Lily awoke slowly, her eyes fluttering open and she peered blearily around. She vaguely remembered being captured… but by what? It was as though her memory was fuzzy…

Lily yelped as one of the creepy, silent aliens stepped forward into her line of sight.

Suddenly she remembered exactly what had happened before: the child in that bedroom, how the aliens had arrived and taken her and Amy, how she and Amy had called for their respective husbands at the top of their lungs as they were dragged away.

But then, everything went black and she had no idea where she had been taken or how long she had been out.

Now, she found herself in the middle of a cavernous room, in the centre of which was an alien console of sorts similar to the one she had seen with River and Rory back in the tunnels in Florida 1969. But this time, she was tied to something akin to a standing operating table and there was an IV filled with a glowing blue-ish yellow liquid standing ominously nearby.

Most importantly, the room (as far as she could see which admittedly wasn't too much in her current position) was filled with the strange aliens she'd run from for three months. She could count at least ten in her line of sight, and Lily was fairly certain there were more right behind her as well.

"Where are we?" Lily demanded as she looked back at the alien before her, who was watching her intently. "What is this?"

"You are Lily Tyler." The alien spoke in a strange, wheezy voice that seemed to rasp and yet echo at the same time. "The Keeper of the Doctor's hearts."

"Why do you say that?" Lily asked, frowning. She hadn't heard that term since the Byzantium… and with a jolt Lily remembered she'd heard that term before that as well. The Face of Boe (she remembered with a mix of fondness and sorrow) had said the same thing before.

"What does that mean, 'the keeper of his hearts'?" Lily demanded warily. Traveling with the Doctor as long as she had, Lily knew that there was always a cost when one became known by a title throughout the universe; always.

"You and Amelia Pond will bring the Silence." The alien went on, completely ignoring her.

"What do you mean, 'we bring the Silence'?" Lily asked sharply. "And where's Amy?"

But again the alien ignored her as it went on: "We do you honour."

The alien nodded to the side and Lily twisted her head as best as she could to see Amy strapped to another gurney just in Lily's line of sight. The redhead was still knocked out though she was just beginning to stir. Even as Lily watched, Amy's head shifted and the young woman's brows furrowed just slightly as she began to regain consciousness.

"Where are we?" Lily repeated, looking back at the alien before her, who replied rather vaguely: "You and Amelia Pond have been here many days."

"That's not possible." Lily retorted, frowning. "The Doctor would have found us – I'm sure of it."

"No-one can find the Silence." The alien answered mysteriously and Lily's frown deepened.

"Why do you keep saying that?" She wondered. "'The Silence'? What do you mean?"

But it was then that Amy woke up, and the redhead demanded loudly as soon as she was conscious enough: "Where am I? What are you? Where's Rory?"

"You are Amelia Pond," the alien repeated in its raspy voice as it turned to Amy now, "and you and Lily Tyler will bring the Silence."

"What are you talking about?" Amy frowned, joining in Lily's confusion. "And what is this?"

The redhead struggled against the bonds holding her down by the wrists and ankles.

"Let me go! You've made a big mistake bringing Lily and me here, because wait until you see what's coming for you now." Amy growled furiously, glaring at the alien.

The extraterrestrial being didn't even seem fazed by the Scottish woman's anger. Instead, it turned back to Lily as it ordered: "You will sleep now."

She frowned, before her eyes widened in alarm as the alien leaned in towards her, hissing: "Sleep."

"No!" Lily shouted, trying to wriggle away from the menacing and threatening alien and Amy yelled at the same time in an outrage: "Oi! Get away from her!"

"Sleep." The alien repeated, ignoring the women's yells, and Lily screamed at the top of her lungs: "I said, no!"

Suddenly, a very familiar wheezing filled the room. Both Amy and Lily's heads snapped to the middle of the room and Lily's fear faded away into triumphant relief as a blue police box appeared right beside the console.

The alien before her also turned around, and it too stared at the Tardis just as the door swung open and the Doctor poked his head out.

"Oh!" He commented as he looked about. "Interesting. Very Aickman Road."

He stepped out, and Lily and Amy sagged slightly in relief to see not only Rory but also River and Rickey step out of the Tardis behind the Doctor.

