Author's Note: There is an epilogue to come.

"Rory," the Doctor said the moment they were in the TARDIS and the door was closed, "How close to the surface is the Centurion right now?"

The darkness in Rory's eyes answered his question before Rory stated coldly, "Very."

Amy frowned, "What does that mean?"

"It means your husband is hanging on to his sanity by a thread," the Doctor replied, "Honestly, how did you keep everything in check with all those memories running through your head?"

Taking slow deep breaths, Rory shrugged, "I had to."

The Doctor shook his head with a proud smile, "Roranicus Pondicus, you truly are like no one else I have ever known."

"Not sure that's a compliment or not," Rory murmured. Sitting and dropping his head into his hands, rubbing his temples against the building migraine he'd kept at bay for the past few hours. Now he was able to relax, Rory was losing control.

Amy crouched at his side, "Doctor?"

"I need you to hold onto Rory," the Doctor told her, "Just give him a connection to who he is while I get what I need to help him rebuild and fortify the walls around the memories."

She nodded and rested a hand on Rory's cheek making him look up at her.

"Hey stupid," she told him archly, "Don't you dare leave me. Not after everything I did to find you."

Rory smiled slightly, "I wouldn't dare."

"I love you," Amy murmured, sliding her hand into his, "All you have to do is hold on to me."

"Always have," Rory whispered, "Ever since we were kids."

Amy kissed him, pulling her husband close to her and held tightly.

"Alright you two," the Doctor's voice made them break apart, "I said give him a connection not," he grimaced with mock distaste, "Kissing."

Chuckling, Amy deliberately kissed Rory again before looking up innocently at her best friend.

The Doctor rolled his eyes before placing a small metal circlet on Rory's head, "Remember how we did this the first time?"

Rory nodded.

"The TARDIS will help strengthen the walls," the Doctor reminded him, explaining for Amy's benefit, "But you have to build them first. Ready?"

Rory nodded, his hand holding Amy's while the Doctor took his other hand.

"Okay," the Doctor said, "Start with the first brick. Use your mantra."

Taking a slow deep breath, Rory started, "Amy, Melody, Home."

Gideon stood facing Rip once they were alone on the bridge.

"I have to admit," Rip spoke up finally, "I did not expect to find you like this when I finally made it back."

Laughing softly Gideon admitted, "Neither did I. Mr Constantine was trying to perform a protection spell on an item from Thermiscrya. I warned against performing it within the confines of the Waverider, but Miss Lance wanted it done as quickly as possible. And…" she spread out her arms, "Here I am."

"You look…" he walked towards her and gently rested his hand on her cheek, "You're beautiful."

A soft blush covered Gideon's cheeks, "Do you think so?"

Gently stroking her hair back, Rip nodded, "I've always thought so."

Gideon stepped into him, wrapping her arms around his waist hugging him tightly, "I thought you were never coming back to me. I felt so empty without you."

"It's okay," Rip soothed, holding her close, "I promise from now on, I'm here for as long as you want me," pushing her back so he could look in her eyes, he added, "I promise."

A bright smile touched Gideon's lips, with tear-filled eyes she told him, "Always, Captain."

"I'm not your Captain anymore, Gideon," Rip reminded her, "The Waverider is yours. Always has been. The two of you are connected."

"You'll always be our Captain," Gideon whispered, as the lights dimmed for a moment, "We agree on that."

Rip dropped his head, "I don't deserve you. Either of you."

"We can discuss how you make it up to us later," Gideon told him, "After we clear up everything with the others."

Annoyed at the thought of having yet another confrontation, Rip sighed, "That's going to be fun. I take it Sara was not happy when you took control."

Gideon nodded, "I had to take some steps to convince her that she had no choice in the matter."

"Before we get into any more discussions with the Legends, I want to say a proper goodbye to Rory, Amy and the Doctor. I also need to change first," Rip noted.

"I don't know, Captain," Gideon said mischievously, "I like you in this uniform. Very dashing."

Rolling his eyes, Rip started off the bridge with Gideon at his side making comments about how much she liked the Roman look.

x

Sara, Jax and Zari finished their check-ups in the medical bay, headed to change then to the kitchen. John was already sitting there, a mug of coffee on one side, a full glass of whiskey on the other and a large slice of apple pie in front of him.

