A/N: There's a big surprise at the end of this chapter that I am so, so excited for! (Also, to the guest reviewer who mentioned the 8th Doctor movie? I'm totally doing that in the next book and it's going to be awesome.) Just a warning, there is a mention of suicide at the end concerning the jump that Amy and Rory take together.
Any mistakes are the fault of lazy writing and the fact that it's 1 in the morning. Also, there will be another chapter after this where I'll explain when I'm posting the sequel and other important info.
Although I was originally a little skeptical about the maze, the Doctor eventually managed to convince me to go with him. I raced to the wardrobe to grab a jacket and then hurried back to the Doctor while he waited for me by the doors. When I stumbled back into the console room, he was waiting just outside for me under his umbrella.
I linked arms with him as I closed the TARDIS doors behind me. "You sure you don't want to try going somewhere else?" I asked. "If you're not a big fan of rain, we can go ahead and leave."
"I wouldn't know where else to take you," he admitted. "I'd hate to bring you somewhere you've already been."
I smiled. "Theta, do you want to stay or not? I don't mind the rain and I don't mind leaving if that's what you want to do."
Ultimately, we both decided to stay and explore the maze despite the rain. Secretly, I was excited about the rain for more than just the fact that I had always loved rain. It meant that in order to stay dry, the Doctor and I had to stay close together under his umbrella. And even with the umbrella and the hood of my jacket over my head, I still ended up a little wet and with my glasses misted over.
There were a lot of other aliens walking through the maze, which kind of made it feel less personal between the Doctor and I. But it was still nice because despite the rain and the other creatures, it was just me and my boyfriend wandering around a maze and trying not to get lost.
"How about we go right up there?" I asked as I pointed to the split in the trail up ahead.
The Doctor looked at me with an exasperated expression. "You've never been in a maze before, have you?"
"Oh, yeah, sure. Whenever I'm not being chased by angry cavemen or the Master or the angry alien monster of the week, I liked to spend my free time wandering aimlessly through the famous mazes of the universe." I rolled my eyes and shook my head. "Of course not, you moron."
"There's a certain technique to navigating a maze," he told me.
" 'There's a certain technique'," I repeated in a terrible Scottish accent. "Care to share with the rest of the class, oh mighty Time Lord?"
He pointed to the sky where I could just make out the outline of the planet's sun through the gray rain clouds. "Their sun is currently in the northern half of the sky and will eventually set in the north," he explained.
"Oh, of course," I countered. "Silly me. I should've known."
"Hush, you," he said as he pushed his finger against the tip of my nose. Then he pulled us both to a halt in the middle of the walkway and pointed up at the sun. "As I was saying, the sun sets in the north here. The center of the maze is exactly 1.2304 miles from the entrance, which faces exactly two degrees southwest. All we have to do is go in the direction that leads two degrees southwest and we will absolutely find the center of the maze."
I stared incredulously at the Doctor for a moment, trying to think of something to say. My mouth had fallen open at some point, so I closed it and pursed my lips as I remained silent. The Doctor started to speak again, but I shushed him and pressed a finger to his lips.
"So," I said after a minute, "you're saying that I, being the silly little human that I am, should have known to navigate myself exactly two degrees southwest and then I would've found the way through the maze easy peasy? Not one degree, not three degrees, not even 2.4 degrees. Just two degrees exactly."
The Doctor stared worriedly at me for a moment before nodding once. "Yes…," he said slowly, my finger still pressed against his mouth.
I let my hand drop and then I sighed. "Sometimes I think you need help communicating with others," I mumbled.
"So I perhaps should also have mentioned the small lake in the center of the maze that gives all conquerers of the maze a congratulatory splash?"
"Yes," I answered. "And we're not conquerers."
The Doctor glanced away and awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. "I thought you might like something a little different," he said.
"Well, you certainly succeeded. This is different. Very, very different," I replied as a tall, blue lizard humanoid with three eyes walked past us.
The Doctor and I both turned around to watch the creature as it walked past us, its blue tail flicking back and forth as it walked. Then the Doctor looked at me and said, "Perhaps we should keep going."
I nodded and wrapped my arm around his again. "Good idea," I replied as we started off again.
"Diana, you're pushing me out from under the umbrella."
"No I'm not, stop whining," I replied dismissively.
"My entire left shoulder is wet," he told me seriously.