"I've seen one of these before." The Doctor was saying lightly, completely ignoring the other aliens in the room. "Abandoned. I wonder how that happened? Oh, well I suppose I'm about to find out."

The Doctor turned back to his companions as he called: "Rory, River, Rickey; keep one Silent in eyeshot at all times."

He then turned back to the room, and he blinked.

"Oh, hello." The Doctor called politely as though just realizing the aliens were there. "Sorry, you were in the middle of something."

The alien – did the Doctor call it a Silent? – growled its strange creaking growl as it stared at the Doctor. River and Rickey both held some kind of high-tech guns in their hands, and they kept their weapons trained carefully on the growling aliens, but the Doctor himself was unfazed.

The Time Lord ignored it as he strode into the room, carrying an old box TV set and he said blithely: "Just had to say, though, have you seen what's on the telly?"

Lily bit back a grin as she realized with relief that the Doctor must have found the answer they had been searching for. Not wanting to give them away prematurely or steal the Doctor's moment of glory, she stayed quiet.

But she didn't fool her husband, who winked at her.

"Lily darling." He called, while moving to settle the television on the centre console. "You all right? How about we kick back and watch some telly, hey?"

Before Lily could reply, the Silent standing between them took a step in the Doctor's direction.

"Ah!" The Doctor warned. "Now, stay where you are. Because look at me," he looked the other aliens right in the eye, "I'm confident."

The Silence paused, staring wordlessly at the Doctor, who went on darkly: "You want to watch that, me, when I'm confident. Especially," his green eyes narrowed, "after you steal my wife away from me."

"What about me?" Amy protested, and the Doctor waved at her.

"Oh, come now, Amelia." He said, back to his blithe self, while Rory edged his way surreptitiously towards Amy. "You're Scottish – if anything, they should be even more afraid of you."

"As opposed to a pregnant woman?" Amy challenged, and the Doctor's grin widened.

"This is nice and all," Lily interrupted, "but it's been quite some time that I've been strapped here and I'm starting to really need to go to the ladies' room."

"Ah!" The Doctor said loudly. "Now, we can't have that. Sorry you lot," he waved at the Silence, "but I'm afraid I'm going to have to insist on taking my wife back now."

The Silence growled menacingly, and the Doctor shook his head.

"Guys, really?" He asked. "I mean look, no offense but I've been around – the growling doesn't work. And don't you see my friends?"

He gestured over his shoulder to where River and Rickey were still standing with their guns trained on the Silence around the room.

Rory meanwhile reached Amy, who sighed in relief while the Doctor introduced to the Silence: "This is River and Rickey, and their guns; and unlike me, they don't mind shooting people. Normally I wouldn't like that, but," the Doctor's face darkened again, "when you've taken the people important to me… well."

He smiled, brightening again so quickly he appeared bipolar.

"Is he okay?" Amy whispered to Rory as her husband tugged on her bonds.

"I don't know." Rory shrugged. "He's probably as okay as I was to find you gone."

"So, not okay at all?" Amy asked, and Rory replied: "Definitely not okay."

"How did you find us anyway?" Amy whispered as Rory made little headway with her bonds.

"Well, apparently the necklace the Doctor gave Lily for Christmas is made of a rare rock." Rory explained. "It didn't take him long to find her with that."

"What?" Amy gaped, glancing over at Lily who was watching the Doctor.

Amy peered at the silvery round pendant hanging from Lily's neck and then looked back at Rory, before she shook her head.

"I don't even want to know." She sighed. "Moving on – does he have a plan?"

She nodded at the Doctor as the Time Lord rambled, striding about the room: "Or maybe you could just listen a minute."

"I don't know if he has a plan, but he has something I hope." Rory answered, while the Doctor continued to address the Silence: "Because all I really want to do is accept your total surrender and then I'll let you go in peace."

He nodded at the Silence as he added: "Yes, you've been interfering in human history for thousands of years. Yes, people have suffered and died, but," he smiled a little sarcastically, "what's the point in two hearts, if you can't be a bit forgiving, now and then?"

