Travelling with the Raggedy Man
Amy's Choice
Thanks to Eruptingames, Waiting Companion, GalaxyStone and H3LLF1R3IIOS for favourting and following this story.
It was a peaceful day in Leadworth. A heavily-pregnant Amy Williams was sitting in the kitchen of her home mixing a cake in a bowl when Chelsea Willows entered, her dark hair accented by blonde highlights and an engagement ring on her finger. "There ya go, Ames." Chelsea said, "Fixed the shower. The spring had gone so I replaced it. It's working fine now."
"Ah, thanks, Chels." Amy acknowledged, "Been telling Rory to get it fixed for days but he's always too busy."
"Huh, now that's hard to believe." Chelsea commented, "It's a wonder no one dies of boredom round here. Ya know, you're both more than welcome to come round mine."
"Yeah, well, don't wanna get in the way of you and Toby." Amy laughed. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her stomach. "RORY!" she bellowed at the top of her lungs, "IT'S STARTING!"
Outside the house, Rory arrived on a bicycle, his hair long and tied in a ponytail. Upon hearing his wife's yells, he bolted inside the house to find her and Chelsea sitting down eating the cake mix out of the bowl. "Ah. Ok, ok..." Rory said as he rushed to Amy's side.
"False alarm." Amy said nonchalantly
"What?" Rory said in disbelief
"Like she said, false alarm." Chelsea said, "Panic over."
"What?" Rory repeated
"Well, I don't know what it feels like." Amy defended, "I've never had a baby before." She fed him some of the cake mix when she suddenly heard a very familiar whooshing sound. "No." Amy said as she stood.
"I know, leaf blowers." Rory shrugged. "Use a rake!" he called out of the window.
"No." Amy realised, "It's..." They all looked out of the window to see the TARDIS begin to materialise in the garden. "I knew." Amy said, "I just knew."
"Here comes trouble." Chelsea remarked dryly.
Outside, the TARDIS landed in the middle of a flowerbed. The door opened and the Doctor popped his head out to see where he was then he stepped fully, wearing his blue shirt and bowtie today. Rory came out to greet him. "Rory." the Doctor acknowledged
"Doctor." Rory nodded
"I've crushed your flowers." the Doctor said rather obviously
"Oh, Amy will kill you." Rory rolled his eyes
"Where is she?"
"She'll need a bit longer."
"Whenever you're ready, Amy." the Doctor called, and Amy came waddling out of the house, Chelsea helping her. "Oh, wahey!" the Doctor said, patting Amy's baby bump, "You've swallowed a planet."
"I'm pregnant." Amy retorted
"You're huge."
"Yeah, I'm pregnant."
"Look at you. When worlds collide."
"Doctor, I'm pregnant." Amy rolled her eyes
The Doctor turned to Chelsea. "And you, Chelsea. There's something different about you. You've changed your hair, haven't you?"
"Ten out of ten for observation." Chelsea replied dryly, running a hand through her hair, her engagement ring sparkling in the sun.
"Ooh, you're getting married." the Doctor realised, "Who's the lucky fella?"
"Toby McCallister." Chelsea replied, "We met at work, we've been dating for two years now and he proposed at Christmas."
"Oh, look at you three." the Doctor beamed, "Five years later and you're all doing well." And he promptly hugged all three Humans in turn.
"Good to see you, Doctor." Amy said
"Are you pregnant?" the Doctor asked her stupidly
Amy just shook her head and went back inside the house, the others following.
~8~
Later that day, the quartet were walking down a village lane together. "Ah, Leadworth." the Doctor commented, looking at the quiet village, "Vibrant as ever."
"It's Upper Leadworth, actually." Rory corrected, "We've gone slightly upmarket."
"Where is everyone?" the Doctor asked
"This is busy." Amy told him, "Ok, it's quiet, but it's really restful and healthy. Loads of people here live well into their 90's."
"Well, don't let that get you down." the Doctor shrugged
"It's not getting me down." Chelsea commented, "I just popped round for the weekend. It's nice to get away from the madness in London for a day."
Presently, they reached a bench in a cul-de-sac and the Doctor, Amy and Rory all sat down on it while Chelsea stood by them. "I wanted to see how you all were." the Doctor said, "I don't just abandon people when they leave the TARDIS." Chelsea let out a snicker at this. She'd met a few former companions of the Doctor in the five years since she'd left the TARDIS and they'd told her about how the Doctor rarely saw them anymore. "This Time Lord's for life." the Doctor continued, "You don't get rid of the Doctor so easily."
"You came here by mistake, didn't you?" Amy asked knowingly
"Yeah, bit of a mistake." the Doctor admitted, "But look, what a result. Look at this... bench. What a nice bench. What will they think of next?" An awkward silence followed, the quartet all bored and having nothing to say. "So." the Doctor spoke up, "What do you do to starve off the, you know..."
"Boredom?" Chelsea said the same time as the Doctor said, "Self-harm."
"We relax." Rory said, "We live, we listen to the birds."
Birds began to chip rather loudly. "Yeah, see, birds." Amy said, "Those are nice."
"Huh, you should see the pigeons in Trafalgar Square." Chelsea snorted, "Those things are wild!"
"We didn't get to listen to birdsong back in the TARDIS days." Rory said as the birdsong became louder.
"Oh, blimey." the Doctor said, clutching his forehead as he suddenly began to feel very drowsy, "My head's a bit, ooh... No, you're right, there wasn't a lot of time for birdsong back in the good old..." He began to drift off. "Days." he finished as he fell asleep, the three Humans doing the same.
~8~
Chelsea jerked awake to find herself lying on the settee in the TARDIS' lounge. "Ooh, that was weird." she mumbled as she realised that she'd dropped off. She looked down at her hands to see no engagement ring then checked her reflection in the telly screen to see no blonde highlights in her hair. She headed to the console room to see the Doctor getting up off the floor, wearing his red shirt and bowtie. "What?" he blustered as he got to his feet, "No, yes, sorry, what?" A ponytail-less Rory and a very much not pregnant Amy arrived in the room. "Oh, you're all ok." the Doctor said, "Oh, thank God. I had a terrible nightmare about you three. That was scary. Don't ask, you don't wanna know. You're all safe now." And he promptly hugged Amy.
"Oh, ok." a befuddled Amy muttered
"That's what counts." the Doctor continued to ramble, "Blimey, never dropped off like that before. Well, never, really. I'm getting on a bit, ya see. Don't let the cool gear fool you. Now, what's wrong with the console?" He looked at the console to see red lights blinking. "Red flashing lights... I bet they mean something."
