Guido spread out a map of Venice on his dining table, as he said: "As you saw, there's no clear way in."
The Doctor, Amy, and Teresa looked down at the map as Guido explained: "The House of Calvierri is like a fortress. But there's a tunnel underneath it," he drew his finger down the map to illustrate, "with a ladder and shaft that leads up into the house."
The Doctor pored over the map as Guido straightened, finishing with a sigh: "I tried to get in once myself, but I hit a trapdoor."
Amy immediately looked up at him and said with a mischievous gleam in her eye: "You need someone on the inside."
"No." The Doctor answered, not even bothering to look at her.
Amy looked at him, offended, and she retorted: "You don't even know what I was going to say."
Teresa chuckled as the Doctor recited dryly: "Er, that we pretend you're an applicant for the school to get you inside, and tonight you come down and open the trapdoor to let us in."
Rory sighed from his spot in the corner of the room, beside a large collection of barrels, and Amy muttered petulantly: "Oh. So you do know what I was going to say."
"Are you insane?" Rory demanded and Teresa piped up: "Er, Rory you might want to move from that spot."
He glanced at her in confusion, but turned his attention back to Amy as the redhead leaned on the table and she said pointedly: "We don't have another option."
Rory replied sternly: "He said no, Amy. Listen to him."
Amy frowned, while Guido chimed in: "There is another option."
He pointed towards Rory, and they all turned to look while Rory lifted a finger to point at himself questioningly, looking surprised. Teresa shook her head at him, amused, and he slowly lowered his finger as Guido told them: "I work at the Arsenale."
The Doctor let go of Teresa's hand- to her surprise, it was the first the entire day- and walked over towards Rory and began to sniff around the other man as Guido added: "We build the warships for the navy."
The Doctor sniffed his way to the barrels and he muttered: "Gunpowder."
Guido nodded proudly and the Doctor grumbled: "Most people just nick stationery from where they work. Look," he walked back towards Teresa as he said flatly, "I have a thing about guns and huge quantities of explosive."
Guido slapped his hand down on the table, asking irritably: "What do you suggest, then? We wait until they turn her into an animal?"
The Doctor sighed, rubbing his eyes with one hand, and Amy said suggestively: "I'll be there three, four hours, tops."
Rory rolled his eyes in annoyance while the Doctor looked at her contemplatively. He quickly snapped himself out as he groaned: "No."
Rory nodded in agreement with the Doctor as he muttered: "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. It can't keep happening like this. This is how they go."
He sat down, rubbing his hand across his face tiredly as Rory frowned at him. They could all hear how close the Doctor was to letting Amy go. Amy raised her brows expectantly, and then looked at Teresa for help.
The blonde saw the look and she added: "And Amy wouldn't be alone."
Amy's eyes widened and she began shaking her head in alarm but Teresa didn't notice as she tried to say helpfully: "I'll go with her. We can say we're sisters."
The Doctor's head immediately snapped up and he said sharply: "Absolutely not!"
"Why not?" Teresa asked with a frown, and Rory demanded: "Why is it not okay for her but okay for Amy?"
"Doctor, she means we really need someone inside, so I should go." Amy tried to save the situation, but it only became worse as Rory shouted: "No, why is it okay for you but not for her?"
Teresa was demanding at the Doctor: "What's wrong with me going? You can't send Amy in alone!"
"You're not going in there!" The Doctor argued, and Amy clapped her hands together loudly, shouting: "All right, shut up! I'm going in alone, and no-one's going to argue!"
Rory stared at her angrily as Teresa narrowed her eyes, and the Doctor cut in: "Amy, it's dangerous."
"But we don't have another option." Amy pointed out and the Doctor sighed.
He conceded as he said finally: "We go together, say you're my daughter."
"What? Don't listen to him." Rory said to Amy angrily, but Amy ignored him as she retorted: "Your daughter? You look about nine."
The Doctor conceded that point too and he corrected: "Brother, then."
Amy snorted: "Too weird. Fiancé."