He stared at the Silence, waiting, but they simply stared back at him. The Doctor raised a brow.

"Ooh, the Silence." He murmured. "You guys take that seriously, don't you? Okay."

The Doctor shrugged easily as he rambled: "You got me; I'm lying. I'm not really going to let you go that easily. Nice thought, but it's not Christmas."

"That's what she said." River said, and the Doctor shot her a disapproving look.

"Sorry." River said unapologetically, and the Doctor shook his head.

"So, back to business." The Doctor announced as he turned back to the Silence. But not before he switched on the box television.

"First, you tell me about the little girl and boy. Who are they? Why are they important? What are they for?"

The Doctor peered at the Silence again, and again they didn't answer.

Lily glanced at the television, which was streaming the live feed from man's landing on the moon, while the Doctor smirked just slightly as he stared grimly at the Silence.

"Guys, sorry, but you're way out of time." He whispered, before he turned away from them again.

"Now, come on." He said loudly, snapping his fingers as he walked back to the television. "A bit of history for you. Aren't you proud? Because you helped."

The Doctor pulled out the antennae on the television, increasing the signal and improving the clarity on the screen. The others watched, Amy and Rory curiously and Lily eagerly, as the live news feed continued.

The Doctor turned back to the Silence, still rambling on.

"Now, do you know how many people are watching this live on the telly? Half a billion. And that's nothing, because the human race will spread out among the stars."

He waved his hands.

"You just watch them fly. Billions and billions of them, for billions and billions of years. And every single one of them at some point in their lives, will look back at this man," the Doctor pointed at the screen where Neil Armstrong was just about to disembark onto the moon.

"Taking that very first step, and they will never, ever forget it."

The smile she'd been fighting curved Lily's lips up at the corners, and she exchanged excited looks with River, both waiting with growing anticipation. On the television, they could see Neil Armstrong making his way down the ladder towards the moon.

The Doctor pulled out Lily's cell phone, which he had borrowed before and forgotten to give back - again.

"Oh. But don't forget this bit." He muttered before dialing onto the mobile.

"Ready?" He called, while the Silence watched him in confusion.


In the sealed cell in Area 51, Canton answered his cell.

"Ready." He answered to the Doctor's question, before the former agent attached his videophone to the Doctor's super-satellite phone.

The signal beamed up, dialing up to the hastily but effectively made device the Doctor had linked into Apollo 11.


In the cavernous room, Lily and the others watched the television as Neil Armstrong stepped off Apollo 11 and onto the moon.

"That's one small step for a man-" The newsreader began, when the screen suddenly went fuzzy, losing focus, before an ominous voice rasped: "You should kill us all on sight."

Lily's eyes widened as the screen cleared to show a Silence, recorded as it hissed menacingly at the camera: "You should kill us all on sight."

The footage – which Canton had recorded from the Silent he and the Doctor had managed to take prisoner - repeated itself over and over again, the message imbedding itself into the human subconscious.

"You've given the order for your own execution," the Doctor said in a low voice as he stood his ground before the Silent between him and Lily, "and the whole planet just heard you."

"You should kill us all on sight." The message repeated again, before the TV screen switched back to Neil Armstrong standing on the moon, saying: "One giant leap for mankind."

"And one whacking great kick up the backside for the Silence." The Doctor declared triumphantly. "You just raised an army against yourself! And now, for a thousand generations, you're going to be ordering them to destroy you every day."

He advanced on the Silent, asking intently: "How fast can you run? Because today's the day the human race throw you off their planet. They won't even know they're doing it."

Lily's eyes widened as she saw the Silent's hands curl and twitch.

The Doctor paused, before he added: "I think, quite possibly, the word you're looking for right now is," electricity began to crackle all around the room, "'Oops!' Run!"

River, Rickey, and Rory looked at the Doctor, who shouted loudly, all triumphant bravado gone: "Guys, I mean us. Run!"

The Silence all growled and hissed as they drew on the electric shock they used to attack, and instantly River and Rickey started shooting.

"You couldn't get Amy and I free first?" Lily cried as the Doctor scampered over and pointed his sonic at the metal bonds on her arms and legs.