"I'm no expert on spaceships, but I'd guess they mean something's wrong." Chelsea told him flatly
"Doctor, I also had a dream thing." Rory spoke up
"Yeah, so did I." Amy pipped in
"Ditto." Chelsea finished
"Not a nightmare, though, just... we were married." Rory continued
"Yeah, in a little village." Amy added
The Doctor spun round at this news and looked at them in surprise.
"A sweet little village." Rory said. "And you were pregnant." he said to Amy
"Yeah, I was huge." Amy agreed, "I was a boat."
"And I had a bloke I was engaged to." Chelsea chimed in
The Doctor walked over to Rory and tugged on the back of his hoodie to see if there was any sign of the ponytail he's sported n the dream but found none so he went back to the console to look for any indication for the cause of what had just happened.
"So you two had the same dream, then?" Rory asked the women, "Exactly the same dream?"
"Are you calling me a boat?" Amy glowered
"And you were there too, Doctor." Chelsea said, saving Rory from the awkward situation, "You and me were both visiting Amy and Rory."
The Doctor opened Amy's jacket and found no baby bump. "Yeah, yeah, you came to our cottage." Amy said
"How can we have the same dream?" Rory wandered, "It doesn't make sense."
"And you had a nightmare about us." Amy said to the Doctor, "What happened to us in the nightmare?"
"It was similar, in some aspects." the Doctor answered evasively
"Which aspects?" Rory probed
"Well, all of them." the Doctor admitted
"You had the same dream?" Amy questioned
"Basically."
"So Amy and Rory being married and expecting a baby, and me being engaged are a nightmare to you?" Chelsea scowled
"Did I say nightmare?" the Doctor blustered, trying to cover himself, "No. Really more of a really good... mare. Look, it doesn't matter. We all had some kind of psychic episode. We probably jumped a time track. Forget it, we're back to reality."
No sooner had those words left his mouth when birdsong began. "Doctor, if we're back to reality, how come I can still hear birds?" Amy questioned
"Yeah, the same birds." Rory added, "The same ones we heard in the..."
~8~
"... dream." Rory said as he woke up to find himself face-to-face with the Doctor on the bench in Leadworth. "Oh, sorry. Nodded off, stupid." he blustered as he pulled away from the Doctor in embarrassment, "God, I must be overdoing it. I was dreaming we were back in the TARDIS."
"Yeah, me too." Chelsea mumbled as she picked herself up off the ground
"You had the same dream, didn't you?" Rory said to Amy
"Back in the TARDIS." Amy nodded, "Weren't we just saying the same thing?"
"But we thought this was the dream." Rory frowned
The Doctor meanwhile picked up a small stone from the path, examined it then threw it back to the ground.
"I think so." Amy said as she slowly stood up, "Why do dreams fade so quickly?"
"Doctor, what is going on?" Rory asked the Time Lord
"Is this your doing?" Chelsea asked accusingly, "Is this happening because you showed up again?"
"Listen to me." the Doctor said seriously, "Trust nothing. From now on, trust nothing you see, hear or feel."
"But we're awake now." Rory argued
"Yeah, and we thought we were awake in the TARDIS too." Chelsea muttered
"But we're home." Amy pointed out
"Yeah, you're home. You're also dreaming." the Doctor told her, "Trouble is, which is which? Are we flashing forwards... or backwards? Hold on tight, this is going to be a tricky one."
~8~
Chelsea awoke to find herself sitting on the console room floor in the TARDIS with her head hanging down at an odd angle. "Ah, that hurts." she muttered, rubbing her sore neck.
The Doctor meanwhile was trying to shift a lever that was stuck fast. "This is bad." he grumbled, "I don't like this." And he promptly kicked the console in frustration then clutched his foot, hissing in pain. "Never use force." he groaned, "You just embarrass yourself. Unless you're cross, in which case, always use force."
"Shall I run and get the manual?" Amy suggested
"I threw it in a supernova." the Doctor waved her off, going downstairs to check the circuits under the console.
"You threw the manual in a supernova?" Amy asked incredulously, "Why?"
"Because I disagreed with it." the Doctor grunted, "Stop talking to me when I'm cross."
"Ok, but whatever's wrong with the TARDIS, is that what caused us to dream about the future?" Rory asked
"If we were dreaming about the future." the Doctor said, coming back upstairs.
"Of course we are." Amy said, "We were in Leadworth."
"Upper Leadworth." Rory corrected
"Yeah, and we could still be in Upper Leadworth, dreaming of this." the Doctor said, "Don't you get it?"
"No, ok, no, this is real." Amy said, "I'm definitely awake now."
"And you thought you were awake when you were all elephanty." the Doctor countered
"Hey, pregnant!" Amy scowled
"And you could be giving birth right now." the Doctor continued, "This could be the dream. I told you, trust nothing we see or hear or feel. Look around you. Examine everything. Look for all the details that don't ring true." He turned back to the main console and started messing with the unresponsive controls.
"Huh, we're in a box that's bigger on the inside with a man-child alien who dresses like Mr Bean." Chelsea said lamely, "So maybe 'what rings true' isn't so black and white."
"Valid point." the Doctor conceded, "And what d'ya mean, 'Mr Bean'?" But before anyone could answer, all power in the TARDIS went out, leaving just the light from the time rotor to provide illumination. "She's dead." the Doctor breathed, "We're in a dead time machine."
Then the birdsong sounded again. "Oh, no, not again." Chelsea groaned
"Remember, this is real." the Doctor told everyone, "But when we wake up in the other place, remember how real this feels."
"It is real." Amy insisted to herself, "I know it's real."
~8~
Amy, Rory and Chelsea woke up to find themselves sitting on a bench outside a library while the Doctor was standing up, watching a group of school children walk past. "Ok, this is the real one." Amy said, patting her bump. "Definitely this one. It's all solid."
"It felt solid in the TARDIS too." the Doctor countered, "You can't spot a dream while you're having it." He then waved his fingers in front of his face.
"What're you doing?" Rory asked him
"Looking for motion blur, pixilation." the Doctor told him, "It could be a computer simulation. I don't think so, though."
"Hello, doctor." an elderly woman called as she walked past.
"Hi." the Doctor said at the same time as Rory said, "Hello."
The woman paused to look back at them before continuing on her way.
"You're a doctor?" the Doctor asked Rory
"Yeah." Rory replied proudly, "And unlike you, I've actually passed some exams."
