?"

"Bow ties are cool."

Emma smirked. "It's no use, Doctor. We already tried to cut it off, remember that, Amy? Rory had fallen asleep on the sofa, so you sat on top of him while I grabbed a pair of scissors. We didn't realize he was faking until I went to cut it off and he threatened to stab me." This time, three of them laughed while Rory continued to look rather insulted. Her smile faded when she realized something. "If this is the dream, how would I be able to remember something as little as that?"

"Dreams can give you fake memories." The Doctor explained as he dragged his feet on the ground, making the swing slow down. "Say, there's someone in your dream who you don't know, just a face you saw on the street that stuck in the back of your head, and your mind gives them a fake name. Your subconscious can do..." He trailed off and stood, eyes now on Mrs. Poggit as she watched the children. "Don't know about you, but I wouldn't hire Mrs. Poggit as a babysitter." The old woman slowly turned, staring back at him. "What's she doing? What does she want?" He whispered and that's when the birdsong started back up.

"Oh." Amy stumbled back. "Here we go."

That time when Emma woke up on the TARDIS floor, she sort of punched it. "God, this is getting so irritating." She grabbed onto the console to pull herself up as the Doctor stood beside her. Amy and Rory walked over, both with their arms wrapped around themselves.

"It's really cold, have you got any warm clothing?"

"What does it matter if we're cold?" He snapped, turning around to face them. "We have to know what she is up to." His demeanor changed at the looks they gave him and he ran his hands over his face. "Sorry, sorry. Um, there should be some stuff down there, have a look." Amy went off to where he'd pointed, but Rory stared at him for a moment, zipping his vest up rather angrily before he walked off. The Doctor grabbed a mug from the console, pausing when he saw Emma had yet to move. "Aren't you going to find something warm to wear?"

"Are you okay?" She rolled her eyes. "Oh, the instinct is leaking into this world." She had yet to realize that perhaps it hadn't been maternal instinct at all, but she had started to care for the Doctor. She shook her head when he gave her a confused look. "Sorry. Seriously, though. Are you okay?"

"Yeah. 'Course." He gave her a small smile. "I'm always okay." His hand hovered in the air as if to touch her shoulder or face, but he let it fall back to his side. "Go on, get some warmer clothes before you freeze."

She eyed him for a moment longer before she nodded, heading over to join Rory and Amy. The conversation they were having made her wince and start to backtrack, but Rory's gaze flicked to her which meant he already knew she was there and it was too late to turn back. "You are always so insecure." It was clear that Amy had yet to notice her.

"You ran off with another man!" Rory threw his hands out.

"Not in that way."

"It was the night before our wedding."

"We're in a time machine. It's the night before our wedding for as long as we want."

He stared at her as she gathered up some blankets, arms crossed over his chest. "We have to grow up eventually."

"Says who?" She jogged back up the stairs that lead to the console, giving Emma a tight smile as she went past her.

"Ah," Emma grimaced, inhaling through her teeth as she stepped down the stairs. "I came down here at quite an awkward time, didn't I? I agree with you, though." She bumped her shoulder against his. "We do have to grow up eventually. You two have to get married and I have a boyfriend to get back to." She toyed with her necklace, something she'd been doing a lot lately every time she or someone else mentioned Jeff.

"Emma, you know, back in Venice I really didn't mean anything I said you." He ran a hand through his hair before he headed over to the box and pulled out a couple more blankets. "I was just frustrated-"

"You've already apologized, Rory." She accepted the folded up blanket he offered her and held it to her chest. "But you did mean it." She shook her head when he opened his mouth to say something. "Don't lie and say you didn't, alright? Because you did and it's true. I'm not much better than Amy right now." She smiled almost sadly and headed back up the stairs, putting her blanket aside. She just barely managed to duck to avoid being poked in the face by something the Doctor had created out of kitchen gadgets. "What the hell is that?"

"A thing."

She rolled her eyes, moving to stand next to Amy. "A thing? Doctor, don't know if you know, but now's not really the time to be baking."

"I dunno." Amy shrugged her blanket off, setting it on the railing along with the one she'd picked out for the Doctor. "A cake wouldn't be so bad right now."

