So... a couple of you did come close to getting that reference, but not quite! It's a quote from Arthur C. Clarke's 'The Nine Billion Names of God' that I used as the very last line. You should go and check it out, it's short and really easy to find online.
So. Yeah. Hope you enjoy the chapter.
Rory was leaning back against the log, tears in his eyes and sniffling slightly as Amy's body laying limply across his lap.
"So, the universe ended," he said weakly. "You missed that. In 102 AD... I suppose this means you and I never get born at all." He gave a strained smile. "Twice, in my case. You would have laughed at that. ...Please, laugh! The Doctor and Jenny said that the universe was huge and ridiculous, and that sometimes... sometimes there are miracles." He looked down at her still features. "I could do with a ridiculous miracle right now."
With a crackle of light and electricity, the Doctor appeared wearing a fez and a mop. Jenny was absent, but if one took into consideration the large grin on his face, it was clear she wasn't dead.
"Rory!" he exclaimed. "Listen, she's not dead. Well, she is dead, but it's not the end of the world. Well, it technically is the end of the world. Actually, it's the end of the universe... oh, never mind, Jenny can explain this better than I can!"
And again he vanished. Rory stared, not entirely sure if he was seeing things or not. "Doctor? Doctor!"
The air in front of him crackled with electricity once more, and Jenny took the Doctor's place, waving, also wearing a fez on her head. "Ignore most of what Dad said. Listen, you need to get the Doctor out of the Pandorica and me unchained from the wall."
"But you're not chained to the wall," he pointed out. "And the Doctor wasn't in the Pandorica."
"We are now!" she corrected him. "Oh, no that was bad... Um... right now, at this moment in time, from your point of view, I am chained to a wall and my dad is trapped inside Pandorica. But from my point of view, from the future, we aren't. We've already gotten out..." Rory shook his head, still confused. "Never mind! It's time travel, don't think about it too much or you'll make your head explode. And... Dad!" She tapped out a few buttons on the band around her wrist and vanished, reappearing moments later with the Doctor at her side, although this time the Doctor had the band around his wrist. The Time Lord pulled out his sonic screwdriver and tossed it to Rory.
"It's easy to open from the outside," he explained. "Just point and press!"
"They trashed mine," Jenny nodded towards Stonehenge. "Now, go on!"
The Doctor vanished, leaving Jenny glaring impatiently at the spot where he had just been standing. When he appeared a moment later, it was to look towards Rory.
"And when you're done-" he started, but Jenny pointedly cleared her throat. The Doctor paused, cringing slightly.
"Sorry, Jen."
"I won't have you leaving me two thousand years in the past!"
"Don't worry, I'll come back."
"Good."
"And as I was saying, when you're done, leave the screwdriver in her top pocket. Good luck!"
The two of them disappeared for good this time, leaving a bewildered Rory sitting against a log in a silent, starless clearing.
"What do you mean?" he shouted to the empty air. "Done what?"
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
When he got to the underhenge, it was to see a room full of statues and over on the far wall, behind three frozen Daleks, shaking, was Jenny.
"Jenny!" he shouted, rushing over. The keys to the chains keeping her down were lying next to a Roman on the opposite side of the room, so he grabbed them on the way and quickly freed her. "Jenny-"
"I can't hear him," she whispered, latching onto his wrist like an anchor. "I can't hear him, Rory, it's that thing, I can't hear him..."
He pulled them both to their feet and walked to the front of the Pandorica. Sonic in hand, the box was easy to open, just like the future Time Lords had told him. When the light faded and all of the clamps had retracted into the chair inside the box, Jenny practically flung herself into her father's arms. Instinctively he hugged her, although he was staring at Rory, stunned.
"How did you do that?" he asked after a pause, running a hand over his daughter's head.
He remembered what it had been like when he had woken up after the War to the ringing silence in his head. It had been all-encompassing, burning, silent pain, no voices in his head, the sudden loss of everything he had ever known. Jenny had never seen Gallifrey, never seen the red grass and the silver trees, all she ever had was him and presumably, inside the Pandorica, she couldn't hear him. Inside that box, for him, it was sort of like a haze, a single blink of an eye that had lasted an eternity. Less than a blink cut away from her, but she had lost her entire world for who knew how long, and soldier or not...
It's okay, Jen. I'm here now.
I couldn't hear you-
It's okay. It's all going to be okay.
"You gave me this." Rory held up the screwdriver.
The Doctor reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his sonic screwdriver. "No I didn't."
"You did, though. Look at it."
Jenny pulled back enough to take the sonic from each of them and hold them together for a moment. The metal sparked upon contact.
"Temporal energy," she said, straightening. "Same screwdriver at different points in it's own timestream, so it was definitely us that gave it to you in the future."
"Me in the future." The Doctor got to his feet at her side. "You in the future. We've got a future, that's nice." He frowned, looking over Rory's shoulder, seeing the petrified remains of their enemies scattered about the room. "That's not."
"Yeah." Rory glanced back at the statues. "What are they?"
"History has collapsed." The three started wandering through the room. "Whole races have been deleted from existence. These are just like after-images. Echoes, fossils in time... the footprints of the never-were."
"And that means...?"
"Total event collapse," Jenny elaborated. "The universe literally never happened."
"So how can we be here? What's keeping us safe?"
"Nothing!" the Doctor said brightly. "Eye of the storm, that's all. We're just the last light to go out..."
Dad.
Yes?
We have Rory.
I fail to see how that's a problem.
We have Rory, River is stuck in the TARDIS, you and I are here...
"Amy," he said suddenly, turning to face Rory. "Where's Amy?"
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
Rory had led them out of the underhenge and up to ground level, Jenny letting out a low sigh at the blanket covering what had to be a body. Rory...
"I killed her," he said weakly as the Doctor pulled back the blanket to show Amy's still face.
"Oh, Rory!" The Time Lord's voice was quiet, almost disappointed, but there was no anger. Jenny did her best to keep a blank expression as her father continued to talk, knowing exactly what he was doing. That didn't mean she had to like it, however, and she didn't. She didn't want to lie to Rory like this, but it wouldn't take very long, and if they didn't get the reaction they needed then there wouldn't be a reason to feel guilty to begin with.
"Doctor, what am I?" Rory looked so out of place dressed in full Roman armor.
"You're a Nestene duplicate," came the prompt, dismissive reply as the Doctor scanned Amy with the sonic. "A lump of plastic with delusions of humanity."
"But I'm Rory now!" Rory shook his head. "Whatever was happening, it's stopped. I'm Rory!"