"A doctor, not a nurse." the Doctor mused, "Just as you've always dreamed. How interesting." And he walked away with purpose.
"What is?" Rory asked as he, Amy and Chelsea followed
"Your dream wife, your dream job, probably your dream baby." the Doctor told him, "Maybe this is your dream."
"It's Amy's dream too." Rory said, "Isn't it, Amy?"
"Yes. Course it is, yeah." Amy replied, not very sincerely.
"What's that?" the Doctor asked, jerking his thumb over his shoulder at the building behind him.
"Old people's home." Amy shrugged
They looked at the care home to see pensioners looking out of the windows at them, as if they were studying them. "You said everyone here lives to their 90's." the Doctor frowned, "There's something here that doesn't make sense. Let's go and poke it with a stick." he grinned excitedly.
"Or let's not." Chelsea mumbled, "Why can't we just leave things alone for once?"
But the Doctor had already rushed off towards the care home. Rory and Chelsea gave resigned groans and followed him. "Oh, can we not do the running?" Amy moaned as she brought up the rear.
The quartet arrived in the care home's lounge to find several residents relaxing. "Hello, Dr Williams." one greeted Rory
"Hello, Rory, love." a knitting lady said
"Hello, Mrs Poggit." Rory greeted, "How's your hip?"
"A bit stiff."
"Oh, easy, D-96 compound, plus..." the Doctor began but stopped when he realised he was getting carried away again, "No, you don't have that yet, forget that."
"Who's your friend?" Mrs Poggit asked Rory, "A junior doctor?"
"Yes." Rory replied, grinning smugly at she assumed the Doctor was the novice.
"Can I borrow you?" Mrs Poggit asked the Doctor, "You're the size of my grandson."
The Doctor knelt forward and Mrs Poggit put the jumped she was knitting over his head. "Slightly keen to move on." he tried to get out of this, "Freak psychic schism to sort out." He leaned forward suddenly. "You're incredibly old, aren't you?" he frowned
Suddenly, the birdsong sounded again and the Doctor, Chelsea, Amy and Rory all fell asleep on the floor.
~8~
Chelsea awoke to find herself lying in an uncomfortable position on the TARDIS console room floor. "I hate this." she grumbled as she sat upright.
"Me too." Amy said as she got up, "Doctor, stop it, because this is definitely real, it's definitely this one. I keep saying that, don't I?"
"It's bloody cold." Rory grumbled, folding his arms to keep warm.
The Doctor ran up to the upper walkway where the temperature gauge was located. "The heating's off." he said
"The heating's off?" Rory frowned
"Yeah." the Doctor said, fiddling in vain with the gauge, "Put on a jumper. That's what I always do."
"Yeah, sorry about Mrs Poggit." Rory shrugged, "She's so lovely, though."
"Oh, I wouldn't believe her nice old lady act if I were you." the Doctor warned him
"What 'act'?" Chelsea asked him
The Doctor didn't answer that question. "Everything's off." he announced, coming back the stairs, "Sensors, core power. We've got oxygen, but that's it. Everything else is kaput. We're drifting. The scanner's down so we can't even see out. We could be anywhere. Someone, something, is overriding my controls."
Suddenly, a hologram of a short, thickset man in a tweed jacket and bowtie appeared at the top of the stairs. "Well, that took a while." he commented as he walked down the stairs, "Honestly, I'd heard such good things. Last of the Time Lords, the Oncoming Storm. Him in the bowtie."
"How did ya get in my TARDIS?" the Doctor demanded, "What are you?"
"What shall we call me?" the man shrugged, "Well, if you're the Time Lord, let's call me the Dream Lord."
"Nice look."
"This?" the Dream Lord gestured to his clothes. "No, I'm not convinced. Bowties?"
The Doctor took something out of his pocket and chucked it at the Dream Lord. It went straight through him. "Interesting." the Doctor commented
"I'd love to be impressed, but Dream Lord... it's in the name, isn't it?" the Dream Lord said dryly, "Spooky, not quite there." He disappeared for a second then reappeared behind the quartet. "And yet, very much here."
"I'll do the talking, thank you." the Doctor retorted, "Amy, want to take a guess at what that is?"
"Um. Dream Lord. He creates dreams." Amy guessed
"Dreams, delusions, cheap tricks." the Doctor agreed.
"And what about the wallflower and the gooseberry over there, do they get guesses?" the Dream Lord smirked, gesturing to Chelsea and Rory
"Listen, mate, if anyone's the gooseberry around here, it's the Doctor." Rory retorted
"There's a delusion I'm not responsible for." the Dream Lord smirked
"No, he is. Isn't he, Amy?"
"Oh, Amy, have to sort your men out." the Dream Lord said in a mocking voice, "Choose, even."
"I have chosen." Amy said defiantly, "Of course I've chosen." She smacked Rory on the chest. "It's you, stupid."
"Oh, good, thanks." Rory nodded
"You can't fool me." the Dream Lord said to Amy, "I've seen your dreams. Some of them twice, Amy. Blimey, I'd blush if I had a blood supply or a real face."
"Where did you pick up this cheap cabaret act?" the Doctor cut in
"Me?" the Dream Lord snorted, "Oh, you're on shaky ground."
"Am I?"
"If you had any more tawdry quirks you could open up a tawdry quirks shop. The madcap vehicle, the cockamie hair, the clothes designed by a first year fashion student... I'm surprised you haven't got a little purple space dog just to ram home what an intergalactic wag you are. Where was I?"
"You were..." Rory began
The Dream Lord reappeared on the upper walkway. "I know where I was." he grunted
Chelsea, who had been quiet ever since the Dream Lord had appeared, decided to speak up. "So if you're the one who's doing this to us, then why? What d'ya want from us?" she demanded
"Ah, straight to the point as always." the Dream Lord smirked, "So, here's your challenge: Two worlds. Here in the time machine, and there in the village that time forgot. One is real, the other's fake. And just to make it more interesting, you're going to face in both worlds a deadly danger. But only one of the dangers is real. Tweet, tweet. Time to sleep." The birdsong sounded again and the quartet all fell spark out again. "Or are you waking up?" the Dream Lord grinned wickedly.
~8~
Chelsea woke up to find herself lying on her side on the floor of the now empty care home lounge. "Ow, why does he keep putting me in uncomfortable positions?" she grumbled as she rubbed her aching sides.