"Wait, really?" I skidded to a stop and leaned forward to see that the Doctor's shoulder was, in fact, sticking out into the rain and getting wet. "Oh. Sorry."
I stepped to the side a little to give the Doctor some more room under the umbrella and then took his arm again. We had been walking for a long while, but I didn't mind that at all. I was starting to enjoy the maze the longer we spent in it because as we walked, the Doctor and I were able to talk. He explained to me how strange it felt to be back on Gallifrey on his last adventure, what it felt like to see his old home again and to see some of his friends that he had left behind. And before long, we were in the center of the maze and staring out over a dark blue lake that sparkled as it continued to rain.
"Theta, it's beautiful," I whispered. "I was expecting it to be more… menacing."
I rest my head on the Time Lord's shoulder as we looked out at the lake. He chuckled and moved his arm to settle around my waist, tugging me closer. As I leaned against him, however, he suddenly let out a little huff and frowned slightly.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"You pushed me into the rain again," he whined.
I raised an eyebrow. "Again? I didn't push you into the rain last time. That was just an accident."
"I'm not in the mood to get wet," he grumbled.
"Oh, poor baby," I teased. "You should come with an instruction manual. Doctor number seven dislikes being wet, like the grumpy Scottish cat he is."
"I am not grumpy nor am I a cat."
I smiled. "You sound kinda grumpy to me."
Letting out another little huff, the Doctor grasped his umbrella tighter and suddenly stepped away from me. Of course I wasn't expecting him to move so suddenly, so I swayed to one side at the loss of his body keeping me properly balanced. The Doctor chuckled under his breath as I stuck my arms out to my side to regain my balance.
"Hey. What are you laughing at, shortie?"
The Doctor merely grinned and crossed his arms over his chest, his umbrella moving slightly because of the gesture but still keeping him from getting wet. "Now who looks like a drowned cat?" he asked.
I quickly grabbed the hood of my jacket and pulled it over my already wet hair. "Very funny," I grumbled.
Before either of us could say anything more, an enormous wave of water washed over both of us. I stumbled to one side at the force of the wave, but managed to keep my balance as I was completely drenched. The Doctor, however, was swept right off his feet as the wave pushed him along for a few feet. He was airborne for a good two seconds while his legs flailed in the air.
After the wave receded, I burst into laughter. The Doctor was splayed out on his back, his hat and umbrella about four feet away and his entire body soaked. He narrowed his eyes at me and awkwardly tried to get to his feet as I continued laughing.
"Oh… my… God," I squeaked between bursts of laughter. "You should've seen your face!"
The Doctor rolled his eyes as he went to retrieve his umbrella and hat, and for some reason I just couldn't stop laughing. Once he had placed his soaked hat back on his head, the Doctor closed his umbrella and hung it over his arm. Every time I thought I was done laughing, I mentally replayed the glorious moment when the Doctor had been completely airborne with his face frozen in terror and I dissolved into laughter again.
The Doctor sighed as he walked up to me, his lips pressed tightly together. After a few minutes, I managed to compose myself a little and although I couldn't help but giggle, I wasn't bent over laughing hysterically anymore.
"I'm sorry," I said before I burst into another fit of giggles. "S-Sorry, it was just really funny."
The Time Lord's serious countenance finally cracked and he pressed a tiny kiss to my temple as he tried to hide his smile. I leaned into his chest and sighed happily as his arm went around my shoulders.
"So, not too bad?" the Doctor questioned as he looked down at me.
I shook my head. "Not too bad," I replied. "Although you could improve with the weather aspect."
"I'll keep that in mind next time."
I smirked and closed my eyes to savor the moment. I was wet, cold, and already a little tired from our long trip through the maze, but I'd had so much fun with the Doctor that none of that mattered. The Doctor, however, seemed to have read my mind, because he pulled a tiny remote control-looking device from his coat pocket and waved it in front of me.
"Ready to go home?"
I nodded. "Ready to put on some dry clothes," I told him.
With one press of a button, the familiar wheezing of the TARDIS engines began to sound across the small clearing at the center of the maze. Just in front of us, the TARDIS materialized with her overhead light flashing on and off. I smiled and shook my head as the Doctor grinned proudly.
"Show off," I teased.
"You love it."
I pushed away from him and walked towards the door, my fingers curling around the handle. "Yeah, I do," I admitted as I pushed the doors open.
