Remember Me?


See, this love is all we've got. I'm hungry for you my love, so come out and rescue me. Love is just not enough, out in his world of needs.


Rory watched as the TARDIS faded away and clenched his fist. He was so close to catching Amy but he had failed again. He sighed and took in his surroundings properly. London, around World War Two by his reckoning. His lips curved into a grimace as he remembered this was the time period they were almost exiled to, were supposed to be exiled to.

He still couldn't figure out what happened. One minute he was standing before his own grave and looking questioningly at a beaming Amy and the next he was in a run down park near an apartment complex where he met the blonde girl, Rose, Amy had said after that whole debacle during...

He shook his head and sighed. He didn't want to remember that horrible event. Deciding to explore before she came for him, Rory skimmed past the people as they celebrated for no apparent reason. Thanks to the Doctor of course. Always the gallant hero in the eyes of the people, he thought fondly.

Rory knew better. It was what made his relationship with the Doctor so unique. An old woman bumped into him, grinning happily. She kissed him on the cheek and hobbled off. Rory smiled. It was amazing what effect that man and his wife had on people.

He thought about how he had affected people over his stint as the Last Centurion. All those lonely years looking after Amy in that goddamn box while the Doctor had taken the shortcut, cheater that he was.

He closed his eyes. Cheater. Amy had forgiven him a long time ago. She had told him it wasn't his fault and that it was perfectly normal. Most of the time Rory agreed, sometimes he felt like he had betrayed her. Well, excluding the fact she tried to seduce the Doctor on her wedding night. He chuckled at the memory, all malice gone and replaced with nostalgia.

He had cheated. He had to if he wanted to retain his humanity. All those men and women- after the first century, gender preferences sort of become fluid- over those twenty centuries that he had loved and lost and used simply because he wanted to continue being the man who loved and protected Amy.

He walked through the street solemnly and stopped when he came across a quaint little diner, so out of place in London. He smiled and walked inside.

It was empty, barring the man who was wiping down the surface of the counter. Rory knew it was a pretense.

"Sorry, we're closed." He said in an American accent. He gave off the impression of indifference, and a very obvious libido as he checked Rory out. He wasn't bothered. He was used to his antics by now.

"I know." Rory shrugged, pulling a chair out and sitting down, facing him. "I'd like to see the owner."

The man stopped wiping the surface and gave him a long look. His indifference was quickly replaced with an air of caution and potential malice. Rory rolled his eyes. He was such a stickler sometimes.

"Yes Jack, we've met already, remember?" He said bluntly and the American's shoulder's sagged in relief. He gave Rory his trademark grin.

"Sorry, it's hard to know sometimes with, you know, all the out of whack encounters." Jack said, his relief evident in his voice.

"Tell me about it." Rory scoffed. "How's the job?"

"Absolute hell." Jack said coolly and Rory offered him a consoling grin. He knew all about Jack, the one constant in his centurion life, though Jack didn't remember any of that. He sighed wistfully at the thought. Apart from one other person, Jack was a shining light in his otherwise desensitised life. Sometimes he mourned the loss of the more intimate parts of their relationship.

"Nice necklace." He said teasingly, diverting their conversation to a more neutral yet mutual topic. "I didn't think Guppy or Holroyd would let you keep it."

"I would shoot them both if they tried." Jack said possessively, clutching the necklace tightly. "I made a promise to myself that I would return this to Amy as soon as they come back for me. I just have to wait. They're worth it."

Rory smiled. He didn't just wait for Amy throughout those centuries, he waited for the Doctor as well. So maybe he became the type of person he called out in Venice but it didn't matter because he was worth it.

As for his wife, Rory was pretty sure he made it clear just how much he loved.

"They most certainly are." Rory agreed whole-heartedly. A small, powerful cough attracted their attention to the petite brunette looking at them curiously with eyes sparking mischievously.