She considered that for a moment before nodding. "I guess with a bit of persuasion I could eat one or two profiteroles."

"Ooh, yeah, with a little bit of -"

"Amy, could you attach this to the monitor, please?" The Doctor interrupted the two, handing her a wire that was attached to the kitchen gadget device, which was now in Rory's arms. As she did as he said, Rory looked at the mess in his hands.

"I was promised amazing worlds." He scowled at her. "Instead, I get duff central heating and a...weird, kitchen-y wind-up device."

"It's a generator, get winding!"

He started winding it too slowly and Amy groaned, "It's not enough!"

"Rory, wind!" The Doctor snapped.

"Why is the Dream Lord picking on you?" He began to wind faster, almost angry. "Why us?" The monitor suddenly flickered to life and they all looked over, finding a clear view of space.

"Okay, we're in space." Emma leaned against the railing. "So?"

"We're not just in space. We're in trouble."

"What is that?" Rory asked, stepping forward as a white orb appeared on the screen.

"A star. A cold star." The Doctor bolted down the stairs and to the door, pulling it open to reveal a bright white light that had everyone shielding their eyes. "That's why we're freezing! It's not a heating malfunction! We're drifting toward a cold sun! That's our deadly danger for this version of reality." He shut the door and they all rubbed their arms, the star having let in more cold air.

"This must be the dream. There is no such thing as a cold star." Amy shivered. "Stars burn."

"So's this one. It's just burning cold."

"Is that possible?"

The Doctor nearly growled at Rory's question, running back up the stairs. "I can't know everything! Why does everybody expect me to, always?" He sat down in the jumpseat, running a hand over his face.

"Maybe it's because you constantly act like you know everything?" There wasn't even any anger in Emma's voice, she was far too cold to snap at him.

"Okay, this is something you haven't seen before." Even Rory wasn't getting angry at him. "So does that mean this is the dream?"

"I don't know." The Doctor's eyebrows raised as he made hand movements in his frustration. "There it is, and I'd say we've got about," he checked his watch. "fourteen minutes until we crash into it, but that's not a problem!" He stood, making his way to the console.

"Because you know how to get us out of this?"

He put on a stethoscope and turned to Rory. "Because we'll have frozen to death."

"Oh, lovely." Emma sank down into the chair that he had sat in moments before. "What do we do, then."

"Stay calm." He used the stethoscope on the console. "Don't get sucked into it, because this just might be the battle we have to lose."

"Oh, this is so you, isn't?" Rory let his anger seep into his tone.

"What?"

"Huh!" He nearly laughed. "What a weird new star, fourteen minutes left to live and only one man to save the day? Huh?" He didn't see Amy let her head fall into her hand. "I just wanted a nice village and a family-"

"Would you shut up?" Emma stood, more frustrated than angry. "I am so sick of you two constantly getting at each other! Honestly, at this point my torch is bigger and I don't even have one!" She saw Amy's confused look and held a hand up. "I'll explain later, I promise. Right now, I'm dealing with a couple of insolent children that need-"

"Oh, dear, Doctor." The Dream Lord appeared in the room. "Dissent in the ranks. There was an old Doctor from Gallifrey, who ended up throwing his life away. He let down his friends and..." He trailed off at the sound of birds. "Oh, no. We've run out of time. Don't spend too long there, or you'll, um...catch your death here."

The Doctor rushed from the playground and up the stairs to the ruins, the other three close behind them. "Where have the children gone?" There wasn't a child in sight, only piles of dust and clothing. He ran forward to examine one of the piles.

"Don't know." Rory shrugged. "Playtime's probably over. Oh! You see, this is the real one." He turned to face Amy and Emma. "I just feel it. Don't you feel it?"

"I feel it both places."

"I feel it here. It's just so...tranquil and relaxed. Nothing bad could ever happen here."

Emma left the two to have probably another argument, making her way to the Doctor as he scanned a pile of dust that was closer to them. "Doctor, what is all this?" She had a feeling she shouldn't touch it, though he let it run through his fingers, an almost horrified look on his face. "Doctor?"

"Play time's definitely over."