The Doctor's face immediately darkened and Amy realized her mistake. She blinked, and glanced worriedly at Teresa, only to find the blonde didn't look too perturbed, simply raising her eyes to the heavens as though praying for patience, as Rory snapped: "I'm not having him run around telling people he's your fiancé."
Amy quickly agreed: "No. No, you're right."
"Thank you." Rory muttered, and Teresa interjected angrily: "We're not sending you in alone."
"But they've already seen you and the Doctor." Amy retorted, and Teresa pursed her lips while the Doctor's face relaxed slightly.
Amy noticed and she beamed, glad he wasn't mad at her anymore and that she'd made a case Teresa couldn't refute, As the blonde tried to think of an argument, Amy turned to Rory as she added: "You should do it."
"Me?" He asked confusedly, and Amy explained: "Yeah, you take me. You can be my brother."
She ruffled his hair, making the Doctor snort although he tried to cover it as a cough. Teresa sighed in exasperation as Rory looked hurt, and he asked flatly: "Why is him," he pointed at the Doctor, "being your brother weird, but with me, it's okay?"
"Well, Guido thought the Doctor was her fiancé as well." Teresa replied tiredly, only to blink in surprise as the Doctor turned to her quickly in shock while Guido asked blankly: "I did?"
"Er, didn't you?" Teresa asked, unnerved by the Doctor's incensed expression.
"No, I thought you two were engaged actually." Guido said confusedly, pointing at Teresa and the Doctor. She blinked as Amy rolled her eyes, while the Doctor frowned and Guido added: "And I thought these two were brother and sister."
He pointed at Rory and Amy, making Teresa snort despite the circumstances and her own confusion, and Rory throw up his hands in frustration.
"Yeah, that's not helping." The Doctor pointed out at Guido.
Guido lowered his finger sheepishly, and the Doctor pulled the confused Teresa to sit on his lap as Rory protested angrily: "This whole thing is mental! They're vampires, for God's sake."
He glared between the Doctor and Amy, but it dropped as the Doctor answered flatly: "We hope."
Rory slowly lifted a finger, about to ask, when Amy asked instead: "So if they're not vampires…?"
She trailed off and the Doctor finished: "Makes you wonder what could be so bad it doesn't actually mind us thinking it's a vampire."
He bared his teeth dramatically, making Teresa roll her eyes again. She hit his stomach, and he stopped, but as soon as she turned back to look at the others he grinned at her back smugly, wrapping his hand slightly around her waist. Amy rolled her eyes in exasperation while Rory frowned in confusion and Guido just prodded his barrels thoughtfully.
Teresa, the Doctor, and Guido waited for Rory to return after escorting Amy to the Calvierri school. They'd been sitting at the table when Guido left to prepare the gondola for their plan, and as soon as he left, Teresa turned to the Doctor angrily.
"Why did you let her go alone? It's dangerous." Teresa argued, and the Doctor sighed. She'd been keeping it in, not wanting to worry Rory or argue in front of Guido, but she was ticked off and he knew it.
He admitted quietly: "It's even more dangerous to let you go in there."
"Why?" She demanded and he answered quickly: "You know she'll be safe, right? You wouldn't send her in at all if she wasn't."
"Yes, so?" Teresa said impatiently, and the Doctor pointed out: "So, we know she's safe but we don't know about you."
"If we used that logic, I could never step outside the Tardis." Teresa replied dryly.
The Doctor sighed and pulled her towards him. She glanced at his hands warily, but his constant need for physical contact today had conditioned her to be more comfortable with his closeness.
She looked at him expectantly, and he murmured, leaning his forehead against hers: "Can't you just stay here with me, just this once?" He asked her quietly.
She examined him with her clear grey eyes and she asked abruptly: "Did something happen with the Angels?"
He blinked, staring at her uncomprehendingly so she elaborated: "You've been awfully touchy-feely today, and you're never clingy about dangerous stuff like this. Did something happen?"
His eyes softened as he understood, and he answered gently: "No, it wasn't something from the Byzantium."