"That's software talking."
The Doctor didn't look up when he spoke, which seemed to infuriate Rory to no end, but the Roman somehow held his tongue as he looked back towards Amy. "Can you help her?" he asked them. "Is there anything you can do?"
"Yeah, probably, if I had the time." The Doctor shrugged, getting to his feet.
Still silent, Jenny cringed slightly at the callous remark. She knew this would be the quickest way to determine whether or not Rory was actually Rory, but software or no, her father was liable to get punched in the face for that. Possible twice. ...Probably twice.
"The time?"
"All of creation has just been wiped from the sky," her father scoffed, and there was a moment when she felt her father's acting was going a bit too far. He was walking away from Rory, whose anger was increasing by the second, looking up at the starless sky and totally ignoring the body of their friend lying on the ground. "Do you know how many lives never happened? All the people who never lived? Your girlfriend isn't more important than the whole universe."
And that would be the final straw. Jenny flinched slightly as Rory grabbed the Doctor by the shoulder when he continued to saunter away, throwing a punch that hit squarely on the jaw and sent the Time Lord toppling to the ground. The faintest bit of phantom pain floated through their link, but she ignored it. Her father deserved that, at any rate.
"She is to me!"
Rory's shout was, if possible, more furious than she had expected.
A pause, and then the Doctor bounced to his feet, grinning like an idiot. "Welcome back, Rory Williams!" he laughed, spinning back around and hurrying over to Amy's side. "Sorry, had to be sure. Hell of a gun-arm you're packing there! Right, we need to get her downstairs. Oh, and take that look off your plastic face, you're getting married in the morning!"
He scooped Amy into his arms and disappeared down into the underhenge without another word. Jenny sighed, walked over, and patted her friend's arm gently.
"Sorry about him," she apologized. "Least amount of tact, but quickest way to check if the programming was still active."
Rory was staring in the direction the Doctor had left in. "I just punched the Doctor."
"Yep," she agreed, smiling.
"I just punched your father-"
"Are you two coming or not?!"
The shout echoed up to them. Jenny rolled her eyes. "Coming, Father!" Seeing as Rory was still rather stunned, she grabbed him by the hand and pulled him along. Down in the underhenge, the Doctor had gotten Amy so she was sitting in the Pandorica, the various clamps being the only things keeping her from slumping forwards onto the ground.
"So, you've got a plan then?" Rory asked, looking at Jenny, knowing the Doctor was probably just making everything up as he went along. Jenny, at least, would have some semblance of an idea of what they were going to do next.
"Yeah," she replied before the Doctor could open his mouth. He shot her a mock-wounded look before they both broke into smiles. "As much as a plan can be a plan in this situation. Memories are more powerful than you think, and Amy Pond is not an ordinary girl. Her memories brought you back after you were literally erased from time."
"The Nestenes took a memory print of her and got more than they bargained for," the Doctor continued. "Like you. Not just your face, but your heart and soul." He shut the last of the clamps and pressed his hands to either side of Amy's face, closing his eyes.
"He's leaving a message for when she wakes up," Jenny explained. "So she knows what's happening."
About a minute or so later the Doctor opened his eyes, took a couple steps back, and used the sonic to close the Pandorica. Jenny glanced over with a sigh at the broken remains of her own sonic lying on the floor.
Rory was more focused on the fact they were locking his fiancee into the Pandorica. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! What are you doing?"
"Saving her," he replied as the Pandorica was sealed shut and the light in the room significantly dimmed. "This is the ultimate prison, you can't even escape by dying. It literally forces you to stay alive."
"But she's already dead-"
"Mostly dead," they corrected at the same time.
"The Pandorica can stasis-lock her that way-"
"-all it needs is a scan of her living DNA and it'll restore her."
They'd missed that familiar banter.
"Where's it going to get that?"
He paused, looking at his watch with a slight frown. "In about... two thousand years."
Rory frowned, looking between the Doctor, who was now rummaging through River's bag until he found her Vortex Manipulator, and the Pandorica before his eyes widened. "She's going to be in there for two thousand years?" he exclaimed.
"We're taking a shortcut," Jenny nodded. "River's Vortex Manipulator, rubbish way to time travel but the universe is a lot smaller now so we should be fine. Future's still there, although not quite the one we remember."
"Earth alone in the sky..." the Doctor sighed. "Let's go and have a look!" He held out his arm, where the device was now strapped around his wrist. "You put your hand there, you too Jen, we'll be perfectly safe."
"That's not what I'm worried about." Rory was still looking at the Pandorica, and the Doctor walked to his side.
"She'll be fine," he assured the other man. "Nothing can get into this box."
"You got in there."
"Well, there's only one of me," he shrugged. "I counted."
Rory still didn't seem convinced. "This box needs a guard... I killed the last one."
The Doctor stiffened. "No. Rory, no, don't even think about it-"
"She'll be all alone-"
"She won't feel it-"
"You bet she won't!"
"Two thousand years, Rory... You won't even sleep, you'd be conscious every second-"
"Dad." Jenny placed a hand on her father's arm, shaking her head. "If it was you in there, I'd wait. If it was me in there, you'd wait."
He floundered for a moment, but paused, realizing that she was... well, right. If it was Jenny in that box he would almost definitely send Rory on ahead into the future while he waited here, and based on what Jenny said, she would stand there and wait for him if he was trapped inside the box as well. Still... with a last look he turned to Rory, only to be met with a scared yet determined stare.
"Will she be safer if I stay?" Rory asked, voice remarkably steady. He knew the answer, but he didn't want to- "Look me in the eye and tell me she wouldn't be safer. Answer me, Doctor!"
"Yes," he sighed. "Obviously."
Rory looked to the box. "Then how could I leave her?"
"I'm proud of you, Rory," Jenny said, walking over to her father and taking his arm, tapping in coordinates on the device wrapped around his wrist, knowing that if her father did it they might overshoot by a few decades. "We both are. See you in two thousand years?"
"Promise," the other man nodded.
"Listen," the Doctor said as Jenny continued to tap. "This is the last bit of advice you're going to get in a very long time. You're living plastic, but not immortal, or indestructible. I've got no idea how long you'll last. Stay away from heat and radio signals when they come along." Rory nodded, putting on his helmet. "You can't heal or repair yourself, so any damage is permanent. And for God's sake, however bored you get, stay out of-!"
With a flash and a crackle of electricity, the two of them vanished, leaving the chamber in silence. Alone, Rory pulled his sword out of its sheath and began his long, long vigil.