The Dream Lord entered at that moment, dressed as a doctor. "Oh, this is bad." he commented, holding up an X-ray scan, "This is very, very bad. Look at this X-ray. Your brain is completely see-though. But then, I've always been able to see through you, Doctor."
"Always?" Amy questioned, "What d'ye mean, always?"
"Now then, the prognosis is this." the Dream Lord announced, "If you die in the dream, you wake up in reality. Healthy recovery in next to no time. Ask me what happens if you die in reality."
"Let me guess, we die." Chelsea said dryly
"Yes, that's why it's called reality." the Dream Lord confirmed flatly
"Have you met the Doctor before?" Amy questioned, "Do ye know him? Doctor, does he?"
"Now don't get jealous." the Dream Lord smirked, "He's been around, our boy. Never mind that. You've got a world to choose. One reality was always too much for you, Doctor." he taunted the Time Lord, "That's why Rose is stuck in a parallel world, eh? Take two and call me in the morning." And he promptly disappeared.
"Oh, I don't like him." Rory grumbled, crossing his arms.
"Doctor, who the hell is he?" Chelsea asked
"I don't know." the Doctor replied, "It's a big universe."
"Why's he doing this?" Amy tried
"Maybe because he has no physical form." the Doctor shrugged, "That gets you down after a while, so he's taking it out on folk like us who can touch and eat and feel." He got to his feet and yanked the jumper off.
"What does he mean, 'deadly danger'?" Rory wandered, "Nothing deadly has happened here. A bit of natural wastage, obviously."
"What about Prisoner Zero?" Chelsea reminded him
"Well, ok, apart from that." Rory conceded
The Doctor suddenly noticed that the care home's residents were nowhere to be seen. They've all gone." he frowned, "They've all gone." He rushed outside, the others following him.
They wandered through the streets of Leadworth until they reached a playground near some old ruins, full of children playing. "Why would they leave?" Rory wandered, looking around.
"And what did you mean about Mrs Poggit's act?" Amy asked the Doctor
"One of my tawdry quirks." the Doctor replied, "Sniffing out things that aren't what they seem. So come on, let's think. The mechanics of this split we're stuck in... time asleep matched time in our dream world, unlike in conventional dreams."
"But is it possible for four people to all have the same dream at the same time?" Chelsea asked him
"Yes, it's a sort of communal trance, very rare, very complicated." the Doctor answered, "I'm sure there's a dream giveaway. But my mind isn't working because this village is so dull!" he grumbled, "I'm slowing down, like you three have."
Amy suddenly clutched her stomach. "Oh. Ow. Really. Ow! IT'S COMING!" she screamed
"Help her, you're a doctor!" the Doctor hollered to Rory
"You're a doctor." Rory countered
The Doctor squatted down beneath Amy and held his hands out as if to catch the baby. "It's ok, we're doctors. What do we do?"
Chelsea promptly burst out laughing. "Oh, for God's sake, she's pulling ya leg!" she chortled
"What?" the Doctor said as he stood again and Amy started laughing too at how easily she'd fooled him.
"This is my life now it just turned you white as a sheet. So don't you call it dull again, ever. Ok?" she told him sharply
"Sorry." the Doctor mumbled
"I can't believe you were gonna catch the baby like a football!" Chelsea snorted, "You dipstick!"
"Oi! It's been a long time since I last had to help a pregnant woman!" the Doctor huffed indignantly. Suddenly, he saw Mrs Poggit heading for the ruins. He sat down on a swing in the playground while Amy sat down on the adjacent one and Rory and Chelsea stood nearby. "Now, we all know there's an elephant in the room..." the Doctor began
"I have to be this size, I'm having a baby!" Amy shot back
"No, no. The hormones seem real, but no. Is nobody gonna mention Rory's ponytail?" the Doctor said, "One of you hold him down, I'll cut it off." Both women chuckled at that.
"This from the man in the bowtie?" Rory retorted
"Bowties are cool." the Doctor defended, "And what about Chelsea's blonde streaks? Ugh!"
"Oi, Toby likes them!" Chelsea retorted
"So do I, Chels." Amy reassured her cousin, "They suit ye."
It was then that the Doctor noticed Mrs Poggit watching the children like a hawk. "I don't know about you, but I wouldn't hire Mrs Poggit as a babysitter." he frowned as he stood up, "What's she doing? What does she want?"
Suddenly, the birdsong began yet again. "Oh, no, here we go." Amy groaned before the quartet passed out yet again.
~8~
Once again Chelsea awoke to find herself in an uncomfortable position in the TARDIS, this time sprawled over one of the auxiliary consoles. "Ah, I'm getting sick of this now." she groaned, rubbing her aching back, then she stood to see the Doctor working at the console with Amy and Rory standing nearby, rubbing their arms to keep warm.
"It's really cold." Amy shivered, "Have ye got any warm clothing?"
"What does it matter if we're cold?" the Doctor said irritably, "We have to know what she's up to." He took a calming breath. "Sorry, sorry. There should be some stuff in the wardrobe, have a look.
And so the three Humans headed off to the wardrobe where there were plenty of coats available. "I want the other life." Rory sighed, "You know, where we're happy and settled and about to have a baby."
"But don't ye wonder, if that life is real, then why would we give up all this?" Amy pointed out, "Why would anyone?"
"Maybe because it's dangerous?" Chelsea said flatly, "We've been here a week and we've nearly been eaten alive, blown up, you've had a Weeping Angel in your mind, I've been bitten by fish-vampires and now we're gonna freeze to death."
"The Doctor'll fix it." Amy shrugged, tossing Rory a long brown duster coat.
"Ok. Because we're going to get married?" Rory tried, slipping the coat on.
"But we can still get married." Amy giggled, slipping on a hooded parka, "Some day."
"You don't want to anymore?" Rory breathed, "I thought you'd chosen me, not him."
"You are always so insecure." Amy rolled her eyes
"You ran off with another man."
"Not in that way. Anyway, Chelsea was there too."
"Yeah, but that didn't stop you you." Chelsea said dryly, slipping on a pale grey hooded park, a black beanie and gloves, and the white scarf she'd worn during the Byzantium adventure, "The second I turned my back, you pounced on the Doctor and kissed him."
"On the night before our wedding." Rory added bitterly
"I wasn't thinking straight that day." Amy tried to defend her inexcusable actions, "And anyway, We're in a time machine. It's the night before our wedding for as long we want."
"Oh, grow up, Amy." Chelsea rolled her eyes
"Why should I?" Amy scoffed and grabbed some blankets.