"Wha-" Her face went a few shades whiter when she figured out what he meant. "Those are the children." His solemn nod had her putting her hand over her mouth. "Oh, God."

"What happened to them?" Rory asked.

The Doctor started to shake his head, but stopped short when he saw all of the people from the retirement home walking down the road. "I think they did."

"That's it, I'm getting Addison. I don't care what anyone says." Emma pushed past the three, taking the stairs two at a time.

"Emma! Emma, no, wait!"

She heard the Doctor pounding after her, but she didn't stop. That is, until the Dream Lord appeared in front of her and she gasped, falling right onto her backside. Her foot went through his, causing him to flicker, and she scrambled back, soon pulled to her feet by the Doctor as he, Amy, and Rory came up behind her. "Hello, peasants! What's this, attack of the old people? Oh, that's ridiculous! This has gotta be the dream, hasn't it? What do you think, Amy? Let's all jump under a bus and wake up in the TARDIS!" He looked between Emma and the Doctor. "You two first."

"Leave her alone." Not even the Doctor and the Dream Lord knew whether he meant Emma or Amy, or both.

"Do that again. I love it when he does that." He nearly whispered. "Tall, dark hero, 'Leave her alone'."

"Just leave her!" Rory threw his hand out.

"Yes, you're not quite so impressive. But I know where your heart lies, don't I, Amy Pond?"

"Shut up." She shot back. "Just shut up and leave me alone."

"But listen, you're in there." The Dream Lord approached her slowly, giving her a wink. "Loves a redhead, our naughty Doctor! Has he told you about Elizabeth the First? Well, she thought she was the first." His eyes met Emma's and while she looked mostly impassive, with a hint of anger, he went on to say, "Oh, don't worry, Emma. I'm sure he would settle for you, if you gave him the chance. He's got a bit of a soft spot for brunettes. Well, no, that's not true. He's got a bit of a soft spot for y-"

"Drop it!" The Doctor cut him off, a dark look on his face. "Drop all of it. I know who you are."

The Dream Lord turned his head to look at him. "'Course you don't."

"'Course I do. No idea how you can be here, but there's only one person in the universe who hates me as much as you do."

"Never mind me. Maybe you should worry about them." The four looked over to see that the old people were approaching them at an alarming speed for their age and when they looked back, the Dream Lord was gone.

"Hi!" Rory was the first to cry out to the people.

"Hello!"

"Hello, we were wondering where you went. To get reinforcements, by the look of it!" The Doctor said. "Are you alright? You look a bit...tense."

"Hello, Mr. Nainby!" Rory stepped towards one of the men, only stopping when the Doctor said his name as a warning. "Mr. Nainby ran the sweet shop. He used to slip me the odd free toffee." His smile turned to panic when Mr. Nainby lifted him up by his collar. "Did I not say thank you?" He screamed as he was launched through the air and landed with a splat in the mud. "How did he do that?"

"I suspect he's not himself! Don't get comfortable here. You may have to run. Fast."

Amy's gaze went from the Doctor, to her stomach, and back again, as if to tell him that she couldn't run fast. "Can't we just talk to them?" That's when Mrs. Poggit opened her mouth to reveal an eye. "There's an eye in her mouth."

"Oh, yeah, I'm just going to..." Emma slipped behind the Doctor as he pulled out his sonic, scanning the woman.

"There's a whole creature inside her. Inside all of them. They've been there for years, living and waiting."

"That is disgusting." Rory frowned, leaning closer to the Doctor to ask, "They're not going to be peeping out of anywhere else, are they?" As soon as the question left his mouth, she shot a green mist out of the eye and they all screamed, jumping back.

"Run!" The Doctor yelled, keeping himself in front of them. Rory wrapped his arm around Amy and grabbed Emma's hand, dragging them away without hesitation. They made it a few yards before Emma tugged her hand from Rory's grasp, starting in the other direction.

"Emma, stop! Where are you going?"

"I need to get Addison! Just go home, okay? I'll be there as soon as I can!"