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
They reappeared in front of a Dalek screaming "Exterminate!".
"-trouble." The Doctor looked over at Jenny. "I was in the middle of a sentence!"
"I hit the wrong button! Now, can we pay more attention to the Dalek?"
"Exterminate!"
They spun around to find Amy and young Amelia standing behind them looking absolutely terrified and more than a bit confused.
"Two of you?" Jenny said in surprise. "Complicated."
"Exterminate! Weapons systems restoring."
The Doctor grabbed Amy by the hand while Jenny pulled Amelia alongside her out of the room. "Come along, Ponds!" they shouted, running.
"Exterminate!"
They skidded to a halt in the room where the Pandorica remained open, the Doctor crashing into a display representing somewhere in Africa. He nearly knocked over one of the mannequins, catching the fez and it fell off its head.
"What are we doing?" Amy asked breathlessly.
"Running into a dead end where I'll have a brilliant idea that basically involves not being in one," the Doctor replied. Jenny rolled her eyes.
"What's going on?"
Nobody answered. They ran behind the Pandorica, pressing their backs up against it as a night watchman wandered in, holding a torch.
Behind them, the Dalek wheeled in front of the watchman who hadn't quite finished entering the room yet. "Drop the device."
"It's not a weapon!" Jenny shouted on impulse, trying to distract the Dalek and give the human guard enough time to escape. "Scan it, it's not a weapon, and you don't have the power to waste!"
The Dalek didn't even hesitate. "Scans indicate intruder unarmed."
"Do you think?"
Jenny's hearts skipped a beat. That voice-
The flashlight in the guard's hand clattered to the ground, and a moment later there was a blast and the Dalek skidded backwards a few inches.
"Vision impaired!" it groaned out. "Vision..."
And Rory stepped out of the shadows.
"Rory!" Amy's relief was almost palatable as they ran through the hallway, out of the Pandorica room and past the Dalek where the two wrapped each other in a massive hug.
"I'm sorry," Rory was mumbling. "I'm sorry- I couldn't help it. It just happened."
Amy pulled back slightly. "Oh, shut up."
The Doctor frowned impatiently as the couple started to kiss. "Yeah, shut up, 'cause we've got to go. Come on!"
This time it was Rory that pulled back, looking as though he couldn't quite believe Amy was here, in front of him. "I waited," he breathed. "Two thousand years, I waited for you."
Amy shook her head. "No, still shut up."
And they kissed again... and continued to kiss...
Amelia looked up at Jenny, who only shrugged. "I'm thirsty," the young girl said as the Doctor tried to convince the two to break apart. "Can I get a drink?"
"Oh, all mouths today," the Doctor mumbled under his breath, but Jenny only took the Vortex Manipulator off of his wrist and vanished, reappearing a couple seconds later with a plastic cup and straw that Amelia had been drinking from earlier in the day.
The Doctor snatched the Vortex Manipulator back and took the fez as well, dropping it onto his head.
The light from the Pandorica healed the Dalek, he told her as they looked back towards the petrified creature.
Interesting.
He voiced his thoughts aloud, but nobody seemed to notice as at that moment, the Dalek's weapon twitched.
"Out!" the Doctor shouted, shoving Amy and Rory in front of them before taking Amelia by the hand. "Out, out!"
They ran into another wing and slammed the doors shut, the Doctor sonicking the lock for good measure.
"So, two thousand years?" Jenny asked lightly. "How'd you do?"
"Kept out of trouble," Rory replied in that same awkward manner she remembered so fondly, but there was... something else there. Weariness. Age. True, he was still plastic, but she knew what pain looked like on immortal features.
"How'd you manage that?" the Doctor called over.
"Unsuccessfully."
Jenny let out a slight laugh. "It's good to see you again, Rory."
"You too, Jen."
The Doctor picked up a mop, going to use it to block the door, but Rory started suddenly, pointing.
"The mop!" he exclaimed, causing the group to send him an odd look. "...That's how you looked all those years ago when you gave me the sonic."
"Ah!" The Time Lord smiled. "Well, no time to lose then."
He activated the manipulator and vanished...
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
...reappearing in front of Rory, two thousand years ago. ""Rory!" he exclaimed. "Listen, she's not dead. Well, she is dead, but it's not the end of the world. Well, it technically is the end of the world. Actually, it's the end of the universe... oh, never mind, Jenny can explain this better than I can!"
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
Back in the museum hallway, he took off the fez, dropped it on his daughter's head, then handed her the Vortex Manipulator as he went to bar the door with the mop.
"Explain time travel to Rory, would you?" he called over his shoulder. "And give him the sonic so I can get out of the Pandorica!" Jenny let out an exasperated noise, but tapped in the coordinates nonetheless and vanished.
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
Jenny appeared in front of Rory, waving. "Ignore most of what Dad said. Listen, you need to get the Doctor out of the Pandorica and me unchained from the wall."
"But you aren't chained to the wall."
"We are now!" she corrected him. "Oh, no that was bad... Um... right now, at this moment in time, from your point of view, I am chained to a wall and my dad is trapped inside Pandorica. But from my point of view, from the future, we aren't. We've already gotten out..." Rory shook his head, still confused. "Never mind! It's time travel, don't think about it too much or you'll make your head explode. And... Dad!" She tapped out a few buttons on the band around her wrist and vanished.
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
"How do you expect me to explain time travel like that!" she asked, looking at her father. "More importantly, you're the one with the sonic screwdriver!"
She grabbed him by the arm and the two vanished, leaving Amy and Rory shaking their heads in bemusement and Amelia staring in wonder.
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The Time Lord pulled out the sonic and tossed it to Rory.
"It's easy to open from the outside," he explained. "Just point and press!"
"They trashed mine," Jenny nodded towards Stonehenge. "Now, go on!"
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
Appearing again, they started off towards the stairwell, but the Doctor stopped abruptly. "Wait! Now I don't have the sonic, I just gave it to Rory two thousand years ago."
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The Doctor vanished, leaving Jenny glaring impatiently at the spot where he had just been standing. When he appeared a moment later, it was to look towards Rory.
"And when you're done-" he started, but Jenny pointedly cleared her throat. The Doctor paused, cringing slightly.
"Sorry, Jen."
"I won't have you leaving me two thousand years in the past!"
"Don't worry, I'll come back."
"Good."
"And as I was saying, when you're done, leave the screwdriver in her top pocket. Good luck!"