They returned to the console room to find that the Doctor had assembled a contraption out of what appeared to be kitchen utensils. "Ah, Rory, wind." he said, handing him the gadget then he gave Amy the attached wire. "Amy, could you attach this to the monitor, please?"
"I was promised amazing worlds." Rory grumbled, "Instead I get duff central heating and a weird kitchen wind-up device."
"Yeah, I know." Chelsea agreed, "I sometimes wonder if it's worth being here."
"It's a generator. Get winding." the Doctor ordered Rory and turned to Chelsea. "And I though we'd been over this." he told her, "I can't help it when things go wrong."
"It's not enough." Amy called, plugging the wire into the console.
"Rory, wind." the Doctor ordered as he moved over to the monitors.
"Why is the Dream Lord picking on you?" Rory asked as he wound the generator, "Why us?"
The monitors came to life, showing a starscape outside. "Where are we? Amy asked
"We're in trouble." the Doctor said grimly
"What's that?" Chelsea asked, pointing to something on the screens.
"A star. A cold star." the Doctor answered and rushed to the doors. He pulled them open, letting in a dazzling light. "That's why we're freezing." he said, "It's not a malfunction. We're drifting towards a cold sun. That's our danger for this version of reality." He closed the door and returned to his monitor.
"This must be the dream." Amy said, "There's no such thing as a cold star. Stars burn."
"So's this one." the Doctor countered, "It's just burning cold."
"Is that possible?" Rory asked
"I can't know everything." the Doctor said irritably, "Why does everyone expect me to, always?" He flopped down dejectedly on one of the seats.
"Maybe because you like to strut around acting like you do know everything." Chelsea retorted, "Honestly, you're like Q from Star Trek sometimes."
"I am not!" the Doctor said indignantly
"Ok, so this something you haven't seen before." Rory cut in, "So does that mean this is the dream?"
"I don't know, but there it is." the Doctor answered irritably, "And I'd say we've got about..." He checked his watch. "14 minutes before we crash into it. But that's not a problem."
"Because you two know how to get us out of this?" Rory asked hopefully
"Because we'll have frozen to death." the Doctor answered, pulling out his previous incarnation's stethoscope
"Then what'll we do?" Amy asked
"Stay calm." the Doctor said, placing his stethoscope on the console, "Don't get sucked into it, because this just might be the battle we have to loose."
"Oh, this is so you, isn't it?" Rory scoffed, looking at the Doctor with disdain.
"What?" the Time Lord asked, glancing up.
"What, a weird new star, 14 minutes left to live and only you and your wife to save the day?" Rory retorted, "I just wanted a nice village and a family."
"Yeah, and I was doing alright till you showed up again." Chelsea added, glaring daggers at the Doctor, "Honestly, we've nearly died more times this week than we have in the past five years!"
It was then that the Dream Lord decided to make an unwelcome appearance. "Oh dear, Doctor. Dissent in the ranks." he grinned maliciously, "There was an old Doctor from Galifrey, who ended throwing his life away. He let down his friends and..." He stopped as the birdsong sounded again. "Oh, no, we've run out of time. Don't spend too long there, or you'll catch your death here."
~8~
Chelsea awoke to find herself lying in a muddy puddle in the playground in Leadworth. "Ugh!" she groaned as she picked herself up and wiped some of the mud off her clothes.
The Doctor meanwhile rushed up the steps into the ruins. "Where have the children gone?" he wandered, then he saw some piles of dust lying around so he scanned them with his sonic screwdriver.
"Don't know." Rory shrugged as he, Amy and Chelsea joined the Time Lord, "Playtime's probably over." He turned to his wife. "You see, this is the real one. I just feel it. Don't you feel it?"
"I feel it both places." Amy told him
"Me too." Chelsea agreed
"I feel it here." Rory said, looking around his home village, "It's just so tranquil and relaxed. Nothing bad could ever happen here." Chelsea opened her mouth to say something but Rory got there first. "Apart from Prisoner Zero."
"Not really me, though, is it?" Amy said, "Would I be happy settling down in a place with a pub, two shops and a really bad amateur dramatics society? That's why I got pregnant, so I don't have to see them doing Oklahoma." She turned to the Doctor, who had finished scanning the dust piles and was now sifting dust through his fingers. "What're you doing? What are those piles of dust?" Amy asked him.
"Playtime's definitely over." the Doctor muttered, wiping off his hands.
"Oh, my God!" Amy gasped as realisation struck her
"What happened to them?" Rory breathed in horror
"I think they did." the Doctor said, standing up and pointing to a group of elderly people walking along the path.
"They're just a bunch of pensioners, Doctor." Chelsea told him, "What harm could they have done, eh?"
"They're very old." the Doctor countered, heading down the steps, "Sorry, Rory, I don't think you're what's been keeping them alive."
The pensioners all stopped and stood in a line facing the park. The quartet were just approaching them when the Dream Lord appeared. "Hello, peasants." he said, "What's this, attack of the old people? Oh, that's ridiculous. This has got to be the dream, hasn't it? What do you think, Amy? Let's all jump under a bus and wake up in the TARDIS." He turned to Chelsea. "You can go first." he smirked
"Leave them alone!" the Doctor snapped
"Do that again." the Dream Lord smirked, "I love it when he does that. Tall dark hero, 'leave them alone.'"
"Just leave them!" Rory growled
"Yes, you're not quite so impressive." the Dream Lord dismissed him, then turned back to Amy. "But I know where your heart lies, don't I, Amy Pond?"
"Shut up!" Amy glared, "Just shut up and leave me alone."
"And you, Chelsea Willows." the Dream Lord continued, "Has the Doctor ever told you about his involvement at Canary Wharf?"
Chelsea was about to answer when the Doctor cut in before she had a chance to get a word out. "Drop it." he told the Dream Lord, "Drop all of it. I know who you are."
"Course you don't." the Dream Lord rolled his eyes
"Course I do." the Doctor stood his ground, "No idea how you can be here, but there's only one person in the universe who hates me as much as you do."
"Never mind me, maybe you should worry about them." the Dream Lord said lightly, gesturing to the pensioners who had begun to advance on the quartet, then he disappeared.
Rory approached the pensioners. "Hi." he greeted
"Hello." the Doctor added, "We were wandering where you went. To get reinforcements. Are you alright? You look a bit tense."
Rory approached an old man. "Hello, Mr Nainby."
