From a young age Rory Williams had always been single-minded.
He'd decided after the death of his mother that he wanted to be a nurse and from that moment he worked towards his goal.
He'd fallen in love with Amy and had never looked at anyone else.
And then the Doctor restarted the universe, leaving Rory with memories of the almost two thousand years he'd lived as a plastic centurion, waiting for the day his love would return. After that an alternate life as a special forces soldier was added.
This meant he was no longer single-minded and sometimes other parts of who he had been in these other lives leaked out, on occasion taking over.
Right now, whatever these people had done to him meant his mind was filled with apathy but the part of him that had lived for centuries was doing all it could to break through the fog while not letting his abductors know this. In some ways it was like Rory's main personality, the one dubbed Nurse Rory by the Doctor, was in a glass cell. He could see the world around him, but it was muted and separate from him.
The brief connection with his twin's mind had helped the Centurion move through it slightly but the conditioning was strong and trying to push through it was going to take more time.
The man in charge of the Time Masters finished speaking with the scientist who was in control of the experiment and wandered over to the small cell where Rory waited.
"Tell me, Mr Williams," Arden mused as he studied Rory, "Did you know you had a twin brother?"
"Yes," Rory answered mechanically.
Arden frowned in surprise, "You did?"
"He died when we were children," the Centurion added before the man became suspicious.
A smile crossed Arden's face, "Of course. Such a tragedy. Now here is a doppelganger. What will you do if I order you to kill him?"
"I will follow your order," Rory replied.
Arden smiled again, "You'll get your chance soon and I will enjoy watching you do so."
Amy stepped into her room onboard the TARDIS, finding it the same as it always was. The Doctor assured her they were almost ready to head back to UNIT, but he wanted to do a few checks first.
Opening the cupboard, Amy found one of Rory's favourite shirts. She slipped it off the hangar and slid it on wrapping herself in the soft fabric. Curling up on their bed, she pulled his pillow to her and took in a breath. The smell of his shampoo filled the air and Amy sighed.
Why couldn't the universe just let them be together?
They'd been separated so often, even though they'd always found each other before, she hoped that would be the same this time.
She had wasted so much time when they were young, not realising he loved her. Even when she found out, Amy had taken him for granted for so long. And then he had died, in a dream world thankfully, but losing him even that way had shattered her heart. Amy realised at that moment just how much she loved the man who had never wavered from her side.
When he had sacrificed himself for the Doctor, Amy was distraught. Although she had forgotten for a while, due to him being erased from the timeline, she knew every moment that she was missing something important.
Learning that he had chosen to wait outside the Pandorica for her, that he hadn't taken the easy route round and instead lived for hundreds of years protecting her, it struck Amy just how lucky she was to be who this incredible man loved.
"I wish I knew what to say," Rip's voice made Amy look up to find him standing in the doorway, "But I don't know what those words are."
Slowly he crossed the room taking a seat at her side and reached out resting his hand comfortingly on her shoulder.
Sitting up Amy leaned against his arm, "I'm glad you're here, Rip. That's all I need from you."
Rip sighed, "I wish I had known you both when I lost Miranda. Because I didn't know what to do or how to cope. I spun in circles, and I drank myself into oblivion. I recruited the Legends, the nuclear option, and set them loose."
Amy squeezed his hand in silence.
"Finding Rory," he continued, "And getting Gideon back helped me gain some equilibrium. Especially as I found my real father, gained a new sister," he smiled softly at her, "And two wonderful nephews." He closed his eyes and breathed, "Now I have Jonas back."
"And you're an amazing father," Amy told him.
Rip gave a soft smile before telling her, "Losing Rory is not something I will let happen. To either of us."
Amy nodded, "We'll get him back and make those who took him regret it."
"Yes, we will," he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and gave her a quick hug.
With a deep breath Amy stood and they headed back to the control room.
x
The Doctor turned as Amy and Rip entered the control room, "Good. The TARDIS is ready. Where are we headed?"
"UNIT," Rip stated, "I want to check on the kids first then we can go to the warehouse I use when we visit. We'll bring the Legends there to plan. I want to keep UNIT and what's left of the Time Bureau out of this as much of possible."
The Doctor nodded understanding, "UNIT it is. Hold on."
Amy and Rip grabbed the console as the TARDIS flew through the timestream landing a few minutes later.
Walking out the door they were met by Kate who nodded.
"We were wondering where you were," she said to the Doctor with a smile.
He shrugged, "Just needed some roadside assistance."
"Glad you're here," Kate nodded, "Amy, Rip, the children are having lunch if you want to see them."
"That sounds like a good idea," the Doctor said, "I want to look over the information Kate has on what's been going on and we can start working on getting Rory back."
Amy caught his hand, "You'll come see the boys before we leave?"
"Of course," the Doctor assured her.
Smiling she headed with Rip to see their children, the Doctor waited until Amy was out of earshot before he turned to Kate.
"Tell me everything including anything you've been keeping from her," he stated.
x
The Doctor frowned as he studied the information Kate had given him, "You're sure these are people who were abducted by the same bunch who took Rory?"
Kate nodded, "The patterns fit."
He mused, "Autopsy reports?"