Fifteen minutes later, I was dry and wearing a clean set of clothes: a comfortable pair of dark jeans, some sneakers, my purple v-neck, and my black leather jacket. I was headed back to the console room, looking through some of the texts on my phone, when an ache started in my right arm, right where I had been hit by an Auton all those months ago. I started to call out for the Doctor, wanting to say goodbye, but the TARDIS quickly faded away and was replaced by something else.
I was standing on a sidewalk with a river on my right and a bridge a few hundred yards ahead of me. Confused, I turned around to try and spotted a large rock just a few paces to my left. And sitting on the rock was the Doctor, complete with his bowtie and tweed ensemble, and the Ponds. I smiled and rushed across the sidewalk to say hello to my friends.
"Doctor!"
The Time Lord looked up from the book he was reading and a smile burst across his face the moment he spotted me. He jumped up from his spot on the rock, his book forgotten, and raced down to pull me into a hug. I laughed and pressed my face into his chest as he lightly kissed the crown of my head.
"I was wondering where you were," he said as he looked down at me. "You disappeared after that trouble with the cubes. It's been about a week."
"It has? Well, I'm here now," I replied with a smile.
"Indeed, you are." The Doctor grabbed my hand and tugged me over to the rock he and the Ponds had situated themselves on. "Come on."
"Hello, Ponds."
Rory looked up from the picnic basket he was sitting by and waved at me. "Hey, good to see you again," he said cheerily.
Amy smiled at me as she peeked at me over the top of her magazine. "Well look who's back. Been up to trouble?"
I laughed and shook my head. "No, not really. Just had a field trip with the Doctor a few incarnations back. We navigated a maze together and then got drenched by a living lake," I said dismissively as the Doctor sat down behind Amy. "You know, same old same old."
"Oh, you really know how to show a girl a good time, don't you?" Amy teased her best friend.
The Doctor reached out and tugged on my jacket sleeve. He handed me a book and then pulled me down so I was sitting next to him. The Doctor mumbled something under his breath, but I saw that he was a little embarrassed that Amy was teasing him about our sort of date.
"So, what's this?" I asked as I situated myself next to the Time Lord.
"Found it on the console. The TARDIS must've left it out," he said with a shrug. "The cover looks interesting, though, doesn't it?"
I turned the book over as I settled against the Doctor's side and nearly dropped it when I recognized it. The cover simply read "Melody Malone" with a picture of a woman wearing a trench coat that showed a generous amount of cleavage and a hat tipped low over her face and corkscrew blonde hair. Her lips were painted dark red and she was blowing suggestively on a smoking gun. There was a subtitle at the bottom of the cover that read "Two Private Detectives In Old New York Town".
"You found this on the console?" I asked.
"Yeah. Looks interesting, doesn't it?" he asked with a little smile.
I looked back at the book and felt my breath catch in my throat. "Uh, yeah," I choked out. "Looks great."
"You mind reading it out to me?" the Time Lord asked.
"Uh…" I took a deep breath and looked over the book once before cracking it open. "S-Sure, Theta."
He smiled happily and rested his cheek against my shoulder. All I could think about was the fact that this was Amy and Rory's final adventure with the Doctor and I wanted to stop it. "New York growled at my window," I read dramatically, trying to push the thoughts of angels and the Pond's final goodbye out of my mind, "but I was ready for it. My stocking seams were straight, my lipstick was combat ready, and I was packing cleavage that could fell an ox at twenty feet." I stopped reading for a second as my eyes flicked over the next sentence. "My partner, Elizabeth Song, stared out the window beside me as the lamplight fell across her face. She packed cleavage that could rival mine, but I wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth. She had me wrapped around her little finger and I was wrapped around hers."
I stopped reading as I realized that the part about Elizabeth Song never even existed in my world. The Doctor turned to me and gently nudged my cheek with his nose. I looked up from the book with a start, not realizing that I had been staring intently at the book for a few seconds.
"Hey, you okay?" he asked.
I smiled and nodded. "Yeah, fine," I assured him. "Just thinking."
"Yeah, well can you keep the reading and the touching to yourselves, please?" Amy asked behind me.
The Doctor wrinkled his nose. "Could you perhaps make that sound less naughty?" he wondered.
"What's the book anyway?" Rory asked as he pulled something out of the picnic basket.
"Melody Malone. She's a private detective in old town New York who works with her partner, Miss Elizabeth Song."
"She's got ice in her heart and a kiss on her lips, and a vulnerable side she keeps well hidden," I read aloud from the back of the book. "But Elizabeth is the only one who can step past that veil and into her heart."