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
No longer missing anyone in their group and sonic screwdriver in hand, they started back up the stairs once more...
"No, hang on." Jenny paused, looking over at Amelia. "How did you know to come here?"
Amelia just reached into her coat and pulled out a crumpled pamphlet along with a sticky note. Short messages were scrawled out on each in a red pen.
"Ah!" The Doctor clapped his hands together. "My handwriting. Okay!" He rushed over to a stand, grabbing a pamphlet, then over to a desk for the sticky note. A moment later, when the actual notes had been written out, he used the Vortex Manipulator to deliver the messages, one to Amy's house, then to the museum in order to place the note on the Pandorica.
"What is that?" Amy finally asked, motioning towards the black band. "How are you two doing that?"
"Vortex Manipulator," Jenny explained. "Cheap time travel, nasty habit, not very good for you."
"And where are we going?" she continued to ask questions as they continued to walk.
"The roof-"
Jenny was about to answer the question when, at the top of the stairs, with a familiar crackle of light and electricity... her father appeared. Jacket smoking, the Doctor lurched forwards, toppling down the stairs and rolling to a stop near their feet. The two Time Lords from the present ran over, Jenny taking the future Doctor's hand while the current Doctor waved the sonic over him.
"Doctor, it's you..." Rory stated in disbelief. "How can it be you?"
Amy was a bit more wary, nervous. "Doctor, is that you?"
"Yeah," he said after a long pause, looking down at his own motionless face. "It's me. Me from the future..."
The future Doctor's fingers twitched slightly in Jenny's hand, his eyes flew open with a start and he pulled the present Doctor closer to him to whisper something in his ear before falling back to the ground. His hands went limp, and Jenny sat back on her heels, expression blank.
"Are you..." Amy started, sounding like she didn't know whether or not she wanted to continue. "I mean, is he... is he dead?"
"Hm?" Slightly distracted, the Doctor got to his feet and pulled Jenny after him. "Dead? Yes, yes, of course he's dead." Together they stepped over the body and continued climbing up the stairs. "Right, I've got twelve minutes, that's good."
"Twelve minutes to live?" Amy repeated. "How is that good?"
"Oh, you can do loads in twelve minutes..." Jenny shrugged, not looking back. "Suck a mint, buy a sledge, take a quick bath, or a normal shower. Come on, roof!"
"We can't leave you here, dead!"
This from Rory, and the Doctor spun around to look at him. "Oh, good!" he said brightly, although the tone was faked. "Are you in charge now? So, tell me, what are we going to do about Amelia?"
They'd notice her vanish when the future Doctor landed on the stairs, one moment she was there, and then they blinked and she was gone. There wasn't anything they could do about it, really, history collapsing like it was.
Rory turned to see Amelia's cup lying on the ground.
"Where did she go?" Amy and Rory rushed down the stairs, looking around.
"Amelia?" Rory called.
"There is no Amelia!" the Doctor shouted after them. "From now on, there never was. History is still collapsing."
"But how can I be here if she's not?" Amy walked back up the stairs.
"You're an anomaly," Jenny explained. "We all are, now, although I was before... never mind that. The point is, we're all hanging on at the eye of the storm, but the eye is closing, and if we don't do something, reality will never have happened. Today, just dying will be a result. Now, come on!"
They ran up the stairs, Amy and Rory staying behind a few moments longer to drape Rory's security guard uniform jacket over the Doctor as sort of a shroud before following.
Behind them, in the Pandorica room, the Dalek began to move.
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
The four climbed out from the stairwell onto the roof, squinting in the sunlight.
"What, it's morning already?" Amy looked around, raising a hand to shield her eyes. "How did that happen?"
"History is shrinking! Is anybody listening to me?"
"Nope." Jenny smirked at his offended look. "The universe is collapsing. We don't have much time left, now."
The Doctor waved the sonic around the base of a satellite dish mounted higher up on the rooftop.
"What are you doing?" Rory asked him.
"Looking for the TARDIS," he answered. Jenny turned her gaze to the massive ball of flames hanging above the horizon, knowing exactly what it was even without the satellite dish.
"But the TARDIS exploded," Rory pointed out.
"Okay, then. Looking for an exploding TARDIS." He managed to wrestle the dish down from where it was mounted and climbed up over to a different section of raised roof. "Now, as to why the TARDIS exploded, that's a question for another day, but for now... total event collapse means that every star in the universe never happened. Not one of them ever shone."
"So, if all the stars are gone..." Jenny paused as the Doctor lifted up the dish and sonicked it. "...then what is that? Like he said, looking for an exploding TARDIS."
Rory frowned. "But that's the sun."
"Is it?" The Doctor reached a hand over so he could pull Jenny up to stand next to him, partly so she could help him balance the dish and partly for comfort. "Because that's the noise this sun is making right now!"
A moment later, the sounds of the TARDIS engines began to echo out from the dish.
"That's our TARDIS burning up," Jenny said quietly, looking at the ball of fire. "That's what's been keeping the Earth warm."
"Doctor..." Rory frowned, lifting a hand up slightly. "There's something else. A voice."
The Doctor handed Jenny the sonic while Amy looked over in confusion.
"I can't hear anything," she said.
"Trust the plastic."
"I'm sorry my love."
The voice caused the Doctor to grip Jenny's hand tightly.
"I'm sorry my love. I'm sorry my love. I'm sorry my love."
"Doctor, that's River," Amy said, staring.
"Is it a recording?" Rory asked them.
"I'm sorry my love."
"No." Jenny sighed, shaking her head. "She was trying to land the TARDIS, but it exploded before she could get out. But that's the smartest ship in the universe, she's sealed off the control room and locked River inside, put her in a time loop."
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Frantically, River ran back to the doors in vain, finding nothing but stone behind them-
The sequence started again, but this time, she rain towards the doors and nearly crashed into Jenny.
"Hi, River," she smiled. "I'm home."
River stopped and glanced down at her watch. "And what sort of a time do you call this, Jen? You've got a curfew!"
Jenny just laughed.
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They reappeared on the rooftop under the light of the imitator star.
"Amy!" River said happily, relieved at the sight of one of their companions. "Hello, sweetie." This, accompanied by a wink towards the Doctor. "And... the plastic Centurion?"
"It's okay," Jenny assured her, unstrapping the Vortex Manipulator from her wrist and tossing it back to her father. "Rory's on our side."
"Really?" River's smile grew wider, sensing an opportunity to rile up the Doctor. "I dated a Nestene duplicate once. Swappable head, did keep things fresh." Jenny snickered. "Right then, I have questions. But number one is this..."