"Then what is it?" Teresa demanded, but she saw him hesitate. Her eyes narrowed and she waited for him to lie to her. So she was surprised as he answered softly: "Spoilers."
"Excuse me?" She asked blankly, shocked by his unexpected answer.
He paused and said at last: "It's… spoilers. But I'll give you two hints: I'm proving a point and I don't want to risk them sucking your blood."
Teresa raised a brow and she countered: "Making a point to whom, and why me? I'm not more important than Amy." She said pointedly.
He grinned a little, making her frown, and he replied lightly: "I can't say much more, at least not yet. It's too early for you. But I will say, I'm making a point to Amy and for your information, to me, nothing is more important than you."
She raised a brow but he simply sat looking amused so she gave up, shaking her head. It was too early for him to love River yet anyway- after all, he would spend, or rather this him had spent, the entire Angels adventure denying his future with River. And given that Amy loved Rory, despite what she acted sometimes, she supposed it made sense he would reason with her this way… not that she was happy with it.
But she let it go, pursing her lips and he grinned as he recognized her conceding. She blinked as he seemed to pause, and her eyes widened as he suddenly leaned forward again to place a gentle kiss on her forehead.
"What was that for?" She demanded as she lifted a hand to the spot, feeling like it was almost burning from the contact.
He smiled softly, and her eyes widened even more in alarm- and fear. She had never before felt his closeness was something out of the ordinary- this Doctor was naturally more open with his actions- but there was something in his eyes now that made her afraid.
Of what, she wasn't sure but she began to shake slightly from the emotions. She was interrupted from her inner panic attack though as the Doctor pulled back and clapped his hands together.
She blinked, but he didn't seem to notice as he said cheerily: "Right, that was for you being a good girl and listening for once. Now, let's go find Guido, how about it?"
She stared as he jumped up and offered her a hand. Taking it slowly, Teresa let him lead her out and towards the gondola, grabbing a scarf along the way, and saw it was just in time as Rory returned.
Glancing at the Doctor's serene expression, she calmed down. It was nothing more than a friendly kiss, the kind he gave Amy. Feeling much calmer, she joined the group as they began to climb into the gondola, missing the shadow that crossed the Doctor's face.
He'd noticed her fear and quickly covered his actions. He berated himself for acting carelessly- this Teresa was too early. It had taken much longer to convince the older her, and this Teresa was certainly not going to be prepared. Unfortunately, his body had taken over in that moment; thankfully, though, it hadn't done any damage. Probably because Teresa had yet to figure out who she really was.
He shook himself out of those thoughts as he clambered into the gondola, placing himself behind Teresa as she sat at the very front. Rory sat beside the Doctor, and Guido pushed them down the canal. Teresa had to admit that it was rather funny seeing Guido in Rory's stag party shirt, with the picture of Amy and Rory inside a heart.
As they made their way quietly down the canal, the Doctor noticed Rory's anxious state and he tried to soothe: "She'll be fine."
"You can promise me that, can you?" Rory snapped at him, and the Doctor went silent, knowing he couldn't.
Teresa glanced back and she answered firmly: "I can."
Rory glanced at her in surprise, and Teresa met his gaze as she told him: "I promise, Amy will be fine."
"How do you know?" Rory asked incredulously, and she replied quietly: "I just do, Rory. I wouldn't have sent her in there, especially alone, if I couldn't promise you we'd get her out safely."
Rory stared at her skeptically, but he was slightly appeased as they arrived at the tunnel entrance. Guido told them softly: "We're here."
The Doctor hopped off, and held out a hand for Teresa. She took it, glad he wasn't going to try leave her out here- it would just lead to another argument and this time she was determined not to lose. The Doctor made sure she was safely on the stone landing beside him before he turned and led the way up through the metal gate and up the stone steps towards the tunnel door.
The Doctor muttered: "Right. Okay, I'll go first. If anything happens to me, go back-"
"What happened," Rory interrupted irritably, "between you and Amy?"