"You normally like my speeches." The Doctor countered, but Lily returned: "Yes, but normally I haven't been taken captive for apparently days, while pregnant!"

"Touche." The Doctor muttered as he finally freed Lily.

"A little help?" Rory called, and the Doctor and Lily hurried over.

With the sonic, it was only a matter of time before the four were scurrying quickly back towards the Tardis. They dodged about, avoiding the Silence's attacks, and the Doctor pointed his sonic wildly about as a defense while River and Rickey fired with impeccable aim at the Silence.

"Where did they learn to shoot like that?" Lily wondered, and the Doctor answered hurriedly as he pushed them all into the Tardis: "She's in prison for killing someone, remember?"

Lily paused, something about the Doctor's words hitting a chord with her, but before she could pursue the niggling feeling the Doctor had shoved her into the Tardis after Amy and Rory.

"Do you think River and Rickey will be okay?" Lily asked as the Doctor slipped inside after her, and the Doctor shrugged.

"As you said, they're very good shooters." He answered. "I'm sure they're fine."

He dashed towards the console, passing Rory as he checked on Amy, and Lily followed the Doctor.

"You don't normally like the shooting." She commented, and the Doctor glanced at her.

"Well, as I said – I like it less when they steal my wife." He answered. "And if that's what it takes to get you and everyone else dear to me back safely, then I can live with it."

Lily smiled wryly, and she wrapped her arms around the Doctor's waist. He hugged her back, pressing his lips on the crown of her head while Lily murmured softly: "Thank you – for coming to get me."

"My pleasure." The Doctor answered. "I'm sorry it wasn't sooner."

"I was out for most of it." Lily admitted. "It really did only feel like five minutes had gone by."

The Doctor frowned at that. But before he could follow his thoughts, the Tardis door opened again and a triumphant River and Rickey entered, their guns smoking.

"Ah, you're back." The Doctor noted brightly, and he pulled a lever.

Instantly, the whole room rocked as they took off, and Lily steadied herself while the Doctor said excitedly: "Good. Now we can get back to Canton-"

"Not like this, we won't." River observed as she threw another lever, steading the Tardis and making the Doctor pout.

"You can let me fly it." He complained, but River countered: "Yeah, or we could go where we're supposed to."

"She has a point." Rickey noted, and the Doctor pointed at the other man as he protested: "Of course you'd take her side."

"Don't act like you wouldn't do the same with Lily." Amy countered as she and Rory rejoined the group by the console. "Besides, they are the better drivers."

"See? Even Amy agrees." River said proudly and the Doctor pouted again.

And Lily quietly adjusted their direction from behind, ensuring they ended up at the right place at the right time. River was so preoccupied with teasing the Doctor that she hadn't been as careful with the year as she had been with the co-ordinates.

And the last thing they needed was to land in the Oval office in 1939 instead of 1969.


Oval Office, 1969

"So we're safe again." Nixon said in satisfaction as he shook the Doctor's hand warmly.

"Safe?" The Doctor repeated with a scoff. "No, of course you're not safe. There's about a billion other things out there just waiting to burn your whole world. But, if you want to pretend you're safe, just so you can sleep at night? Okay, you're safe. But you're not really."

Lily chuckled from where she sat with Amy on the sofa, just beside where the Tardis was parked. River smirked from her place behind the other two women, while Rory and Rickey leaned on the Tardis door with similar grins on their faces.

As Nixon stared, aghast, at the Doctor, the Time Lord turned to the dark-haired man standing to Nixon's other side, and he beamed: "Canton. Until the next one, eh?"

He offered his hand, and Canton shook it warmly as he answered: "Looking forward to it."

"Canton just wants to get married." The Doctor noted to Nixon, turning back to the US president with a raised brow and pointed look. "Hell of a reason to kick him out of the FBI."

"I'm sure something can be arranged." Nixon answered, a magnanimous and somewhat apologetic smile appearing on his face as he glanced at the ex-agent.

"I'm counting on you." The Doctor said with a smile.