"Are you two done catching up?" She asked sarcastically. Rory laughed and craned his head to search for the other brunette.

"Oh, she's not here." Their female accomplice replied breezily as she approached them, closing the back door behind her. She was always a clever one, a perk of being the oldest woman in the universe. "She's out making sure that both Doctors are not going to kill themselves stopping crazed Daleks or stupid con mans." Jack flinched at the last bit. "Among ulterior motives." She shrugged innocently as she sat adjacent to Rory.

"Still looking for that mystery person you won't tell any of us about?" Jack asked.

"Perhaps." She said without missing a beat.

"Are you ever going to tell us? You know, since it involves me and Amy directly." Rory questioned.

"Perhaps." She repeated.

"Real helpful." Jack said sarcastically.

"Time you were off Jack." The woman continued, turning towards their American alien friend. Jack opened his mouth to protest but she raised a hand that silenced him. "I am not having Torchwood on my doorstep looking for their missing operative. Now go."

Jack sighed but conceded. He bowed mockingly in front of their female accomplice and patted Rory on the head affectionately before striding out of the diner. The woman shook her head at him in exasperation.

"He gives immortals such a bad name." She sighed. "So, Mr Williams. I trust she sent you here to watch Amy?"

"Yes, she did." Rory answered coolly. "Do you really not remember me?"

"No, I don't." She said. Rory couldn't tell if she was lying or not. She must have seen the look on his face because she sighed. "I'm an immortal woman with a human sized brain. No offence or anything, but I don't remember everything, even with Jack's Boeshane techniques."

"There might be another reason you don't remember me." Rory said casually. It caught her attention.

"What would that be?"

"It's okay, we took care of it."

"Tell me." She commanded icily. "Even in the company of immortals, I'm stuck with mortals and their secrets."

"You're very grumpy today." Rory noted worriedly. "Is the hunt not going well?"

"No, it is not." She replied reluctantly after a long pause. Rory thought for a second. The Doctor might be against him sharing anything with her in case she somehow gained access to and started messing around with them. Then again, the Doctor wasn't here.

"The cracks in time..." He started reluctantly. The woman fixed him with an annoyed glare.

"Yes, I know what they are." She growled. "You'll have already told me in your future."

"Oh." Rory said. "I'll keep note of that."

"What about the cracks in time?" The woman asked him. "You closed them a long time ago."

"They're still open." Rory explained. "I saw them. Amy thought it was because we hadn't closed them yet, but they shouldn't even exist anymore."

"So what do you think is keeping them open?" The woman asked him curiously.

"I think you already know," Rory countered as he leaned in. "Me."


A/N: Here is the first instalment of The Empty Child! I have a few things I want to address:

Happy New Year everybody! I had a New Years special chapter planned centring around Chase's development but that never came into fruition because my laptop broke! Luckily I saved it on a backup, but then I fell really ill so I couldn't work on it, so I thought I'd post this as a taster of what's to come. I'll post that story after this part of my quartet series is finished.

Secondly, a thing that I've noticed (and the ever Maribor highlighted, inadvertently reminding me in the process) is that people often portray Rory as a faithful being with a super strong OP resolve. That's just wrong. Twenty centuries as The Last Centurion and not seeking love and companionship would break him and Jack was around when Rory was this fabled being, so I used that to my advantage to paint the Jack in the Pandorica Universe as a constant in Rory's life. I also think Amy wouldn't care Rory cheated because, like Maribor said, "she's mature enough and reasonable enough to accept this fact, digest it and move on secure in the knowledge that Rory loves and loved her." (I love this person so much!)

All the hints of the Doctor and Rory cant be interpreted in whatever way you like. I just think that they shared a strong bond over their shared experiences and that it was criminally underused in canon!

Finally, yes, I admit that I took a key component from Hell Bent and have used it to my advantaged. In my defence, this component actually furthers a story arc I already developed!

Next chapter will return to Amy and the gang. Until then!