Chapter Twenty-six: Rory

Rory hadn't been thrilled by the idea of moving Fitts into the cave. Caves were, in his experience, chilly and damp. The men had insisted this one was dry and they could also build a fire in it, just as Geoff and his men had the night before. Rory had reluctantly consented and two of the men had picked up Fitts to carry him the short distance. They settled him near the back of the cave and Rory took a seat beside him, checking his vitals on the monitor again. They continued to hold steady, much to his relief. He leaned forward to adjust the blanket that was wrapped around Fitts, moving it up around his shoulders more securely.

Amy came to sit with him a few minutes later. Grist was in the front portion of the cave, where the ceiling was higher. He was pacing, frowning over at Rory, Amy and Fitts every few minutes. Rory was getting irritated by the dirty looks. Grist couldn't know that Fitts had information about the queen's whereabouts and it was ridiculous to risk the man's life on the off-chance he did. His irritation, however, was nothing compared to Amy's. Each time Grist looked in their direction, her tension increased. Rory could see her clenching and unclenching her fists. He wanted to say something to her but the next time Grist looked their way, Amy got to her feet and stalked toward him.

Rory watched anxiously as Grist and Amy talked. As satisfying as watching her take the arrogant man down a peg would be, they still needed Grist's help if they were going to find the Doctor. He only caught a word or two as they spoke but Grist's body language betrayed his discomfort. Amy pressed on until Landon returned to the cave and interrupted them. He seemed to be reporting. Rory didn't envy him; he was being questioned by both Grist and Amy.

After a few minutes Landon left the cave and Amy turned back to Grist. This time Rory could clearly hear her.

"What do we do?" she asked.

"We wait, and we hope that your husband's efforts weren't in vain," Grist replied, turning away from her. Rory was relieved when she didn't follow him. After glaring after him for a moment, she turned and came back to sit beside Rory and Fitts.

"What's happening?" he asked.

"They can't find any traces of the advance riders. They're going to try to pick up Geoff's trail."

"Geoff's? Not the queen's?"

"They assume they'll be similar, and since Geoff's with a large party they're more likely to leave traces," she answered. She looked over at Fitts, her brow creased with worry. "How's he doing?"

"His vitals are stable. They've improved a little. I think he'll make it."

"Good." Amy nodded, her brow clearing.

"Grist is still mad that I didn't let him question him first isn't he?" Rory asked.

"He's hoping that Fitts knows what the queen's plan is."

"That assumes she had one." Amy arched her brows at him and he smiled. "She's with the Doctor after all. He's not exactly the best at planning."

"Just because we can't always follow his plans…" she began. Rory couldn't hold back a skeptical snort and she chuckled. "Alright. Fine. He mostly makes things up as he goes," she admitted.

"Seems that way," Rory agreed. They were both quiet for a moment, lost in their own thoughts. The Doctor had been in such pain the last time he saw him; Rory didn't think he'd be up to inventing any plans just now. The queen would have to take the lead there, and hopefully the Doctor would be able to follow along. Amy shuddered and Rory quickly put his arm around her. He drew her close and after a second she let her head drop to his shoulder.

"I just hope he's able to make something up right now," she said quietly. Rory leaned over to kiss the top of her head even as he pulled her up tighter against him.

They sat for some time without talking. Rory kept his arm around Amy and she left her head on his shoulder. From time to time he checked Fitts' monitor. The injured man remained stable and Rory felt his worry increasing. What if Fitts didn't wake up? What if he did, but he knew nothing about where the queen and the Doctor had gone? And what was Rory going to do about Fitts when the time did come to move out?

Amy lifted her head from his shoulder and Rory looked toward the cave's entrance to see one of Grist's men returning. Amy slipped out from under his arm, making her way toward them. Both men looked over as she approached. The man nodded to Grist before departing, leaving him to face Amy alone. Once again their conversation was too quiet for Rory to hear much, but their body language showed they were arguing once more. Grist was pacing as he talked and Amy had her arms crossed over her chest. Gradually their voices rose, echoing slightly in the cave. Rory winced, both at the volume and the subject matter.

"Abandon… But you can't!" Amy protested, her voice at a half-shout. "She's your queen." Grist whirled to face her and though Rory could only see his back, he could imagine his glower.

"I owe her nothing," he retorted.

"I don't know what she did to make you hate her, but if you abandon this you're not just hurting her," Amy fired back. "My friend's out there…"

"Your friend is not my concern."

"What about the prince? Or does your hatred for his mother extend to him?"

"I don't hate her." Grist answered, his voice dropping a little in volume. He sounded tired now. He started to pace again but came to a stop after just a couple of steps. He said something more, but his voice was so quiet now that Rory couldn't hear him. He turned away from Amy and moved out of the cave. Rory could hear him calling out to his men. Amy stared after him for a minute before she turned toward Rory. She looked anxious as she stepped across the cave to rejoin him.