"Emma-"

"Go!" With that, she left Amy and Rory behind, swerving past one of the old people that had followed them. She panted and her heart pounded in her chest, not only from the running, but from the fear that was coursing through her. As she ran past the Doctor and pushed through the group of aliens, she heard him call out her name, but she didn't turn back. "Oh, no, no, no..." Each house either had its door hanging open or a pile of dust in front of it and the one house she was looking for was no different. She ran into the house, stumbling over her own feet. "Hello? Oh, God, please tell me that someone's here!" She paused in the sitting room. There were three piles of dust on the floor, two smaller than the other, and Addison's stroller sat in the middle. She approached it cautiously, the room silent aside from her shaky breathing. The near-silence was broken by a harsh sob when she looked into the stroller to find a pile of dust. "No! Addison!" Her fingers raked through the dust desperately, searching for a child that wasn't there. "Please, no." Her legs gave way beneath her and she tried to grab onto the side of the stroller to keep herself up, but she sank to her knees.

"Emma!" The Doctor skidded to a halt, nearly slamming into the doorjamb. "Emma, come on, we have to..." He froze when he saw inside the stroller. "Go." He finished quietly. "We have to go, right now." He wrapped his arms around her and tried to lift her to her feet, grunting when she thrashed in his grip. "Emma-"

"No! Let me go!" She struggled even as he pulled her back, practically dragging her away from the empty stroller. "Doctor, get off of me!" She grabbed at his arms, attempting to pry them off, but he held tight.

"Emma, I am so sorry, but please, we have to go!" His voice was breaking every couple words as he pulled her away. "Come on!" He let go of her waist, only to grab tightly onto her wrist and drag her out of the house, despite her struggling. The aliens were gaining on them quickly and as they ran down the street, the birdsong start again and their running turned to stumbling. "Stay awake, Emma, please!" He spotted a butcher's shop up ahead and sped his steps as much as he could, tugging her inside. He let her fall to the floor, locking the door and flipping the sign to 'Closed' as the birds stopped for a moment.

"Oh, I love a good butcher's, don't you?" The Dream Lord now stood behind the counter. "We've got to use these places or they'll shut down. But you're probably a vegetarian, you big flop-haired wuss." He turned his gaze from the Doctor, who was trying to unlock another door, and grinned when he saw Emma. "And look at this sobbing mess. Lose something, love?"

"You leave her alone or I swear..." The Doctor stopped, taking a deep breath to calm himself. "Just pipe down. I'm busy." He went back to trying to unlock the door.

"Maybe you need a little sleep." As he said that, the birdsong started back up again and the Doctor slipped down to the floor, reaching out to pull Emma closer to him. "Oh, wait a moment." He whispered, leaning forward. "If you fall asleep here, several dozen angry pensioners will destroy you with their horrible eye thingies." The Doctor ignored him, helping Emma to her feet and guiding her down a hallway that was behind the counter. "Fingers in the ears?" He followed them, referring to the way the Doctor was trying to cover his ears while still keeping a hold on Emma. "Brilliant! What's next, shouting boo?" He looked back when he realized the aliens were at the door, gesturing for them to enter. "Come in, come in!"

The Doctor sank to the floor when Emma went limp against him. "No, no, no! Wake up, Emma, please. You have to stay awake with me."

"Yes, we've got lots at 'steak' here this week. Lots at steak!" The Dream Lord looked back at him, smiling. "Get it?" At that, the Doctor seemed to become slightly more alert and he tucked Emma's sleeping form against his aside, pulling himself up with the handle on the freezer door. It took some effort, but he made it to the second freezer before he sank to the floor. "Are these jokes wasted on you?"

"Wait, wait, stop!" He pulled his sonic out of his jacket as a few of the old people started down the hallway.

"Oh, I can't watch." The Dream Lord put a hand over his eyes.

He quickly stood, using his sonic on the door and shoving Emma inside first and then stumbling in after. He slammed the door shut, locking it and falling to the floor, not even phased by the people trying to open it. The last thing he did before falling asleep was pull Emma closer.

A/N - I think I am literally the worst person in the world. I just feel so bad for doing that to the baby D: Not to mention doing it to Emma! It is what it is, I suppose. Anyway, I think I promised you guys a present if you got me to 200 reviews. Would you like that present? You'll have to help me choose it, if you do want it.