Teresa rolled her eyes at his bad timing while the Doctor grit his teeth. Rory continued angrily: "You said she kissed you."
"Now?" The Doctor snapped in a mix of exasperation and annoyance. "You want to do this now?"
He glared at Rory before hurrying to the wooden door, taking Teresa's hand and pulling her with him. Rory noticed, and it only made him more confused and cross. He whispered angrily as he followed the pair: "I have a right to know. I'm getting married in four hundred and thirty years."
The Doctor groaned a little under his breath, and he pushed open the door. Walking into the dark tunnel, carrying a fiery torch, he finally muttered: "She was frightened. I was… frightened."
His hand tightened on Teresa's as he finished quickly: "But we survived, you know, and the relief of it, and so she kissed me."
"And you kissed her back?" Rory asked, and Teresa rolled her eyes as the Doctor replied flatly: "No. I kissed her mouth."
"Funny." Rory snapped and the Doctor retorted angrily: "Does it look like I would've kissed her back?"
He glanced uneasily at Teresa, and Rory's eyes widened as he understood.
Teresa, mistaking the Doctor's glance as a call for help, said to Rory kindly: "Rory, Amy only kissed the Doctor because he was there. Trust me, Amy does love you more than the Doctor. There's nothing you need to fear."
Rory frowned, wondering how she could be so calm about Amy kissing the Doctor. He would've punched the Doctor if the Doctor had been the one to kiss Amy, but Teresa seemed completely unaffected.
The Doctor meanwhile, sighed, and he just said simply: "Rory, just trust us on this. It's why I brought you here in the first place."
A strong wind blew down the tunnel, putting out the fire on their torch. They stood in silence in the complete dark for a moment before the Doctor whispered in a strained voice, tired by the conversation: "Can we go and see the vampires now, please?"
They walked in silence to the end of the tunnel, hitting the trapdoor Guido had mentioned before. The Doctor pulled Rory over and climbed onto the other man to get to the hatch. Teresa stood watching in amusement as Rory struggled to keep the Doctor up while the Time Lord heaved the trapdoor open and climbed out… by stepping on Rory's head.
She chuckled as Rory made a sound of annoyance, making him glare at her in the dark. The Doctor leaned down and stretched out a hand, and Rory helped Teresa up so that she could be pulled out. Teresa clambered out with the Doctor's help, and he set her carefully on her feet before reaching back down for Rory.
Teresa glanced around the dark courtyard they were in while the Doctor pulled Rory up, hoping against hope that Amy would be here, but sure enough the redhead was nowhere to be seen. She sighed quietly- Rory was going to have a field day- but stayed quiet as the Doctor called softly: "Amy. Where's Amy? Amy?"
Rory muttered: "I can't see a thing. Just as well," he dug out a small penlight from his pocket, "I brought this, then."
The Doctor responded by simply pulling out a long light stick from inside his jacket, explaining: "Ultraviolet."
Teresa chuckled at Rory's dumbfounded expression as the Doctor added: "Portable sunlight."
"Yours is bigger than mine." Rory said sadly, making Teresa smile and the Doctor replied flatly: "Let's not go there."
Teresa was trying to stifle her giggles and doing a very poor job- Rory glared at her sulkily while the Doctor glanced at her in sheepish amusement.
"So, where is Amy?" The Doctor asked Teresa and she sighed: "Not here. Before you go off, you need to see something."
She nodded to one of the chests near the walls and he glanced at what she was indicating. He grabbed her hand and quickly walked over to it as Rory sighed.
"If we cancel now, we lose the deposit on the village hall. The salsa band." He moaned in defeat. "Oh."
The Doctor was ignoring him as he opened the chest curiously, and he immediately tensed as they all saw the decimated corpse inside. Teresa eyes it sadly as Rory flinched and the Doctor's face darkened. The Doctor leaned in to examine the corpse as Rory asked shakily: "What happened to them?"
"They've had all the moisture taken out of them." The Doctor answered thoughtfully.
Rory's face paled and he asked slowly: "That's what vampires do, right? They drink your blood and replace it with their own."
