~Laboratory~

Melanie's face scrunched up as she stirred. Her eyes shot open and she tried to move only to find herself strapped down to a near vertical examination table. "Don't struggle", a male voice spoke up quietly as she thrashed against her bonds "Close your eyes and don't struggle". Melanie glanced over and saw a man strapped down, just like she was. "Decontamination, they call it. They did it to me while I was conscious", he continued.

"Did what? Who did?" Melanie questioned.

"Dissected me", the man said looking down at his chest. Melanie followed his gaze, her eyes widening at the large scar running down his chest.

"No", she breathed, her heart starting to beat faster as the memory of her uncle coming at her with a knife came rushing to the surface. 'Doctor help me!' she screamed in her head as loudly as she could.

In the tunnel, the Time Lord heard her mental plea and took off. Amy and Nasreen chased after him.

~Laboratory~

"He's coming. I'm sorry. I wish I could help you", the man said. Melanie heard someone approach and turned her gaze away from the other prisoner to see a reptilian humanoid wearing an apron and a face mask. In his hand was a some sort of sharp implement, possibly a scalpel.

'Doctor please!'

~tunnel~

The Doctor pushed himself to go faster. It felt like his body was being pulled toward wherever Melanie was being held. And he didn't fight it. He let it lead him to his Bonded.

~Laboratory~

Melanie struggled against the bonds as the alien slowly approached. "No, please don't do this", she pleaded. The alien appeared to ignore her and reached out with the scalpel. The brunette screamed as it started cutting into her skin.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!"

Malokeh backed away from Melanie, turning to the Doctor who was literally shaking with anger. "Amy, Nasreen keep an eye on him", the Time Lord snapped, not even waiting for a response before going over to his Bonded.

"You came", Melanie whispered, tears rolling down her face.

"I promised you I would", the Doctor said gently wiping away the tears. His eyes flicked down to the cut "this might sting a little", he warned before he carefully placed a hand over the cut and used his regeneration energy to heal it. The Doctor removed his hand and used his cuff to wipe away the remnants of the blood. Then he used his sonic to release the bindings on her wrists. Melanie fell forward into the Doctor's arms. "Shhhh, its ok. I got you", the Time Lord said softly as she began to cry.

"I want to go home", Melanie sobbed.

The Doctor nodded and gathered her up in his arms trying to ignore the pang in his hearts. She wanted to go home and it was all his fault. He failed to pull her out of the dirt and she'd suffered for it. Whatever happened next, whatever she said to him once they were back in his ship, he deserved it all and then some. "Amy, Nasreen", he said as he walked past them. The pair made to follow when Amy noticed Mo.

"Doctor, wait!" she called going over to the man.

"Mo!" Nasreen exclaimed hurrying to his side.

"Doctor we need your sonic", Amy said. The Time Lord shifted Melanie in his arms and get out the slender device from his jacket pocket, holding it out to Amy. The ginger took it and flashed it over Mo's restraints, freeing him. She gave it back to the Doctor before she and Nasreen helped Mo up. They supported him between themselves as they left the lab, the Doctor making sure to give Malokeh one last glare.

The Time Lord strode along the dirt tunnel with one clear thought in his mind: getting his Bonded to the TARDIS, to safety. Thankfully nobody tried to stop him from getting back to the ship, though the Oncoming Storm in him was rather itching to see if someone would just so he could show them the fury of a Time Lord.

~TARDIS~

Just like with the Daleks, the console room's lights dimmed and she left out a worried noise for her thief's Bonded. "I know", the Doctor muttered as he crossed the console room floor "Amy, Nasreen take Mo to the med bay. I'll be there in a moment".

"But where is it?" Amy asked.

"Ask the TARDIS", the Doctor replied in a much harsher tone than he meant to. Amy didn't blame him though, she knew he was more concerned with Melanie than being polite. Not even waiting to see if they had any more questions, the Time Lord disappeared into the corridor to the brunette's bedroom. When he reached the door, it swung up by itself. "Thanks dear", he said entering. The TARDIS closed the door behind him.

The Doctor sat down on the bed. "Elle I'm so sorry", he said quietly to the still terrified brunette "I failed to keep you safe and as soon as I've got Elliot back, I'll take you home".

Melanie peered up at him through her tears "you have taken me home", she said making him look down at her in surprise "the TARDIS is my home now, Doctor. It has been since Starship UK" she reached up and touched his face "and I don't blame you for anything. You did all you could".

The Doctor didn't say anything. He rested his forehead against hers. What did he do to deserve her? Seriously after everything he'd done, he didn't deserve the honour of having a Bonded. And yet the universe saw fit to give him one. After this failure, he was never letting her down again. He was never going to let her get hurt ever again. He would do anything to ensure her safety even at the cost of his life. He'd sooner die than see her get harmed again.