"Rory..." the Doctor began warningly
"Mr Nainby used to run the sweet shop." Rory waved him off, "He used to slip me the odd free toffee." Mr Nainby promptly lifted Rory by his collar. "Did I not say thank you?" Rory blustered before Mr Nainby threw him back into the mud. "How did he do that?!" Rory gasped as he picked himself up.
"I suspect he's not himself." the Doctor replied, "Don't get comfortable here. You may have to run. Fast."
"Can't we just talk to them?" Amy suggested, only for the pensioners to open their mouths and reveal green reptilian eyes in them. "There is an eye in their mouths!" Amy spluttered
"What the hell are they?!" Chelsea stared
The Doctor scanned Mrs Poggit with his sonic. "There's a whole creature inside her. Inside all of them. They've been there for years, living and waiting."
"That is disgusting." Rory squirmed, "They're gonna be peeping out of anywhere else are they?"
Mrs Poggit promptly leaned forward and sprayed a green mist out of her mouth, causing the quartet to recoil back to safety. "RUN!" the Doctor urged the Humans, who all didn't need telling twice and ran back to the Williams cottage.
When they arrived, Amy stopped and leaned against a post. "Wait, stop." she panted. Being pregnant. she wasn't in shape for all this running.
"After all I've done for the over-70's in this village." Rory bemoaned, then he saw an elderly lady blocking the front door. "Ok. This is crazy. She loves me, I fixed her depression, she's just a little old lady."
"Mrs Hamill, I don't understand..." Amy began, but hastily backed away as Mrs Hamill opened her mouth to reveal an alien eye.
"I'll deal with this one, Chubs." Rory said, taking charge, "Now..." He promptly jumped back as Mrs Hamill tried to spray him with her gas and he grabbed a discarded plank of wood. "I can't hit her." he said, backing up.
"Allow me." Chelsea said, taking the plank of him and she whacked Mrs Hamill with it, causing the pensioner to fall to the ground, knocked spark out. The trio then scrambled inside the house just as more possessed pensioners approached from across the field.
Once they were inside, Amy collapsed onto the stairs to rest while Rory bolted the door shut. "We just ran away." she panted, "We just abandoned the Doctor. Don't ever call me Chubs again! We don't see him for years, and somehow we don't really connect anymore and then, then he takes the bullet for us."
"You know the Doctor. He's Mr Cool." Rory reassured her as he and Chelsea moved the coffee table to barricade the door. "You ok, Chels?" he asked his friend, noticing that she looked thoughtful.
"Yeah, fine." Chelsea waved him off. She had been thinking about what the Dream Lord had said about the Doctor being involved in the Battle of Canary Wharf and remembered the Doctor telling her that he had been there. She hadn't given it much thought during all these years but now she couldn't help but wonder just how involved he was.
Suddenly, they all heard the dreaded birdsong again. "Oh, no." Rory groaned before they all fell spark out for the umpteenth time.
~8~
Chelsea snapped awake to find herself sprawled on the stairs in the TARDIS. The temperature had dropped even further now and frost was starting to form on the surface. "Ah, it's freezing." she shivered, wrapping her coat and scarf tighter around herself.
The Doctor, Amy and Rory were all stood by the console. "The four of us have to agree, now, which is the dream." the Doctor said, buttoning his jacket.
"It's this, here." Rory said immediately
"He could be right." Amy added, "The science is all wrong here, burning ice?"
"No, no, no, ice can burn, sofas can read, it's a big universe." the Doctor said, "We have to agree which battle to lose. All of us, now."
"Ok, which world do you think is real?" Amy asked him
"This one." he answered
"No, the other one!" Rory countered
"What do you think, Chels?" Amy asked her cousin
"I don't know." Chelsea sighed, sitting down on the stairs, "Burning ice, old people with aliens inside them... I don't what to think anymore."
"Great help you are." Amy grunted
The Doctor checked his watch. "9 minutes till impact." he warned
"What temperature is it?" Amy asked
"Outside? Brrr!" the Doctor shivered, "How many noughts have you got? Inside? I don't know but I can't feel my feet and... other parts."
"I think all my parts are basically fine." Rory said
"This isn't a competition." the Doctor said irritably
"Can't we call for help?" Rory suggested, holding out Martha's mobile.
"Yeah, the universe is really small." the Doctor said sarcastically, snatching the phone off him, "Bound to be someone around." He bopped Rory on the head with the phone.
"At least he's trying to be helpful." Chelsea told him, "And that's more than what can be said for you."
"Put these on, all of you." Amy said, tossing them all blankets with holes cut in them.
"Oh, a poncho." Rory remarked as Amy put one over his head, "The biggest crime against fashion since lederhosen."
"Here we go." Amy said as she slipped her blanket on too, "My poncho gang! If we're going to die, let's die looking like a Peruvian folk band."
"We're not gonna die." Rory said
"No, we're not." the Doctor said, checking his watch, "But our time's running out. If we fall asleep here, we're in trouble." He began to pace, trying to think of something. "If we could divide up, then we'd have an active presence in each world, but the Dream Lord is switching us between worlds. Why, why? What's the logic?"
Just then, the Dream Lord appeared, wearing a poncho. "Good idea, veggie, let's divide you four up, so I can have a little chat with our lovely companion." he said, "Maybe I'll keep her and you can have wallflower and pointy nose to yourself for all eternity, should you manage to clamber aboard some sort of reality."
The birdsong began to play yet again. "Ah, no!" Chelsea groaned, dreading to think what awaited her in the other reality.
"Can you hear that?" Rory asked Amy, who didn't seem affected at all.
"What?" Amy asked, "No."
"Amy, don't be scared, we'll be back." the Doctor managed to get out before he, Rory and Chelsea all fell asleep again.
"Rory, Chelsea, Doctor, don't leave me!" Amy cried
"Amy, we're going to have fun aren't we?" the Dream Lord grinned wickedly
"No, please, not alone." Amy groaned
~8~
Chelsea woke up to find herself lying against the front door in the Williams cottage, while Rory was sitting on the stairs with a still-sleeping Amy on his lap. They both heard clamouring outside and realised that the aliens were trying to get inside so they both lifted Amy up and carried her upstairs, both groaning and straining from the effort. They managed to carry her into the nursery upstairs, then Rory shut the door while Chelsea looked out of the window to see the aliens trying to break in. Some were even trying to get inside the TARDIS. Rory propped a chair under the door knob to barricade it and he sat on the chair.
~8~
The TARDIS drifted closer and closer towards the freezing star, ice beginning to coat the exterior. Inside, Amy was sitting in a lonely vigil over her sleeping fiancé, cousin and friend when the Dream Lord appeared beside her. "Poor Amy. He always leaves you, doesn't he?" he taunted, "Alone in the dark. Never apologises."