She turned on her heel to look at the Doctor. "What in the name of sanity have you got on your head?"
The Doctor glanced upwards and the hat resembling an overturned bucket. "It's a fez," he replied. "I wear a fez now. Fezzes are cool."
A beat of silence in which River glanced between Amy and Jenny.
"Dad!" Jenny shouted frantically, causing him to spin around in alarm. While his back was turned, Amy ran up and snatched the fez off of his head, throwing it high up into the air, and without blinking River removed her blaster from its holster and shot it midair, grinning as it exploded into scraps of tattered fabric.
"Oi! No gaining up on me!"
The Doctor's protests were cut short at a familiar cry. "Exterminate!"
All cheerfulness vanished from their minds as the Dalek slowly levitated up over the side of the building.
"Run, run, move, move," the Doctor urged, shoving his friends behind him, back to the stairwell. Jenny grabbed the satellite dish and used it as a shield to block the Dalek's fire as the two Time Lords backed away, nearly diving down the stairwell and slamming the door shut behind them, sonicking the lock shut for good measure.
"Doctor, come on-" River started, but the Doctor shushed her, listening carefully.
"It's moving away," he said after a few moments of silence. "Finding another way in."
"Needs to restore it's power," Jenny added. "If it were at full power that dish-" She pointed at the smoking dish lying on the floor. "-wouldn't have been any good as protection. It's got to restore power before it can attack again."
"Now, that means we've got exactly..." The Doctor paused as he checked his watch. "...four and a half minutes until it's at lethal capacity!"
"How do you know?" River asked, and Jenny paused, realizing she had missed all the events up until now. She didn't know Amy had been in the Pandorica, never saw young Amelia, didn't know how long Rory had waited or that the stars had all vanished... didn't see her father on the staircase.
"Because that's when its due to kill me."
He said it with next to no worry in his voice, worrying River even more. "Kill you?" she repeated. "What do you mean, kill you?"
"Oh, shut up, never mind!" he groaned, rushing out the hallway and down the next set of stairs into a hallway back in the museum. "How can that Dalek even exist? It was erased from time and then it came back. How, Jen?"
"Why should I know?" she repeated. "But you did say that the light from the Pandorica-"
"It's not a light, it's a restoration field, Jenny! I've taught you better than that."
"You said it was a light!"
"No, I didn't!"
"Yes, you did."
"...Don't you know to take everything I say with a grain of salt?"
"The light from the Pandorica?" Rory prompted, cutting into their miniature debate.
"Yes." Jenny nodded. "It brought Amy back, and it brought the Dalek back too even though the Daleks never existed..."
"When the TARIS blew up, it caused a total event collapse!" the Doctor continued, growing more excited now that they had figured it out. "A time explosion, it blasted away every atom in every moment of the universe-"
"-except the ones inside the Pandorica!" they exclaimed together.
"The perfect prison," Jenny continued, talking faster now. "Inside it, perfectly preserved, a few billion atoms of the universe as it was. In theory, you could extrapolate the whole universe from a single one of them, like cloning a body from a single cell, and we've got the bumper family pack!"
Rory looked between the two of them. "Nope. Too fast, I'm not getting it."
The Doctor gave him a look clearly saying silly human. "The box contains a memory of the universe, and the light transmits the memory," he explained in simpler terms, although it still didn't make as much sense. "And that's how we're going to do it."
"Relight the fire," Jenny agreed. "Reboot the universe. Come on!"
Amy and Rory stopped, sharing an incredulous look at River hurried forward to catch up with the two.
"Doctor, Jen, you're being completely ridiculous," she told them. "The Pandorica partially restored one Dalek. If it can't even reboot a single life form properly, how will it reboot the whole universe?"
"What if we give it a moment of infinite power?" Jenny countered, rather pleased at the shortening of her name. "Transmit the light from the Pandorica to every particle of space and time simultaneously?"
River sighed. "Well, that would be lovely, dears, but we can't, because it's completely impossible!"
"But it isn't!" The Doctor turned around, grinning, and tapped River's forehead lightly. "It's almost completely impossible. One spark is all we need."
"For what?"
"Big Bang Two!" he grinned. "Now, listen-"
Jenny's eyes widened, but she was too slow to shove her father out of the way as the Dalek began barreling down the hallway, bolt of energy from its gun catching the Doctor in the shoulder as he toppled to the ground. River and Jenny dropped to their knees by his side while Amy dragged Rory out of the way.
"Get back, River, Jenny, get back now!" he shouted to them, but they payed no attention.
"Dad!" Jenny whispered, clutching at his hand, a wave of pain burning through her. "Come on, Dad, look at me."
"Doctor," River urged, not even flinching as Rory fired over their heads, causing the Dalek to power down again. "Doctor, it's me, River. Can you hear me? Doctor, what is it? What do you need?"
He didn't reply, just barely managing to press a button on the Vortex Manipulator and vanished with a flash. River jumped back, starting.
"Where did he go?" she gasped. "Damn it, he could be anywhere!"
"Downstairs," Amy choked out. "Twelve minutes ago."
"Show me!" River demanded, getting to her feet, Jenny slowly following.
"River..." Amy blinked back tears. "He died."
Behind them, the Dalek began to power up its systems yet again. "Systems restoring! You will be exterminated!"
"We got to move," Rory said, taking a reluctant Amy by the arm. "That thing's coming back to life."
River looked more furious than any of them had ever seen her, but without a word she handed something to Jenny and pulled the two Ponds from the room. "You catch up with us," were her parting words.
"You will be exterminated!" the Dalek cried.
Jenny smiled.
"Not yet," she corrected lightly. "Not yet. Your systems are still restoring, which means your shield density is compromised."
A glance down at the gun in her hand told her everything she needed to know.
"One Alpha-Mezon burst through your eyestalk would kill you stone dead."
"Records indicate you will show mercy," the Dalek replied smugly. "You are an associate of the Doctor's!"
"I'm Jenny, I'm the Doctor's daughter, and you just killed my father!" she said in barely restrained fury at it, aiming the gun. "Check your records again!"
"Mercy."
Well, that was new. Although, if she was right about what she thought...
"Say it again."
"Mercy!"
"One more time."
"Mercy!"
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
Rory's jacket was still lying on the stairs where they had left it with her father, although the body was missing. Of course it was missing, she knew he was still alive, of course she knew.
"-but he was dead!" Amy was saying.
"And who told you that?" River asked.
"He did," Rory answered.