Amy sat in the comfy chair in Melanie's room, eyes trained on the slumbering brunette. When the Doctor had finally came to the med bay, he fixed up Mo quickly and had asked her if she could stay with Melanie while he, Mo and Nasreen went to go get Elliot. Amy of course agreed. What kind of friend would she be if she left Melanie while she was a vulnerable state?

That had been at least an hour ago. In that time Melanie had been resting, waking up a few times with a scream. And Amy had been there every time to soothe her back to sleep. So far fifteen minutes had passed since the last time Melanie had woken up and she'd showed no signs of distress nor any signs that she was going to wake up.

The ginger sighed, running a hand through her hair. She really hoped that this wasn't going to be a set-back. Melanie had come a long way from that broken, fragile young woman she first met. And she would like to think that it had been down to herself and Rory that Melanie had made such swift progress. Amy also knew that meeting the Doctor had helped as well. Sure it was far from a smooth ride so far but she was almost positive that the Time Lord had aided in Melanie's healing. Her best friend had a positive influence on the Doctor too.

Suddenly the room shook, making Amy look up at the ceiling in alarm. Where they moving? "I'll be back", she promised Melanie as she got up, quickly leaving the room. "Doctor what's going on?" Amy asked seeing the Time Lord frantically piloting the TARDIS "wait, where's Rory?" she questioned, seeing Ambrose, Mo and Elliot but not her fiancé nor Tony or Nasreen. The Doctor didn't answer her, he just kept working at the console.

Amy marched up to him "Where is Rory?" she repeated. The Doctor's hand movements stilled as he looked up at her, eyes full of regret. "No", the ginger breathed, her heart filling with dread at what he was conveying with the look "Doctor…"

"I'm sorry", the Doctor said quietly. Amy stepped away from him, shaking her head. Rory couldn't be gone. It was impossible. They were on the hillside. She saw them! How could she and Rory be on the hill if he was dead? He had to be alive. He had to! She darted toward the door, the Doctor breaking away from the console to grab her, stopping her from leaving.

"Let go of me!" Amy exclaimed, wiggling in his grip "Rory isn't gone!"

"Amy, I'm sorry but he is", the Doctor insisted "and you need to keep him in your mind. Don't forget him. If you forget him, you'll lose him forever".

That made Amy stop trying to escape "y-you mean he's being taken by the same light that took those Clerics on the Byzantium", she said.

The Doctor let her go "yes", he replied. She spun around to face him.

"But I still remembered them", Amy said "and you told me it's because I am a time traveller now".

"They weren't part of your world. This is different. This is your own history changing", the Doctor gently cupped her face "It's going to be hard, but you can do it, Amy. Tell me about Rory, eh?" he urged "Fantastic Rory. Funny Rory. Gorgeous Rory. Amy, listen to me. Do exactly as I say. Amy, please. Keep concentrating. You can do this".

"I can't", Amy said, tears filling her eyes.

"Yes, you can", the Doctor insisted "I can't help you unless you do. Come on. We can still save his memory. Come on, Amy. Please. Come on, Amy, come on. Amy, please. Don't let anything distract you. Remember Rory. Keep remembering. Rory's only alive in your memory. You must keep hold of him. Don't let anything distract you. Rory still lives in your mind".

Suddenly the TARDIS came to a jarring halt, throwing them all to the floor. The box containing Amy's engagement ring tumbles off the console, landing in front of the Doctor. "What were you saying?" the ginger said brightly, all trace of her grief for Rory gone. The Time Lord could only stare at her in dismay. She'd forgotten Rory. And he couldn't help but wonder if Melanie had forgotten him too or would it be like the Daleks and she'd remember the nurse?

Over in Melanie's room, the brunette woke. She sat upright when she didn't see Amy. Melanie hopped out of bed and started toward the door when she stopped and turned to her wall of photographs, her eyes being drawn to several of them featuring herself and Amy. She stepped toward them with a frown on her face. There was a blurred figure in each of them.

Melanie pulled one of the photos from the wall and stared at the blurred figure. She couldn't tell who that was or what gender they were. The only thing that came to mind was that their name started with the letter R.

Rebecca? Rachael? Robin? Ryan? The brunette mentally listed off a few names beginning with R but none of them felt like they fit. She shook her head. It'll come back to her later. Probably when she least expected it to. For now she had to go find the Doctor and Amy, find out what happened and whether they found Elliot.

Melanie turned and left the room, the TARDIS letting out an unhappy hum as she did so. The ship wished she could help her thief's Bonded to remember her friend Rory but it was out of her control. All she could do was hope that the brunette did remember and soon because if she didn't the dirty blonde would be gone forever.