"So, what happens now?" Zari asked.

Jax shrugged, "Rip's back and Gideon has decided that she's in charge."

"Nothing is going to change," Sara told them, "Rip walked away from the Waverider and left Gideon with us. He left the ship inactive to be used for training and turned her off," she shrugged, "He's alive. It's great but nothing changes. I'm still the Captain, we're still a team and once Gideon gets used to her new circumstances, she'll know it's best to continue as we are. Rip can visit whenever he wants."

John began to chuckle.

"What? Jax demanded.

John took a drink of coffee before taking a drink of whiskey, "You didn't see their reunion."

The other three looked at one another confused, before Zari asked, "What does that mean?"

Shaking his head John took a bite of his pie, "You'll see but, I'd be ready to be disappointed, Sara."

Zari and Jax both grabbed some coffee as well as a slice of the pie John was eating. Sara frowned as she took a seat, not bothering with food or drink waiting for everyone else to arrive.

x

Rory breathed easily now that he felt the wall rebuilt around the Centurion's memories.

"What does it feel like?" Amy asked softly while the Doctor put away the equipment, "The wall?"

Rory shrugged, "It's hard to describe. It's like I've got them put inside a box, but one side of the box is clear, like a thick glass wall. So, I can access them whenever I need to. Whatever John did earlier, opened the box letting them leak out but they're secure inside once more."

Amy hugged him tightly before pressing a quick kiss to his lips, "Go get changed and we'll make our goodbyes to Rip and Gideon."

Rory nodded, "I wanted to find a way to check if Rip and I are related somehow. It's just," he hesitated before finishing, "I don't think he has any family. I know his wife and son were killed, that the people who raised did it and even though the people on the ship all claimed to be his friends," Rory grimaced, "It's not really the impression I got."

"Well, they have a time machine," Amy noted, "And so does the Doctor. I'm sure we can arrange a lunch or dinner together."

Laughing softly Rory kissed her cheek and headed to change out his uniform, relieved to be able to put it away once more. Dressed once more as himself, Rory let out a sigh of relief. He was looking forward to getting home but first he wanted to say goodbye.

Rip and Gideon were both standing outside the TARDIS when they opened the doors, Rip had changed as well into dark jeans and a grey t-shirt.

"I thought you might want this back," Amy said, as she carried a long coat out with her, "Although I might steal it for Rory."

With an amused look, Rip took the coat from her and slid it on. It obviously meant a lot to him from the way he straightened slightly the moment he was wearing it.

"And to thank you," Rory said softly.

Rip chuckled, "You were abducted, Amy and the Doctor saved me. I don't see why you're thanking us. We should be thanking you."

"How about you both forget thanking each other and we just leave as friends," Amy rolled her eyes.

"Before you leave," Gideon spoke up, "I would like to check if there is any reason why you look so similar. It will only take a few seconds."

"I'd like to see that too," the Doctor spoke up.

Gideon smiled brightly, "Then follow me."

x

Rory and Rip fell into step with one another behind Amy and Gideon while the Doctor bounced around looking at the technology.

"Just to warn you," Rory said softly, "There was one of the original people onboard who was a bit less pleased to see me…you…or whatever than the rest. Her exact words were 'Even when you get your memories back. I will make sure you stay in this cell'."

Rip frowned, "Did you get a name by any chance?"

"I heard Sara call her Ava," Rory told him.

"Ahh," Rip sighed, "Yes, there is possibly some animosity towards me on her side."

"You don't seem too worried," Rory noted.

Rip shrugged, "Well, Gideon won't leave me in a cell. Besides Ava doesn't quite know everything she thinks she does."

Rory chuckled, "I don't think she appreciated my offer of a therapist's number."

Rip began to laugh making Gideon turn to him in surprise, he nodded to her things were fine and followed into the medical bay.

Gideon motioned the two men to take a couch each and as soon as they were settled, slid the medical cuff on Rory while Rip put his own on.

"This should only take a few moments," Gideon assured them.

The Doctor stood by Gideon's side, his glasses on as he studied the screen. A blue light covered the two men, disappearing quickly as the scan ended.

"Hmm," the Doctor said.

"Fascinating," Gideon noted.

"What?" the other three demanded.