"He doesn't have to." Amy said defiantly, walking away.
"That's good, because he never will." the Dream Lord continued, "And now he's left you with me. Spooky old, not-to-be-trusted me. Anything could happen."
"Who are you and what do ye want?" Amy demanded, "The Doctor knows, but he's not telling me who you are. And he always does. Takes him awhile sometimes, but he tells me. So you're something different."
"Oh, is that who you think you are?" the Dream Lord scoffed, "The one he trusts?"
"Actually, yes." Amy said defiantly
"The one girl in the universe to whom the Doctor tells everything?"
"Yes."
"Then you're even more of a self-centred brat than I thought you were." the Dream Lord scoffed, "I've got news for you, Amy Pond. You're not the first. Mr Bean here has had more women than Henry VIII. Now, to business. Pick a world and this nightmare will all be over. They'll listen to you. It's you they're waiting for. Amy's choice. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to have a word with your cousin."
The birdsong sounded and Amy fell asleep.
~8~
Rory was sat in the nursery cradling Amy's head in his lap when she jolted awake. "How did I get up here?" she asked
"We carried you." Rory told her, "I'm afraid you may experience some bruising."
"Where's the Doctor?" Amy asked
"We don't know, Ames." Chelsea replied, "There's been no sign of him."
Rory then produced a pair of scissors. "I want to do something for you." he said to Amy and promptly cut off his ponytail.
"I was starting to like it." Amy gasped. Then she saw Chelsea suddenly clutch her temples. "What's wrong, Chels?" she asked
"The birds." Chelsea managed to say before promptly falling to the floor fast asleep.
~8~
Chelsea awoke to find herself lying on the floor in the TARDIS with the Dream Lord standing over her. "Wakey-wakey, Willows." he smirked
"What do you want?" Chelsea shivered
"Oh, now, be nice." the Dream Lord answered casually, "I just want to tell you something. What the Doctor hasn't told you about Canary Wharf..."
~8~
Amy and Rory jumped as a window flew open. To their relief, it was the Doctor. "It's alright." he told him, I had to stop off at the butchers." He fell to the floor, picked himself up and saw Chelsea's sleeping form. "What happened?" he asked
"She dropped off a few minutes ago." Amy told him, "the Dream Lord said he needed to talk to her."
"Doctor, what're we gonna do?" Rory asked
"I don't know." the Doctor replied grimly, "I thought the freezing TARDIS was real but now I'm not so sure."
Amy suddenly gasped and clutched her stomach "I think the baby's starting!"
"Honestly?" Rory stared
"Would I make it up at a time like this?"
"Well, you do have a history of..." Rory began, but wisely changed tact when Amy shot him a death glare, "Being very lovely." Amy cried out suddenly. "Why are they so desperate to kill us?!" Rory said in exasperation
"They're scared. Fear generates savagery." the Doctor replied, remembering nearly being a victim of that during his ill-fated bus trip on Midnight.
A garden ornament suddenly came flying through the window. Rory went to look and Mrs Poggit sprayed him with her green mist. He fell back with a groan and Amy went over to comfort him while the Doctor knocked Mrs Poggit away. "Rory!" Amy cried as she cradled her husband.
"No! I'm not ready!" Rory groaned as he began to dissolve.
"Stay." Amy begged
"Look after our baby." Rory managed to get out before he crumbled into dust.
"No, no, come back!" Amy wailed futilely, before rounding on the Doctor. "Save him. You save everyone. You always do. It's what ye do."
"Not always." the Doctor sighed gloomily, "I'm sorry."
"Then what's the point of you?" Amy snarled and touched the pile of dust that was once Rory. "This is the dream." she stated, "Definitely this one. Now, if we die here, we wake up, yeah?"
The Doctor nodded. "Unless we just die."
"Either way, this is my only chance of seeing him again." Amy said, "This is the dream."
"How do you know?" the Doctor asked her.
"Because if this is real life, I don't want it." Amy told him, "I don't want it."
~8~
The Doctor and Amy left the house, the Doctor carrying the sleeping Chelsea in his arms. The aliens were all around them but made no effort to stop them. "Why aren't they attacking?!" Amy growled
"Either because this is just a dream, or because they know what we're about to do." the Doctor replied as they made their way over to the camper van the Doctor had used to get to the house. He placed Chelsea down on the back seat and Amy held her hand out for the keys. "Be very sure." the Doctor told her, "This could be the real world."
"It can't be." Amy replied, "Rory isn't here. I didn't know. I didn't, I didn't, I honestly didn't, till right now. I just want him."
"Ok." the Doctor conceded, handing her the keys, "Ok."
Amy headed round to the driver's side of the van while the Doctor turned to enter the front passenger seat. He saw the Dream Lord standing there with an unreadable expression. Without a word, the Doctor got in the van.
"I love Rory." Amy said as she started the engine, "And I never told him, but now he's gone." And with that, she drove at top speed towards the house.
~8~
There was a thick layer of ice covering everything in the TARDIS as the Doctor and Amy woke. Rory was there, alive and well, clutching his fiancé's hand while Chelsea was sat on one of the seats with a vacant look on her face. The Dream Lord stood over the three bodies on the floor. "So... you chose this world." he said, "Well done. You got it right. And with only seconds left. Fair's fair. Let's warm you up." He pressed a button on the console and all power to the TARDIS was restored. "I hope you've enjoyed your little fictions. It all came out of your imaginations, so I'll leave you to ponder that. I have been defeated. I shall withdraw. Oh, and Chelsea? Remember what I told you. Farewell." And he promptly disappeared.
The Doctor slowly rose to his feet and started to work the controls while Amy and Rory kneeled, facing each other. "Something happened." Rory blustered, "I... what happened to me? I.." Amy threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. "Oh. Oh, right. This is good. I'm liking this. Was it something I said?" Amy released him and looked at him lovingly. Can you tell me what it was so I can use it in emergencies?" Rory continued, "Or birthdays?"
Both Humans turned at the sound of the TARDIS' engines revving up. "What're we doing now?" Amy asked the Doctor
"Me? I'm gonna blow up the TARDIS." the Doctor replied nonchalantly
"What?!" Rory spluttered
"Notice how helpful the Dream Lord was?" the Doctor remarked, "Ok, there was misinformation, red herring, malice, and I could've done without the limerick, but he was always very keen to make us choose between dream and reality." He gave a hollow laugh.