The Doctor stood in the doorway of Amy's room watching the two females discuss the colours of nail polish, trying to ignore the pain in his hearts at the fact that neither of them remembered Rory. He had hoped that Melanie would've done as she remembered the Daleks whereas Amy hadn't. But no such luck. "You wanna join us or are you going to stand there all day?" his Bonded asked bringing him out of his thoughts "this colour would really suit you", she added holding up a pink nail polish bottle "right, Amy?"

The ginger nodded "definitely. It'll really bring out the colour of your eyes", she teased.

The Doctor shook his head, politely declining "tempting offer but no thanks", he said "I'll leave you to it. Have fun".

"We will", the girls chorused and with that he left them to it. He walked down the corridor, going from one to another with every intention to go to the console room but his route took him past Melanie's room and as he passed, the wall of photos caught his eye. The Time Lord entered the room, going straight for the photographs. If she had all these then why did she still forget him? the Doctor thought looking at the ones that had Rory featured in them. Was it because, from her point of view, the dirty blonde had disappeared from them? Or could she still see him but not recognise him?

There was only one way to find out. Show her a photo and get her reaction. The Doctor carefully plucked one of them from the wall and headed back to Amy's room. He lightly knocked on the doorway, gaining the attention of the ginger and the brunette. "Changed your mind?" Melanie asked.

"No, I haven't", the Doctor replied "I was wondering if I could speak to you for a moment, Elle".

"Sure", Melanie said and hopped off the bed "what did you want to talk about?" she asked as she joined him outside the room. The Doctor took her a little ways down the corridor before he showed her the photo. "Oh…that. I've been meaning to tell you about that. I've noticed a few of my photos have this blurry person in them", Melanie said.

"Do you know who the person is?" the Doctor asked, making a mental note of her answer. It was interesting that Rory was still present in the photos albeit 'blurry'.

Melanie shook her head "I can't even tell the gender", she said "but…I think his or her name starts with an 'R'".

"Like Rory?" the Doctor offered.

"It's possible", Melanie answered "but honestly? I don't really know".

"Maybe if you held the photo?" the Time Lord suggested "the picture might become clearer and may possibly trigger something".

"I guess it can't hurt to try", Melanie agreed. She took the photograph from the Doctor. The brunette looked at it for a good few moments but the figure didn't become any clearer. "Sorry, it's still blurry", Melanie said holding the photo out to the Doctor. He went to take it, his bonded surprisingly pulled it back and stared at it.

"Elle?" the Doctor questioned wondering if she suddenly remembered something. He watched her raise the photo, touching image of Rory.

"The Centurion", she murmured.

"That's who the blurry figure is?" the Doctor asked and Melanie nodded.

"Yeah. This was taken at a Halloween party. I was Cleopatra, Amy was a police woman and our friend here went as a Centurion", the brunette explained, a fond smile appeared on her face as she added "we called him Roranicus for the entire evening".

"Must've been some night", the Doctor remarked wanting her to keep talking about it. The more she talked about the more she'd remember…hopefully.

Melanie nodded again "It certainly was", she agreed "and you know that name Roranicus? It stuck for at least a couple of weeks after Halloween. Roranicus…." She repeated "It's not far off from Rory, is it?"

"It is pretty close", the Doctor agreed.

"Maybe my friend's name really is Rory. But that doesn't explain why he's blurry or why I can barely remember him", Melanie said.

"It doesn't matter why he's blurry. Your memory will come back, it time", the Doctor said gently, feeling her starting to get upset.

"You think so?" Melanie asked, hopeful.

"I know so", the Doctor said earning a smile from his Bonded. He cupped her face, giving her a soft kiss on the lips. "Enjoy painting you nails", he added, stepping back.

"I will", Melanie said. He watched her go back to Amy's room "the offer to do yours still stands", she added.

"And I'll have to politely decline. Again", the Doctor said.

"Ok. Just swing by at any point and we'll do it for you", Melanie said before stepping back inside Amy's room, pushing the door to.

The Doctor lay next to Melanie, his fingers brushing through her brown locks. His Bonded didn't stir from his ministrations having been tired out from their recent adventure which involved Vincent Van Gogh and a Krafayis. He felt awful because he'd sworn to himself that he would never let her get hurt and that's exactly what happened. It wasn't serious…just a little bruising but it still hurt all the same. "I'll never let you get hurt again…I swear", the Doctor whispered pressing a kiss to her forehead. He shifted closer to her and closed his eyes. He wasn't tired but it did hurt to grab a couple of hours of rest. Plus he was reluctant to leave his Bonded's side.

Melanie stirred a few hours later to found the Doctor smiling down at her. "Hey", she mumbled sleepily.

"Hey", the Doctor said.

"You know…you spend so much time in here…you might as well move in", the brunette murmured.

"Really?" the Doctor asked.

"Really, really", Melanie confirmed, her eyes drifting shut.

"I love you", the Time Lord told her.

"Love you too", His Bonded said, almost inaudible as she fell asleep.