He turned to go, but Nixon stopped him and the US president said hesitantly: "Er, Doctor. Canton here tells me you're, you're from the future. It hardly seems possible, but I was wondering-"

"I should warn you I don't answer a lot of questions." The Doctor interrupted pointedly, but Nixon pressed: "But I'm a President at the beginning of his time. Dare I ask. Will I be remembered?"

Lily raised a brow and she shared a look with Amy and River. The three women quickly looked away, fighting smiles, while the Doctor answered: "Oh, Dicky. Tricky Dicky."

He smiled widely at Nixon.

"They're never going to forget you." Was all the Doctor said before he turned away.

Nixon frowned, puzzled, but the Doctor just waved as he added over his shoulder: "Say hi to David Frost for me."

"David Frost?" Nxixon repeated, and the Doctor just smiled.

The group returned to the Tardis, disappearing into the blue police box, and Nixon glanced at Canton.

"This person you want to marry." The president began uncomfortably as they watched the Tardis begin to dematerialize. "Black?"

"Yes." Canton answered, and Nixon nodded thoughtfully.

"I know what people think of me," he began, "but perhaps I'm a little more liberal-"

"He is." Canton finished his sentence, and Nixon stopped dead.

After a beat, the US president turned to Canton and he commented flatly: "I think the Moon is far enough, for now, don't you, Mr. Delaware?"

Canton just gave the other man a wry smile as he answered: "I figured it might be."


Stormcage

"You could come with us." Lily noted as she hugged River, but the blonde just smiled.

"I escape often enough, thank you." River answered, before her eyes drifted to the Doctor.

"Besides," she looked back at Lily, "I have a promise to live up to."

Lily raised a brow while the Doctor looked over quickly with interest, but River just said mysteriously: "You'll understand soon enough."

The Doctor turned away again, disgruntled, and Rickey chuckled.

"Don't worry, Doctor." The younger man said. "One day, you will get your chance to be the one to say that to us."

"How I look forward to that day." The Doctor answered.

A shadow – fleeting, but no less dark – passed over River and Rickey's faces, before it was gone and River smiled at Lily.

"You look after yourself, Lily." River said as she nodded at Lily's protruding stomach. "And use this time to make him wait on you hand and foot."

She nodded at the Doctor, and Lily laughed while the Doctor sniffed: "I don't 'wait on' anyone. But I do take care of her regardless of her state of health, and regardless of your input."

He leveled a playfully pointed look at River, making them all laugh again.

"Okay, we should go." Lily said at last as she looked between River and Rickey. "We'll come by to visit again."

"We will?" The Doctor asked, pretending to whine, and Lily smiled.

"First time for everything." She answered. Another shadow passed over River and Rickey's faces, but again they had it controlled before either the Doctor or Lily could see when they turned back to the mysterious couple.

"I'll hold you to it." River said with a light smile, and Lily waved one more time as she and the Doctor re-entered the Tardis.

The smiles dropped off River and Rickey's faces once the Doctor and Lily were gone, and Rickey said in a low voice: "So… this is what it feels like."

"We knew it was coming." River answered, and Rickey nodded tightly.

"We did." He said quietly. "But, even knowing… even prepared… it's harder than we thought it would be, isn't it?"

River nodded, and the pair reached for each other's hands almost simultaneously as Lily's words rang in their minds.

First time for everything.

"And a last time." River sighed, and Rickey tightened his hand on hers as they watched the Tardis disappear.


Inside the Tardis

Lily and Rory were below the console deck, and the Doctor used the opportunity to turn to Amy.

"You're okay?" He asked seriously, and Amy looked at him with a bit of surprise.

"Fine." She answered. "Head's a bit weird. There's loads of stuff I can't quite remember."

"After effect of the Silence." The Doctor dismissed, still eyeing Amy intently. "Natural enough. That's not what I was asking."

Amy paused, sensing his question, but the Doctor said it anyway.

"You told me you were pregnant." He reminded, and Amy lowered her gaze.

"Yes." She answered quietly, and the Doctor shot back swiftly: "Why?"

Amy looked back at the Doctor, and she explained with a sigh: "Because I was. I mean," she added quickly, "I thought I was. It turns out I wasn't."

"No, why did you tell me?" The Doctor corrected, and Amy smiled.

"Because you're my friend." She answered genuinely. "You're my best friend."