Rory hummed thoughtfully as he continued looking through the picnic basket. "They seem a bit… close," he said with a chuckle.
I looked back at the page I had been reading from and nodded. "Yeah… They do," I said softly.
River is Melody Malone and this Elizabeth character does sound like your typical… romantic counterpart, I considered as I read over the summary on the back cover. But River's involved with Susan, though, isn't she? So does that mean this Elizabeth Song is… Susan? I pursed my lips and started to read to myself, but the Doctor asked me to read aloud for him again.
"Oh, please," Amy groaned. "I don't need to hear you two reading about lesbian detectives."
"And I don't think I'm in the mood to read this anymore," I mumbled, not wanting to hear River narrate how attractive she found my daughter if my suspicions were correct.
The Doctor sighed and pouted in disappointment as he turned around to face Amy. He looked at her for a moment, his narrowed, before he spoke up. "Amy, have you done something different?" he asked.
I closed the book and set it on the rock my my hip. Amy, who was reading a newspaper, shook her head as she continued reading.
"No. Why?"
"I don't know. You just look different." The Doctor thought for a moment and then suddenly exclaimed, "It's your hair! Is it your hair?"
"Oh, shut up," Amy sighed as she turned around to look at her best friend. "It's the glasses. I'm wearing reading glasses now, on my nose, see?"
The Doctor narrowed his eyes and leaned forward so he could inspect Amy's glasses. "I don't like them," he muttered. "They make your eyes look all liney."
"I like them," I said with a smile.
"No, Diana, look," the Doctor urged. "See? Her eyes are all liney."
I leaned in to look at Amy's eyes through her glasses, but didn't see what he was talking about. "What lines? I don't-"
"Right there," he said as he pointed at a wrinkle in the corner of Amy's eye. "Oh. No, actually, sorry. They're fine. Carry on."
Rory seemed to understand what the Doctor had been pointing out on Amy's face and wanted no part of it. He jumped to his feet with an awkward laugh. "Okay, I'm going to go and get us some more coffee. Who wants more coffee? Me too. I'll go!"
"Rory," Amy began as her husband started to run off, "do I have noticeable lines on my eyes now?"
Rory froze halfway down the side of the rock, his hands fisted at his sides. "Yes," the Doctor said as he turned back around and reached over my legs for the book.
"No," Rory countered quickly.
Amy tsked. "You didn't look," she told her husband.
Rory turned around with his eyes squeezed shut. "I noticed them earlier. Didn't notice them," he added quickly as his eyes went wide. "I specifically remember not noticing them."
I chuckled and adjusted myself so I was leaning against the Doctor's shoulder. "You won't mind when I start getting wrinkles, will you?" I wondered.
The Doctor shook his head and pressed a kiss to the crown of my head. "Of course not, dear," he mumbled as he opened the book.
"You walk among fire pits, Centurion," Amy teased her husband.
Rory smiled. "Do I have to come over there?"
"You can if you like," the redhead countered flirtatiously.
"Well, we have company."
"I'll get a babysitter," Amy whispered as she tugged Rory down by his collar and kissed him.
"Oh," the Doctor groaned as he looked over his shoulder at them. "Do you know, it is so humiliating when you do that!"
"How do you think they feel when we kiss, Theta?" I asked between laughs.
The Doctor sighed and rolled his eyes like an annoyed teenager. He looked back at the book and shook his head as he grumbled under his breath.
"Coffee?" Rory asked his wife.
Amy smiled and nodded. "Coffee," she confirmed as they pulled apart.
I watched Rory start to leave and felt my heart beat faster as he walked farther and farther away. He didn't know he was going to be in trouble with angels and he didn't even know not to blink. I had to go after him to at least protect him somehow. Maybe I could keep him and Amy from ever leaving.
"Rory, wait!" I exclaimed as I scrambled to my feet. "I'm coming too!"
The Doctor looked up at me in confusion, flashing me a little frown. "You're leaving?"
I smiled reassuringly at him and knelt in front of him. "I'm in the mood for a walk," was my lame excuse. "We'll be right back."
"Okay," he answered with a nod.
I started to stand up, but then thought about how Rory and I might get caught by the angels on our coffee run. Before I could stop myself, I leaned forward and grabbed the Doctor by the hem of his coat to press a firm kiss to his lips. He froze in surprise, having already started to open the book again when I kissed him. But then one of his hands wound itself in my hair and we leaned into each other as the kiss deepened.