"Their brain chemistries were all filled with the same hormones," Kate said, "Although the levels differed in each person. They were usually higher in those who had been missing longest."
The Doctor flipped through the information looking up when he felt Kate had a question.
"We have no idea how to fix this," she said, "What if we get Rory back and we can't fix what they did to him?"
"That is a worry for later," the Doctor told her, "But if what Rip said is true and the Centurion was able to contact him, even briefly then I believe there is a chance we won't need to fix anything."
Kate sighed, "Let's hope."
"Right," the Doctor stood, "I promised Amy I would see the twins so I should keep that promise."
Kate smiled, "End of the corridor you'll find the family room."
x
The Doctor opened the door quietly, peeking in to look at the domestic scene before him. Amy was holding her boys who were telling her how much they missed her, how much they loved her but how much they wanted to see their father too.
At the other side of the room Rip was hugging a slightly older child, the Doctor assumed was his son. When Rip let him go, the Doctor could see the boy was a mini version of Rip and Rory. It was obvious the anxiety the boy felt about the situation, but he was clearly doing his best not to show his dad.
"Jonas," Rip smiled, "I want you to meet another friend of mine. This is the Doctor."
"Hello there, young Master Hunter," the Doctor greeted Jonas with a soft bow, "It is a pleasure to meet you."
Jonas gave a small smile while leaning closer to his father, "Hello."
"Do you remember the stories your mum told you about Time Lords," Rip asked with a smile. When Jonas nodded, Rip pointed to the Doctor, "Because he is one."
The Doctor chuckled as the little boy's eyes widened like saucers.
"Can I see your ship" Jonas asked.
"Later," Rip chuckled.
The Doctor crouched so he was face to face with Jonas, "I promise I will let you see my ship once we have your uncle home safely."
Jonas looked at him for a moment, with the same look Rory and Rip always gave him while they determined how serious he was.
Finally Jonas nodded, "Okay."
"Doctor," Amy called, "Your nephews want to say hello to you."
Standing again the Doctor turned and saw the twins reaching out to him. With a smile he accepted the two boys into his arms and held them close.
"It's good to see you both too," he told them before soothing, "I know, I know you miss your dad, but we'll get him home," he nodded, "Oh, well Jonas does seem to be a very good big cousin to have."
"What are you doing?" Jonas demanded confused.
The Doctor turned to him, "I'm talking with your cousins."
Jonas frowned, "They're not saying anything."
"I speak baby," the Doctor explained.
Amy shook her head at the little boy, "Don't bother, Jonas. We all stopped asking him a long time ago."
"Well," the Doctor handed the children he was holding to their grandfather, giving Brian a quick nod, "We need to start work so we can get Rory back to these two."
Amy hated the fact she was leaving her babies again, but she needed to help Rory. Besides she knew Brian would look after them, something Jonas would help with.
Stepping out of the TARDIS into the warehouse they'd bought for Rip to house the Waverider, Amy hoped that they managed to come up with a plan.
Rip was looking very sombre, but Amy had come to recognise the expression as the one he wore when he was getting ready to tackle a problem.
"I'm going to open the portal to the Bureau so Sara and the Legends she's gathered up can join us," Rip told them.
Amy nodded.
The Doctor closed the door to the TARDIS and leaned against the box.
Rip took a deep breath before he activated the courier to open the portal. Amy watched the small group walk through recognising them all from their previous encounter.
"Amy," Amaya moved to her and smiled, "It's good to see you. I'm so sorry this has happened."
Amy nodded to the other woman, "Thank you. It's good to see you too, Amaya."
"Amy, Doctor," Rip spoke up, "You remember Sara Lance, Ray Palmer, Nate Heywood, Amaya Jiwe, Zari Tomaz and Mick Rory."
The Doctor nodded, "Vividly."
"They're back?" Mick demanded of Rip.
Rip nodded slowly, "I'm afraid so, Mr Rory. A man by the name of Bartholomew Arden has taken Druce's place and looks to be following his plans." He turned to the others, "A new brainwashing technique, similar to the one used to create the Bounty Hunters, has been used on my brother."
Amy watched Mick walk to one of the walls and punch it. He walked back to the group who were all watching in silence.
"You've been back at the Vanishing Point?" Mick asked Rip as though he hadn't lost his temper.
Rip nodded, "They made no changes from what I could see, although since my last visit they may have upgraded their security."
"Typical," Sara noted.
"The good thing is," Rip ignored her, "The Waverider is still there, and we should be able to get Gideon's help once we're there."
"You just left her?" Sara demanded, "Why?"
Rip sighed, "I had no choice. Amy's sons were in danger. Besides the engines was still repairing after being thrown out the time stream and crashing. The self-repair systems should mean the engines are at full strength now, or the tech team will have replaced everything anyway."
Sara frowned, "Why not contact Gideon now?"
"She's keeping herself hidden," Rip explained, "If I tried to contact her from here then they would be able to track her. I'd rather she be our ace in the hole."
Amy nodded and rested her hand on his arm knowing how worried he was about Gideon being in enemy territory where they would try to erase her memory if they found her.
"So," Amy said, "We need a plan because I want my husband back."