"What're you doing?!" Amy stared
"Doctor, the Dream Lord conceded!" Rory pointed out, "This isn't the dream!"
"Yes, it is." the Doctor told him.
"Chels, stop him!" Amy hollered to her cousin, but Chelsea just continued to stay in her seat, apparently in a world of her own.
"Star burning cold. Do me a favour!" the Doctor scoffed, "The Dream Lord has no power over the real world. He was offering us a choice between two dreams."
"How d'ye know that?" Amy asked
"Because I know who he is." the Doctor replied. He pulled a couple of levers and the TARDIS exploded.
~8~
Chelsea woke to find herself lying on her bed in the TARDIS. She immediately checked her hands to see no engagement ring, then she headed into the en-suite bathroom and checked her reflection in the mirror to see no blonde highlights in her hair and the fading traces of the puncture marks from Venice were still visible on her neck . She headed to the console room to find the Doctor, Amy and Rory there, the Doctor looking at something in his hand. "Any questions?" he asked his companions
"What's that?" Amy asked, gesturing to the six little glistening objects in the Doctor's hand.
"Specks of psychic pollen from the candle meadows of Karass don Salva." the Doctor replied, "We must've brought them with us when we went there the other day. They fell in the Time Rotor, heated up and induced a dream state for all of us." He went over to the door and blew the specs out into space where they could do no more harm.
"So was that the Dream Lord then, those little specks?" Rory asked
"No, no, no. Sorry, wasn't it obvious? The Dream Lord was me." the Doctor replied, "Psychic pollen, it's a mind parasite. It feeds everything dark in you, gives it a voice and turns it against you. I'm 906. It had a lot to go on."
"But why didn't it feed on us, too?" Amy asked
"Darkness in you three?" the Doctor chuckled, "It would've starved to death in an instant. I choose my friends with great care. Otherwise I'm stuck with my own company, and you know how that works out."
"So everything the Dream Lord said and did, that was all you?" Chelsea asked cautiously
"Yes." the Doctor admitted, "Sorry."
A brief silence followed as the three Humans processed this news. "There's just one thing I don't understand." Rory spoke up after a moment, "Cos' what I don't get is you blew up the TARDIS, that stopped that dream, but what stopped the Leadworth dream?"
"We crashed the camper van." Amy replied
"No, you weren't there." Amy told him, "You were already..."
"Already what?"
"Dead." Amy swallowed, "You died in that dream. Mrs Poggit got you."
"Ok." Rory nodded, "But how did you know that was a dream? Before you crashed the van, how did you know you wouldn't just die?"
"I didn't." Amy replied
"Oh." Rory breathed in realisation
"Yeah." Amy smiled
"Oh." Rory repeated, taking Amy's hand.
"Yeah, oh." And Amy and Rory promptly kissed each other.
The Doctor watched all this with a smile, glad that Amy and Rory's relationship appeared to have been permanently restored. "So..." he said when the couple had broken apart, "Well then, where now? Or should I just pop down to the swimming pool for a few lengths?"
"I don't know." Rory said cheerfully, "Anywhere's good for me. I'm happy anywhere. It's up to Amy this time. Amy's choice."
"Hmm, I think our room's good enough." Amy said and led Rory away down the stairs.
It was then that the Doctor realised that Chelsea had quietly snuck out at some point. He set off to look for her and found her wandering aimlessly around the corridors. "You alright?" he asked her
"Yeah, yeah, fine." Chelsea waved him off, looking down at the floor and her voice sounded hollow and quiet.
"OK, look, I'm sorry that your fella was just a dream. I can check the database if ya like and see if there really is a Toby McCallister somewhere." the Doctor suggested, wandering if she was upset about that.
"No need." Chelsea waved him off, "He was just a figment of your imagination." She then took a breath and decided to come out with it straight. "The Dream Lord told me some things, about you. He said that it was your fault Canary Wharf happened. That Torchwood was created because you once met Queen Victoria and pissed her off by acting like an immature clown, and that you were the person who deposed Harriet Jones. I thought he was lying, but if the Dream Lord really was you, I can't help but wander if maybe it's all true. So tell me, Doctor, no lying or cryptic riddles, just tell me straight. Was all that you?"
The Doctor took a breath. "Yes. I'm afraid it was." he answered honestly, "All that was my fault." Chelsea looked like she'd been slapped in the face upon hearing that. "But, in fairness, I was a different person then." the Doctor tried to pacify her, "It was all a long time ago for me, a lifetime ago."
But Chelsea had tuned all of those last sentences out. "When were you gonna tell me all that?" she demanded, "We've been travelling with you for a week now and you never said. Were you ever actually gonna tell me at all?!" The Doctor didn't answer. "Huh, of course you weren't." Chelsea sighed bitterly, "Ya know, you keep telling people to trust you, yet you keep lying, keeping things from us and swanning off and leaving us alone in dangerous situations! I should've stayed at home."
"I'm sorry." the Doctor said, ashamed. He truly felt guilty about all the arrogant and hypocritical actions of his previous incarnation and knew now that he had been a conceited, self-righteous fool with delusions of grandeur in those days.
"Sorry doesn't make it alright." Chelsea said simply, throwing the Doctor's harsh words from Starship UK back at him.
"Chelsea..." the Doctor began, desperate to try and make amends, but the damage had been done.
"Don't talk to me." Chelsea ground out, turning away from him, "You have nothing to say to me today." And she stormed off towards her room, seething and hurt that she had been unknowingly been travelling with the man responsible for the battle that had left her fatherless.
Author's notes: Ok, been a while since the last update but here's Amy's Choice. Quite the angsty note to end on but I've been getting into fics with angst lately and I couldn't resist having a crack at it myself. The Battle of Canary Wharf was basically the 10th Doctor's fault as his and Rose's terrible behaviour in Tooth and Claw led to Queen Victoria establishing Torchwood and he also brought down Harriet Jones, thus preventing her from stopping Torchwood's reckless meddling with the breach between universes and allowing the Master to rise to power as Harold Saxon. The 10th Doctor never seemed to accept responsibility for the consequences of his actions, neither did 11 to a lesser extent and the Dream Lord was a perfect opportunity for Chelsea to learn the terrible truth. I think it might take some doing for her to recover from these revelations! Unfortunately, I've got Chibnall's double borefest coming up next, God help me! This is probably gonna be my last update before Christmas so I'd like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and hope you all stay safe. So, seasons greetings, good health and Merry Christmas!