"Rule One." Jenny calmly walked down the stairs, handing River the gun back. "Dad lies."
They all watched as she walked past them towards the Pandorica room. "But what happened to the Dalek?" Amy called after her.
"It died."
She pushed past them, leaving a pair of stunned humans in her wake. Even River seemed a bit taken aback, although not as much. None of them dared to breath a word lest they get snapped at, even when they rushed into the Pandorica room to find the Doctor slumped over in the seat inside the box.
"You're an idiot," Jenny mumbled, looking down at him strapped into the chair.
"What's happening?" Rory asked River.
"Reality's collapsing," she explained quietly. "It's speeding up, look at the room." Around them, the display cases were completely empty. "History is being erased. Time is running out... Doctor, what were you doing?"
Breathing raggedly, the Doctor's eyes flickered open, and he looked up towards River. "Big... bang... two."
"The Big Bang..." Rory's brow furrowed in though. "That's the beginning of the universe, right?"
"What, and Big Bang Two is the bang that brings it back?" Amy asked. "Is that what you mean?"
"Yeah," Jenny answered as her father's head slumped to one side. "The TARDIS is still burning, think about it. It's exploding at every point and history. Throw the Pandorica into the explosion, right into the heart of the fire..."
"Oh!" River's eyes widened in realization. "Then let there be light! The light from the Pandorica would explode everywhere at once, just like he said."
"That would work?" Amy breathed. "That would bring everything back?"
"A restoration field, powered by an exploding TARDIS, happening at every moment in history..." River said slowly. "Oh, that's brilliant. It might even work!"
She made to pull out a scanner, but Jenny put a hand on her arm.
"Don't," she said quietly. "To get the Pandorica up to the TARDIS someone would need to fly it in. He's already wired himself in."
As the sky above them turned a brilliant orange, Rory and Amy retreated to give River and Jenny some space. They didn't say very much, just say there by the Doctor in silence, offering what little they could through unspoken words.
"I'm going with him." Jenny broke the silence, although for a moment both River and the Doctor thought they'd misheard her.
"Jen..." her father breathed. "No..."
"Listen to your father," River whispered. "Please, if he flies into that explosion he'll be trapped on the other side of the cracks, and he won't have existed. I'm losing him, don't make me lose you, too."
"But if he never existed, then what am I?" Jenny scoffed, trying to laugh but choking back a sob. "I'm a thought, an idea, I never happened. No Doctor on Messaline, no DNA for the progenation machines, no Jenny. I'm sorry, River."
Unexpectedly, Jenny found herself pulled into a hug, River's blonde curls tickling at her face. "You're a brave girl, Jen."
She pulled back, saying she was going to go get Amy, and Jenny settled herself so she was sitting in her father's lap, holding his hand, waiting for the box to snap shut and seal their fate.
A moment later, Amy walked up to the box, trying not to cry. "Hi," she said quietly.
"Amy Pond," the Doctor breathed weakly. "The girl who waited... all night, in your garden... was it worth it?"
"Shut up," she mumbled. "Course it was."
"You wanted to know why we were taking you with us, and we said there wasn't a reason," Jenny continued, looking over at her friend. "We lied." Amy tried to cut in, but Jenny held up a hand. "Don't you dare say it's not important, because it's the most important thing in the universe. Amy, your house was too big. That big, empty house, with just you?"
"Where were your mum and dad?" the Doctor asked weakly. "Where was... everybody who lived in that big house?"
"I lost my mum and dad," Amy began.
"How?" Jenny questioned. "What happened to them, Amy, where did they go?"
"I... I don't..." She shook her head rapidly before looking up in desperation. "I don't even remember."
"There was a crack in time in the wall of your bedroom and it's been eating away at your life for a long time now," the Doctor sighed. "Amy Pond, all alone... the girl who didn't make sense. How could we resist?"
"But how could I forget?"
"Nothing is ever forgotten, not really." Jenny smiled. "But you need to try."
"There's going to be... a very big bang. Big Bang Two. Remember your family, and they'll be there."
Amy shook her head again, looking at the Doctor. "How can I remember them if they've never existed?"
"Because... you're special." He managed a weak smile. "That crack in your wall, all that time, the universe pouring into your head. You bought Rory back... you can bring them back too, you just remember..."
Amy started to back away as the ground around the Pandorica began to shake. "You won't. Either of you."
"You'll have your family back," Jenny whispered. "You won't need your imaginary friend and his imaginary daughter anymore."
The Doctor laughed weakly. "Amelia Pond... crying over little old us, hm? Guess what?"
"What?" Amy choked out.
"Gotcha."
With those last words, the Pandorica sealed itself shut and launched upwards through the glass ceiling towards the sun.
Back in the museum, River got one last message on her communicator before the world went to white.
"What's it say?" Amy asked her.
"Geronimo."
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
Inside the TARDIS, behind the console and facing away from the doors, both Jenny and the Doctor sat bolt upright with a gasp.
"Okay," Jenny said faintly.
"We escaped, then," her father replied in the same tone. "Brilliant! Love it when I do that. Legs?"
"Yes," she agreed. "Arms, head."
"Bowtie," he added, straightening the cloth around his neck. "I can buy a fez."
They started to get up, only to hear themselves talking to Amy.
"The beach!" the other Doctor was saying. "The beach is the best. Automatic sand."
"Automatic sand?" Amy repeated. "What does that mean?"
"It's automated!" Jenny replied.
The two present Time Lords walked around the console to see themselves, along with Amy, dressed up for a trip to the beach.
"Cleans up the lolly sticks..."
"Well that puts a bit of a damper on things," Jenny said quietly, looking at her past self laughing hysterically over something the past Doctor had said.
"Our timestreams... unraveling. We're rewinding, Jen. Closing. Hello, universe, goodbye, Doctor. Goodbye Jenny." On impulse, he started to call out for Amy, but they found themselves being swept away before they could say anything more.
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
Then they found themselves on the street just outside the flat Jenny had stayed in with Craig. Amy wandered across the street in front of them towards a shop window.
"Three weeks ago," Jenny mused. "When Amy put the card in the window. Hey, Amy!"
Past Amy looked up, but couldn't see them and dismissed the call as part of her imagination.
Behind them, a crack in the pavement grew wider, and they vanished yet another time.
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
And now they were in the clearing in the Byzantium forest, hearing themselves leave with River and Father Octavian.
Slowly, they both walked forwards, each of them taking one of Amy's hands in theirs.
"Amy, you need to start trusting us," Jenny told her. "It's never been more important."