"What did the queen do to him?" she muttered as she took a seat on the cave floor beside Rory.

"He was in love with her," Rory said. When Amy stared in surprise he gave an embarrassed shrug. "No one can hurt you quite so badly as a person you love." Amy's eyes widened and Rory looked away, feeling his face warm. He studied Fitts' monitor again, willing the man to wake up. When he turned back Amy was still staring at him but he didn't think she was seeing him anymore. She was lost in her thoughts.

"It wasn't just the queen," she murmured finally, refocusing on Rory. "The king did something too."

"What?"

"He said… he said a child should never be punished for the crimes of his parents. Not his mother – his parents." Amy stared at him and after a moment Rory nodded.

"Oh…kay," he said. "That's interesting, but how does it help us exactly?"

"I dunno. Maybe if he threatens to abandon the search again we can remind him of what he said," Amy replied. "Or maybe… maybe we can remind him that it wasn't just the queen who hurt him." She shrugged and Rory nodded.

"Ok. That's a good idea." He looked past her to see two of Grist's men entering the cave with arms full of branches. "I guess they're setting up camp for the night." Amy looked over her shoulder for a second.

"Yeah. Grist said it was going to be dark soon so he was calling off any more searching."

"We really need to know what Fitts can tell us," Rory said, turning back to study his patient. Amy put her hand on his arm.

"Hey," she chided. "You did the right thing, Rory. You couldn't let them risk his life just to ask him questions."

"I know." He looked back at the unconscious man and Amy rubbed his arm.

"He might not have any answers for them anyway."

"What if he doesn't? Then what do we do?"

"We keep searching. We know the queen didn't try to return to the camp, and we know she didn't go toward Stoketon. That's two possibilities eliminated."

"How many to go?" Rory asked, turning back toward Amy.

"Hey – they'll find a trace," she said, leaning forward to hug him. "I know they will." She kissed his cheek before letting him go and getting to her feet. "I'm going to go get some air. Ok?"

"Ok." He nodded and she turned to go. He watched her cross the cave before turning to the medical kit.

Rory looked through the medical kit, checking the labels on all the devices. He knew he needed to heal the Doctor's collarbone and ankle but he wanted to know what equipment he had. Grist's description of Geoff as a sadistic bastard was troubling; what other injuries might the Doctor suffer at his hands? Rory was determined to be ready for anything. He found tools for mending broken bones, healing burns and mending cuts. He found that, in addition to putting labels on everything, the Doctor had also added a tray of medicines. There was an assortment of things that looked like syringes, only without needles. They were in a rainbow of colors. There wasn't a tag on each one but Rory did find a card with a list. Blue was for pain relief, red was a stimulant, green was to treat infections, purple was a sedative, and so on. There was as small bottle of yellow pills as well; their label said they were for re-growing limbs. Rory stared at the bottle in shock. Just what does the Doctor think we're going to get up to on these adventures? he wondered.

He turned from the kit to watch the men working near the cave's entrance. It wasn't long before they had a small fire going. The smoke mostly moved out of the cave but Rory felt his eyes water anyway. He wiped his gritty eyes and watched as the men added more wood to the fire. He longed to join Amy in the fresh air outside, but he didn't want to leave Fitts alone. What am I supposed to do in the morning? he wondered. We can't take the man with us, and he can't be left here alone. Rory looked over at the men working on the fire, wondering if any of them had any medical training.

By the time Amy came back the number of men at the fire had doubled. They'd started to bring in food and Rory felt his stomach rumbling. Amy arched her brows at him as she dropped back down beside him.

"Was that your stomach?" she asked, smirking.

"Yes," he answered, feeling his face warm. The light outside the cave was turning more orange as the sun set. "Are all of the men back yet?"

"There's one more pair still out – Landon and Robbard. Grist's worried."

"I was thinking about tomorrow," Rory told her. "I don't think taking Fitts with us is a good idea, but he can't stay here alone."

"You can't stay behind," Amy protested, reaching out to grab his hand. "The… the Doctor's hurt. He needs you."

"I know. Some of the men will have to stay."

"Maybe we can leave Ortel and Mortan."

"Is Mortan still staring…"

"No," she said quickly, smirking again. "I think Ortel said something to him. Now he blushes bright red and runs the other way when he sees me." They chuckled softly, smiling at each other. A few minutes later a low moaning sound came from behind Rory and Amy nudged him. "Your stomach…"

"Ssh," Rory chided, turning back to Fitts. The man moaned again and Rory pulled his hand away from Amy, reaching for the monitor. "He's waking up!"

"I'll tell Grist," Amy said, touching his shoulder once before hurrying away. Rory kept his eyes on his patient, willing the man to open his eyes.

I'd like to thank you all for the reviews - you've been terrific. I'll also beg your indulgence and recommend a story. Kelly of the midnight dawn has just started an 11/Rose tale called Who Are You? Who Am I? which I'm thoroughly enjoying.