"But you didn't tell Lily or Rory."

It wasn't a question and Amy sighed again.

"No." She admitted, and the Doctor asked again: "Why?"

"Why do you think?" Amy asked pointedly. "We travelled with you in this Tardis for so long. All that time."

She looked right at the Doctor as she asked quietly: "If I was pregnant for some of it, wouldn't it have had an effect? I don't want to tell Rory his baby might have three heads or, like, a timehead, or something. And I don't want to bring it up with Lily in case…"

She trailed off, and the Doctor nodded.

"You don't have to worry." He answered Amy's unspoken worry. "We have Lily take regular check-ups using the Tardis scanner – both she and the baby are fine. No… 'timehead'."

He made airquotes and Amy grinned, saying sheepishly: "Shut up."

She then cleared her throat and called: "Oi, stupid face."

Below the console deck, Rory cringed while Lily grinned.

"Er, yeah?" Rory called back, hurriedly hiding the small nanorecorder he'd been holding in his palm. The same nanorecorder that had been left behind when Lily and Amy were taken.

The Doctor had discarded the one he'd picked up, which had been Lily's, but it seemed Rory's insecurities weren't letting him do quite the same with Amy's.

'Well, at least it was somewhat useful just now.' Lily thought to herself as she and Rory made their way back to the console deck.

"Hello." Rory said, trying not to sound guilty, but Amy said firmly as she looked at Rory's closed hand: "I'm taking that away from you, if you're going to listen in all the time."

Rory held up the nanorecorder sheepishly as he admitted: "Okay, that's a fair point. But you should've told me that you thought you were pregnant. I'm a nurse. I'm good with pregnancy."

"I'll give him a point on that." Lily joked as she walked over to the Doctor, making them laugh.

"But you're not?" Rory checked with Amy once they stopped laughing (though not smiling), and Amy nodded.

"Not." She agreed as she walked over to Rory and hugged her husband. "Now, can you stop being stupid?"

"Er, no." Rory answered as he wrapped his arms around Amy and spontaneously swung her around. "Never. I'm never, ever going to stop being stupid!"

"What happened?" Lily asked the Doctor quietly, and the Time Lord just smiled.

"Rory just has a stupid face." He answered, and Lily raised a brow.

"Yes, okay." She answered. "But I meant that."

She nodded slightly to the Tardis scanner, where the Doctor had surreptiously run a quick scan when Amy and Rory weren't looking.

"How is that possible?" She asked, and the Doctor shook his head slightly as he and Lily continued to watch Amy.

"I don't know." He admitted quietly. "And I don't like not knowing."

"Yes, that never seems to change with you. No matter how many times you change your own face." Lily noted, and the Doctor smiled slightly.

But the worry was still there as he watched Rory and Amy talk and flirt on the other side of the console deck, and Lily sighed. She was worried too, and there was another thing that she knew the Doctor should hear.

"Doctor, there's something else – something the Silence said just before you came to rescue Amy and I." Lily said softly, and the Doctor glanced at her.

"They said Amy and I will 'bring the silence'." Lily explained. "It's an odd way to phrase it, isn't it? 'Bring the silence'?"

"You're right." The Doctor frowned thoughtfully as he looked back towards Amy.

"What do you think it means?" Lily asked quietly, and the Doctor shook his head.

"I don't know yet." He admitted. "But we'll find out."

He took Lily's hand in his own, her wedding ring glinting in the light when it moved.

"We'll figure all of this out."

Lily nodded and she glanced at the Tardis scanner again.

On the screen beside them were the words: 'Amelia Pond. Full body scan in progress. Pregnancy.' Beside the description was a scan of Amy's abdomen across which two words kept flashing interchangeably as the Tardis was unable to come to a clear result – something that had never happened before.

Lily watched the screen for a moment before looking back at Amy again with a worried expression as the words continued to flash behind her.

Positive. Negative. Positive. Negative.

*A/N Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I'm afraid I'm not officially back, but wanted to share a treat for the holiday. Thank you to everyone who waited patiently, and to each and every person who left a supportive message for me. Thank you all so much and may you all be blessed! Until next time.