"But you don't always tell me the truth," Amy replied, frowning. Her eyes were still shut to prevent the Angel from taking over her mind.
"Well, if we always told you the truth you wouldn't need to trust us, hm?" the Doctor replied. "Now, Amy, listen to me. Remember what I told you when you were seven?"
Amy shook her head. "What did you tell me."
Jenny glanced over at her father. "No, no... That's not the point, you have to remember."
And then they were gone, being swept off through time's currents yet again.
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
They stood in the hallway of a large house near the stairwell, and it didn't take a second for them to realize they were in Amy's house. The Doctor pulled Jenny closer to him, mostly for comfort, and partly because while he felt his timeline unraveling, by now half of his daughter's life had vanished.
"Come on, Jen," he said quietly. "This is Amy's house. When she was seven, the night she waited..."
Together they got the little girl inside and tucked her in, sliding her suitcase underneath the bed and taking off her shoes and coat before making sure she was snug underneath the blankets. Jenny sat down on the edge of the bed and the Doctor took a seat in the chair, shaking his head sadly.
"It's funny," he said after a pause. "I thought if you could hear me, hear us, we could hang on somehow. Silly me. Silly old Doctor."
Jenny managed a watery smile, leaning over to cover Amelia's tiny hand with her own. "Silly can be good though, I think we all know that. When you wake up, you'll have a mum and dad, Amelia... and you won't even remember us."
The Doctor stood up to place his hands on Jenny's shoulders offering what reassurance he could. "Well, you'll remember us a little. We'll be a story inside your head, but that's okay... we're all stories in the end. Just make it a good one, eh?" He did his best to smile. "Cause it was, you know. It was the best. A daft old man who stole a box and ran away."
"Did we ever tell you that he stole it?" Jenny asked. "He didn't tell me, you know. It was nearly two years before I figured that out."
"Well, I borrowed it," the Doctor corrected, defending himself. "I was going to take it back. Oh, that box, Amy... you'll dream about that box. It'll never leave you, never. Big and little, at the same time. Brand new and ancient."
"And the bluest blue ever," Jenny finished firmly, thinking of the vibrant blue paneling that surrounded the place she called home.
"And the times we had, eh?" the Doctor shook his head. "Would've had... never had... In your dreams, they'll still be there, though. The Doctor and Jenny and Amy Pond. And the days that never came."
"The cracks are closing," Jenny said, her voice breaking. "But they can't close properly until we're on the other side. We don't belong here anymore."
The Doctor pulled her to her feet, squeezing her hand lightly. "I think we'll skip the rest of the rewind. You know I hate repeats. Live well. Love Rory."
They both pressed a kiss to Amelia's forehead, then, hand in hand, stepped through the crack in the wall behind them.
And high above, the stars twinkled in the heavens.
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
The wedding had gone over magnificently, and the reception was moving along just as planned. All the guests had been able to make it, the weather was glorious, the best man had just finished up his speech to a round of applause...
"Ladies and gentlemen," he announced. "The father of the bride, Augustus Pond!"
Augustus got to his feet, looking around sheepishly. "Sorry, everyone," he said. "I'll be another two minutes. I'm just reviewing certain... aspects..."
He sat back down, much to everyone's amusement, and Amy's mother Tabetha leaned over towards her daughter. "Your father, Amelia, will be the absolute death of me!" she whispered with a smile. "Unless, of course, I strike preemptively."
Amy laughed, but her smile faded as she looked out the window, seeing a woman walk past. She was dressed in black, and her hair was a sandy curly and the curliest she'd ever seen. Amy stood up to get a better look at her, but the woman was gone.
"Amy?" Rory asked, glancing up. "You okay?"
"Yeah," she said after a moment. "I'm fine. I'm..." she sat down. "I'm fine."
"Right." Her husband nodded, somewhat awkwardly. "Um... you're crying."
Amy's hand flew to her face, and her fingertips came away damp. "So I am. Why am I doing that?"
"Because you're happy? Probably. Happy Mrs Rory? Happy, happy, happy."
"No." She shook her head slowly. "I'm sad. I'm really, really sad."
He looked away, a bit hurt. "Great."
"Why am I sad...?" She looked down to see a blue journal resting on the table. "What's that?"
"Oh, er, someone left it for you." He picked up the book and handed it to her. "A woman, I think?"
"But what is it?"
"...It's a book."
She turned the journal over in her hands a few times before flipping through the pages. "It's blank."
Of course it was blank, it was a wedding present, it wouldn't already be written in. Why did she feel like it should already be written in?
"It's a present," Rory said, echoing her thoughts.
"But why?"
Rory looked at the blue cover, shrugging. "Well, you know the old saying," he shrugged. "The old... wedding... thing. Hm? Amy?"
Augustus stood up and started to talk again, but Amy wasn't paying attention. She was looking around the room in confusion, watching the guests... there was an older man wearing a bowtie, and someone else adjusting their braces, and a woman in green with her blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail... A tear fell down her cheek and splashed against the journal's cover.
"Shut up, Dad!" she said, standing up abruptly.
Augustus looked over in confusion. "Amelia...?"
"Sorry, but shut up, please!" she begged, looking around almost frantically. "There's people missing. Two people, important people... people so, so important."
Rory reached up to touch her arm. "Amy, what's wrong?"
"Sorry," she muttered. "Sorry, everyone! But when I was a kid, I had an imaginary friend."
The guests started to murmur, and her mother mumbled under her breath. "Oh, no, not this again..."
"The raggedy Doctor and his daughter. My raggedy Doctor. But he wasn't imaginary. He was real."
The murmuring grew louder.
"I remember you!" she shouted to the room, slamming her hands onto the table. "I remember! I brought the others back, and I can bring you home too. Raggedy man, impossible girl, I remember you, and you are late for my wedding!"
For a single, painful moment, there was silence, but then the glasses started to rattle. Above them, the chandelier in the room began to sway.
"I found you," she continued. "I found you in words, like you knew I would. That's why you told me the story... the brand new, ancient blue box. Oh, clever! Very clever."
A wind began to blow through the room despite the fact that no windows were open, and then, as though from a great distance, the sound of grinding engines began to echo.
"Amy, what is it?" Rory asked, staring in confusion.
"Something old," she told him. "Something new. Something borrowed. Something blue."
And in the center of the floor, a bright blue phone box began to appear.
"It's the Doctor and Jenny!" Rory exclaimed, standing up, completely stunned. "How did we forget the Doctor and Jenny?"
