"Does it matter what I am?" The Doctor flung his arms in the air.
"Yes actually," Carol looked towards him. "Yes it does."
"Five people there- five intelligent human beings- and they all trust me," he pointed towards the group. "Isn't that enough? It does not matter what I am- it does not matter whether I am human or not-"
"Four," Oliver smirked again. "The unconscious one doesn't count."
The silence diffused through the room. Not one of them dared open their mouths as they awaited The Doctor's response. The same thought ran through all of their minds, even those who were quite fond of the strange man, like Julia and Beth; what if he's dangerous? And no wonder; the man was one of the most dangerous beings in the universe.
"I'm a Time Lord," he finally spoke, with little hesitation. "From the planet of Gallifrey. We... my friends here are from the past, about two centuries ago."
"Look can we just forget about it?" Dean took charge of the situation. "If you've got a problem with him being a different species then pretend he's human for the rest of the week. Anyway, we should eat."
...
Rory began to stir after a few hours, and he was bemused to say the least over the unpleasant atmosphere that followed the arguments. The group was like a closed circle, with just two on the outside; Brian, due to his hostility towards the others, and strangely Rory, due to the fact that he hadn't been awake to fully understand the situation. Of course, socially, Rory was fully involved with the group of those that he knew, but he'd not proved himself well towards the complete strangers, and still, he had to earn their trust.
"How you feeling now, sleepy head?" Amy laughed, giving him her hand to help stand up.
"Better," he smiled tiredly. "Much better."
"We're just about to eat."
"Is everything okay? Everyone seems a bit-"
"Hungry. We're all just hungry."
Aside from the fuss, The Doctor had completely dissociated himself from the huddle that surrounded around the food being prepared. He kept to his little corner, a book held in his hands, more as a prop to get the others to leave him alone than a form of entertainment. He knew he was getting worse- not to the point where it was becoming a problem, but the resilience he had above the humans seemed to have worn off. He couldn't hold off sleep like before, and kept finding himself joining the others when they decided to settle down. Whilst he was still more resilient than humans, most of the un-human protection against those kinds of circumstances had left him, leaving him just a little bit weaker as the days progressed.
He didn't want to die. It was the first time he'd admitted it to himself, but it was true. He didn't want to leave behind a universe where the good outweighed the bad to such a great degree. He didn't want his hearts to stop beating. He wanted to take Dean up on the offer of travelling with him. Yet in his mind, it would be a selfish move changing his mind now, and there was almost no chance in any of the cures working.
"Doc?" Dean wandered over, his mouth filled with food. "Y'okay?"
"M'fine," he smiled falsely, before focusing on the book in his hands.
"You're thinking about it aren't you? Death?"
"Yes. Yes I am," he took a shaky breath. "I don't want to-"
"Then don't. Stop lying to yourself, and-"
"But the circumstances-"
"How do you know something is going to happen to us, Doctor? Why are you so sure that if you don't die, one of us will."
"For every reaction, there is an-"
"Oh don't use science to convince me. If one of us dies, Cas brings us back, okay?"
"It's too late for the cure. In a few months, I won't be here. It's still a while away... Just closer than before."
...
"You know I'm sorry, don't you?" Rory mumbled to Amy as he wandered over. "About Sherlock."
"Keep your voice down, The Doctor doesn't know," Amy smiled.
"Amy, he's in his own little world, it's not as if he can hear us."
"You don't have to be sorry, you know. You're mind was messed up-"
"That was no excuse for being a total idiot about a close friend dying like that-"
"Rory, it wasn't you-"
"But it was me, Amy! It was me that pretty much convinced him to go on that rooftop and jump."
"For good reason, Rory. He's alive. That's all that matters."
"Those two weeks. They must have been horrible. And some of it was my fault."
"John was a mess, and we were all just... angry-"
"See? That was my doing! I was responsible for that...-"
"You still don't look right. You're just a little wired, okay? Just calm down. You made some mistakes but we've forgiven you. Now I think it's time to forgive yourself."
"Mind if I join you two?" Molly smiled, receiving an enthusiastic nod from them both.
"So, how are you finding your first trip to space?" Amy turned towards her to speak. "It's crazy, isn't it?"
"It's... unexplainably strange. I don't think I'll ever get used to it."
"You might get a chance to try. We're really enjoying having you on board, and if you want to stay, we'd be more than happy."
"Thank you," Molly looked slightly taken aback. "But my job-"
"It's your decision what to do. If you don't think it's for you, then just tell us, and if it's losing your job you're worried about... Well Rory didn't lose his job and he's been on the TARDIS for months."
"It's true," Rory nodded.
"I want to, if I'm welcome?"
"Of course you're welcome!" Rory grinned. "You've been a pleasure. Much more fun than John and Sherlock have been."
...
"So..." Dean went to sit beside Sam. "When we get back to normal... When we're finished with whatever we're doing with this Gallifreyan thing... What's happening, Sammy?"
"I've told you before. I'm staying in London," Sam stubbornness hadn't wavered.
"I'm... I guess I'm okay with that," Dean nodded, although his heart dropped a little. "Molly's amazing, Sam. If you're abandoning your big brother for anyone, I'm happy that it's her."
"I... Thanks, Dean. But what are you going to do? I mean... back to America, is it?"
"Maybe. If by some miracle, The Doctor lives, Rory and Amy will probably go back to being companions only once in a while. I think I'm going to travel on the TARDIS for a bit. See more of the universe."