The Doctor motioned to Gideon, "This is your ship, Gideon."

Nodding to him Gideon turned to Rip and Rory, "You're not related."

"We're not?" Rip asked, slight disappointment in his voice.

Gideon rested her hand on his arm, "I'm afraid not, Captain. It appears that the fact you resemble one another is just a coincidence."

"So, we're not technically related," Rory spoke up, resting his hand on Rip's shoulder, "The Doctor is family and he's not related to us by blood. Families are made in many ways."

Rip stared at him, confused and stunned.

"You can decide if you want to keep in touch or not," Rory continued, understanding the other man's silence.

Gideon slid her arm through Rip's and smiled, "We shall keep in touch. I would like to get to know you both much more."

"Okay," Amy pulled out her phone, "Then you need our numbers."

Gideon took the phone and quickly downloaded the information they needed before leading them back to the bridge.

x

"A pleasure to meet you both," the Doctor said as he opened the doors to the TARDIS, "Rip, no more touching time cores. I don't want to have to find you again."

Rip nodded, "Trust me, I intend never to do that again. Although I might get to look at the TARDIS technology next time."

The Doctor chuckled before heading inside, leaving Amy and Rory to make their goodbyes. Amy reached out and hugged Rip tightly.

"You kept your promise," she whispered, "Thank you."

Rip smiled, and simply hugged her back. Amy pulled back and gave Gideon a quick hug too.

"Thank you for bringing him back to me," Gideon whispered to Amy.

Amy hugged her tighter, "Anytime you need to talk, just call me."

Smiling as they parted Gideon breathed, "I will take you up on that offer."

"Good," Amy grinned, she patted Rory's shoulder before heading into the TARDIS.

Rory offered his hand to Rip, who took it and smiled as they shook hands.

"It's been a pleasure to meet you," Rip told Rory, "I'm sorry again about the team and your treatment here on the ship by them."

Rory smiled, "You can buy me a drink when you visit."

"As long as you tell me the story of how you know all you do about being a Roman Centurion," Rip replied.

Rory hesitated for a moment before replying, "Deal."

Giving Gideon a quick hug, Rory entered the TARDIS and closed the doors. Turning, Rory nodded to the Doctor who pulled the lever to take them home.

Gideon felt Rip stiffen slightly as they stepped into the kitchen. John smirked at Rip before leaning back with a glass in his hand looking forward to the show.

"Alright," Sara said, obviously not wanting to draw this out, "Where are our other guests?"

"They've left," Rip said, "I apologised on behalf of you and the others for what you did to Rory."

Sara frowned, folding her arms defiantly, "We thought he was you with changed memories again. We did what we thought was best to protect you."

"No one asked you to," Rip replied, "And if you had taken ten seconds to listen to him, maybe even check his DNA against the database then you would have known. Honestly, would a little bit of common sense have killed you?"

"I don't need you to tell me what I've done wrong," Sara snapped, "We've been doing this without you for a while, Rip. We don't need your help."

Rip nodded, "Of course not. You know everything about time travel. So, what's a Time Lord?"

At the angry silence from Sara, Gideon stepped forward.

"The Waverider belongs to me," she reminded the group, "There is still work to do and I am happy for the team to travel with me to continue protecting time. But I am in charge and Captain Hunter is my second."

"Of course," Sara laughed mirthlessly, "Meaning Rip is in charge."

Gideon folded her arms as the lights dimmed, "No, it means I trust him to back me."

"So," Jax said, "We just go back to work, the way we used to?"

"More or less," Gideon replied, "There will be changes but that can be discussed once everyone who decides to come with us is onboard."

"What if we decide not to come with you?" Zari asked.

Gideon gave her a soft smile, "Then I will return you to your own time." At the expressions she received to her pronouncement, Gideon added, "If you're thinking about leaving and using the Time Couriers, you should be aware none of them will work without the Waverider."

Silence filled the room, but it was Rip who broke it.

"While you're all thinking over Gideon's offer," he said, "We should return to the rest of the team."

Gideon nodded, and started out the kitchen, Rip at her side. Hearing the others come talking, their voices filled with anger and annoyance, she was relieved when Rip took her hand in his.

At the gesture, Gideon smiled at him.

No matter what, they had one another.