As the TARDIS solidified, Amy climbed up over the table and walked towards it. Rory was still talking to himself in the background.
"I was plastic," he was staying. "He was the stripper at my stag. Long story..."
Amy rapped lightly on the TARDIS doors. "Okay, Doctor, Jenny," she said through the wood. "Did I surprise you this time?"
A moment later the doors opened and the Doctor looked down at her, wearing a top hat along with a black suit and a white tie. A somewhat short white scarf was loosely draped over his shoulders.
"Er, yeah," he said at a nudge from Jenny, who was standing next to him wearing a dress the same color as the TARDIS that seemed to glimmer golden when it caught the light. "Completely astonished. Never expected that."
"Very lucky that we were wearing these old things," Jenny agreed, although her eyes were sparkling with mirth.
"Hello, everyone!" The two Time Lords stepped out into the room, much to the astonishment of the guests. "I'm Amy's imaginary friend, this is my imaginary daughter, but we came anyway." He leaned over, shook Augustus' hand, and wandered back towards Amy and Rory.
"Amelia!" he laughed. "And the brand-new Mister Pond!"
Jenny was grinning from ear to ear as she pulled Rory into a quick hug. Rory, however, looked rather bemused by everything.
"No, I'm not Mister Pond," he tried to tell the Doctor. "That's not how it works."
"Yeah, it is," came the prompt reply.
Rory looked at Jenny, who could only shrug helplessly. "...Yeah, it is."
"Right then, everyone!" The two stepped back into the TARDIS. "We'll just move our box. You're going to need the space."
"He only came for the dancing," Jenny murmured to the newlyweds. "I'll try and make sure he doesn't scare anyone, but no promises."
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
The Doctor was doing some ridiculous dance to Queen's 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love'. Amy was doubled over laughing while Jenny had borrowed Rory to actually dance normally to the song.
"You're terrible!" the bride called, laughing. "This is embarrassing!"
It didn't stop him from teaching the dance to all of the children, waving his arms up in the air over his head.
"That's it!" he told them, grinning. "That's good, keep it loose!"
Rory went to sit by Amy, laughing, and Jenny finally gave in and went to join her father's side in teaching the children how to "dance".
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
Now it was a slow song playing, Amy and Rory swaying together in the middle of the floor. The Doctor was leaning against the doorway, Jenny standing next to him.
"Two thousand years," she sighed. "The boy who waited." They shared a smile. "Good on you, mate."
Together, they turned and walked out of the house and back to the TARDIS, familiar blue shape a comfort to them. The Doctor was just about to put his key in the lock when they heard a voice behind them.
"Did you dance?" River asked, and they turned to face her. "Well, you always dance at weddings, don't you?" A smile graced her features. "Even if Jen is the only one that can dance properly."
"Oi!" The Doctor laughed. "But you tell me."
Her smile grew wider. "Spoilers, dear."
He returned the smile and handed back her journal. "The writing's all there, but I didn't peek," he told her.
"Thank you."
Jenny handed her the Vortex Manipulator, and then the Doctor spoke. "Are you married, River?" he asked.
"Are you asking?" she replied as she strapped the device around her wrist.
"Yes."
Jenny raised an eyebrow, and River looked up. "Yes?"
It took a moment for him to register what he just said. "No, hang on- did you think I was asking you to marry me, o- o- or asking if you were married?"
"Yes."
"No, but was that yes, or yes." He shook his head a couple times; he'd just confused himself.
She smiled and leaned forwards. "Yes."
He sighed, looking at the woman in front of him. "River... who are you?"
"You're going to find out very soon, now," she replied, almost sadly. "Now, Jenny dear, come with me for a moment, would you?"
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
They reappeared moments later in River's cell in Stormcage, where River proceed to remove the teleport from around her wrist and handed it back to Jenn.
"This is for you," she said after a pause. "I know a place where I can get another one, I won't miss it."
Jenny stared at the device in her hand. "But why? I don't even know you, River."
"But I know you, Jen," the older woman replied. "Take it."
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
She reappeared in front of her father, who just looked at her.
"She gave it back to me?" The statement was phrased more like a question. "Don't know why..."
"A question for another day daughter mine," he replied, shrugging, and opened the TARDIS doors. "Come on, then!"
Inside, under the familiar copper glow, they had just barely reached the console when the doors opened behind them and Amy walked in.
"Oi!" she called up to them. "Where are you two off to?"
"Amy!" Rory hurried in after her.
"Shut up... it's my wedding."
"Our wedding!"
"Sorry," the Doctor apologized. "Shouldn't have slipped away, but... bit busy, you know?"
Rory shook his head, walking up to join them. "You just saved the whole of space and time," he told them. "Both of you. Take the evening off. Maybe a bit of tomorrow!"
You know, a vacation does sound appealing.
Jen, do you remember what happened the last time we tried to take a vacation and had that party in Elizabethan England?
...No?
JACK happened, that's what.
So we don't invite Jack this time.
"Space and time isn't safe yet," she said allowed, tabling their mental conversation for later. "The TARDIS exploded for a reason. Something drew her to this particular date and blew it up. Why? Why now? The silence, whatever it is, is still out there, and we need to..."
The Doctor shook his head, glaring at the phone which had been ringing for some time now. "Hold that thought, Jen."
He wandered over and plucked the phone off its receiver. "Hello," he said. "Oh! Hello. I'm sorry, this is a very bad time..." Pause, and his expression darkened. "No, but that's not possible. She was sealed into the Seventh Obelisk. I was at the prayer meeting, Jenny was the one that actually trapped her... well, no, I get that it's important!" Amy and Rory shared a bemused look. "An Egyptian goddess loose on the Orient Express..." he caught Jenny's eye and grinned, "in space! Give us a mo."
He covered the mouthpiece with his hand and looked to the Ponds. "Sorry," he said again. "Something's come up... this will have to be goodbye."
Jenny glanced down sadly. Sure, she knew humans wouldn't stay with them forever, but it still hurt when they had to go-
"Yeah, I think it's goodbye," Amy agreed, but something in her voice made Jenny look back up. "Do you think it's goodbye?"
Rory nodded in confirmation. "Definitely goodbye."
Nodding, Amy ran back towards the TARDIS doors, opened them and waved out. "Goodbye!" she shouted, then looked around, almost sadly. "Goodbye."
The two Time Lords grinned as she came back in, and the Doctor spoke into the phone.
"Don't worry about a thing, Your Majesty!" he announced. "We're on our way!"