"Yeah," the Doctor muttered as he peered closer at the skeleton, "except these people haven't just had their blood taken, but all the water in their entire bodies."
He lifted his light to take an even closer look and he asked Teresa quietly: "Hints?"
"You're right, they aren't vampires." She told him in a low undertone. He nodded thoughtfully, but before they could say anything else, Rory interrupted.
"Why did they die?" Rory asked puzzled. "Why aren't they like the girls in the school?"
The Doctor sighed and he explained: "Maybe not everyone survives the process."
He went back to looking at the corpse, while Teresa glanced at Rory.
"Rory…" she said gently but with a warning tone in her voice.
The Doctor glanced up as Rory struggled but he finally just burst out: "You know what's dangerous about you?"
Teresa's eyes narrowed as the Doctor's face immediately became blank. Rory accused, agitated: "It's not that you make people take risks, it's that you make them want to impress you." Teresa winced as the Doctor tensed and Rory continued: "You make it so they don't want to let you down."
"Rory, that's enough." Teresa chided quietly as the Doctor's hands curled around hers tightly, involuntarily.
Rory paused, but he burst out again, unable to keep his emotions in check as he worried about Amy: "You have no idea how dangerous you make people to themselves when you're around."
Rory turned away, finished but still unhappy, while the Doctor bowed his head. Rory's words had struck too close to home, and he was shaken by them. Teresa knew this and she quickly placed a hand on his arm, getting his attention.
He stared at her as she said gently, and very quietly: "He doesn't mean it. He's just worried."
The Doctor stared at her sadly, but they all jumped as they heard the familiar chorus of voices ask: "Who are you?"
The Doctor leapt to his feet, pulling Teresa up with him and they backed back to the trapdoor as the six girls appeared from the doorways around them. As the girls bared their teeth at them again, the Doctor waved his UV light at them quickly.
The girls flinched from the light, and the Doctor ordered: "We should run. Run!"
"Come on!" Teresa cried as she let go of the Doctor and grabbed Rory's hand.
She dragged him with her as she ran while the Doctor brought up the rear, waving the light to keep the girls at bay. They ran down a random corridor, and headed down deeper into the mansion, both running from the creepy girls and looking for Amy. As they ran through another corridor, Rory stopped, preventing himself from banging into a suit of armour.
"Oh!" The Doctor cried as he rammed into Rory and spun a little, while Teresa toppled from the double shock of Rory's abrupt stop and the Doctor accidentally hitting her with his shoulder.
"Sorry, angel." He apologized, taking her hand. He ran again, hissing urgently: "Rory, come on."
The trio ran again, Teresa and the Doctor now holding hands and Rory coming up behind them. They screeched to a halt as Signora Rosanna Calvierri appeared before them, flanked by her son and the steward, Carlo.
"Cab for Amy Pond?" The Doctor asked lightly, making Teresa snort as they tried to back up the way they'd come. Rory suddenly stopped, forcing Teresa and the Doctor to stop as well. Glancing back, she saw it was because the girls had caught up behind them.
"Terry?" Rory asked urgently and she muttered: "Er…"
Rosanna scoffed to her son and Carlo: "This rescue plan. Not exactly watertight, is it?"
"That's our cue." Teresa told the Doctor and Rory, just as the Doctor lunged at the hissing girls with his light, forcing them back.
"Cue for what?" Rory demanded, but his question was answered as Isabella and Amy came running from the side corridor.
"Rory." Amy breathed in relief as she grabbed the man's arm, and his face lit up.
"Amy." He sighed and Teresa said hurriedly: "Yeah, not now guys."
"Quickly," Isabella urged them, "through here."
She ran off down the side corridor, and they all ran after her. The chasing girls and Rosanna's son, Francesco, gave chase, but they pulled slightly ahead with their slight head start.
*A/N Haha, I'm loving all your reviews and how you think Terry's really clueless to miss the obvious! :D But I promise it will all be explained in good time~ Thank you to everyone for reading and reviewing!