"Ahem."
The Doctor and I pulled back, your cheeks flushed, and I spared Amy an embarrassed glance.
"Uh, s-sorry," I stammered awkwardly. Amy raised an eyebrow at me and I stood up with a nervous laugh. "Uh, I'm gonna go now," I mumbled as I hurried off the rock and started after the redhead's husband. "Rory, wait up!"
The former centurion was already headed to the bridge when I finally caught up to him. He looked at me out of the corner of his eye and smirked. "Been a while for you two?" he teased.
"Rory! It's nothing like that. And besides, you get to kiss your wife, so I get to kiss my sort of husband," I replied in between breaths. "Not like I was getting handsy."
Rory wrinkled his nose in disgust and stuck his tongue out. "Okay, that image was even more unnecessary than the French kissing," he groaned. "Please stop talking."
Rory and I walked for a few blocks when we happened to spot a Starbucks across the street. We hurried over and with some of Rory's money, we bought three coffees and a hot chocolate for myself. My phone buzzed in my back pocket while we waited in line for our drinks and I pulled it out in confusion.
"Sexy?" I muttered to myself in confusion.
The TARDIS had sent me a text message that read: "This is a fixed point in time. I know you love them and I know you only want to help, but you know what will happen if our Thief does not meet his Impossible Girl."
I quickly shoved the phone back into my pocket and flashed Rory an unconvincing smile. She was right; of course she was right. She could see all of time and space all the time, so of course she knew what I was trying to do and the consequences that would come about if I succeeded. But that didn't mean that I couldn't try and save my friends.
Even so, a voice in the back of my head reminded me of all the things that were going to happen because of Clara. He was saved in the Dalek Asylum because of one of her echoes, he would be saved again by her Victorian echo, and at some point in the future she would convince him to save Gallifrey instead of burn it. He needed Clara Oswald, even if I didn't want her around to fancy him or for the Doctor's two closest friends to disappear forever from his life.
"Diana?"
Rory's voice brought me out of my thoughts and I looked up at him expectantly. "Huh? Sorry, I was… thinking."
He extended two cups to me, one coffee and one hot chocolate. "Yours and the Doctor's," he said.
I took a sip of my hot chocolate and hummed as it slid down my throat. "Man, I haven't had this in a long time," I sighed.
I tried to push the thought of the angels out of my mind, but the TARDIS's text had made me nervous again. And once we started back for Amy and the Doctor I began to worry. I knew the angels were out there, waiting for us and watching us. I wondered then if they knew who we were or if they just looked at us and saw a time snack.
Rory and I were nearing Central Park when we passed a beautiful fountain decorated with a few stone statues. I was so startled to see one of the angels so close that I nearly dropped the drinks in my hands. I had slowed down slightly as we walked past the fountain, keeping my eyes locked on it, when Rory noticed I was acting strange.
"Diana? Diana, are you okay?"
"Huh?" His voice drew me out of my thoughts and I glanced at him before even realizing what I had done. "Oh, shit."
Rory's brows furrowed in confusion. "Uh, what's wrong?" he asked.
The sound of a child giggling suddenly sounded in my ear and I whirled around to face it. Rory suddenly jumped beside me and I guessed that he had heard the angel's laughter too.
"What was that?" he asked me.
"I think we need to run," I said softly as I turned, trying to spot an angel.
As Rory was looking around, something whizzed past me causing my jacket to flutter in the sudden breeze. I jumped back with a shriek, jumping to conclusions and guessing it was an angel. Rory looked back to me in concern.
"Diana, what's going on?"
I shook my head as I glanced around. I spotted a tiny angel frozen around the corner of a building across the street. The coffees in my hand slipped through my fingers and smacked against the floor at my feet.
"Diana, what-"
"Run!"
I took off running in the direction of Central Park, looking around for angels in a desperate attempt to keep them at bay while I fled. Rory took off running after me, calling my name in confusion.
"Don't blink!" I shouted over my shoulder.
There was nothing but silence. Terrified, I stumbled to a halt and turned to find that Rory was gone and the only sign that he had been there was a dropped cup of coffee. A hand flew up to cover my mouth as I stared in shock at the empty sidewalk before me.
"Rory… Oh, God."
A giggle sounded behind me and I whirled around. A cold breeze swept through the street then and my eyes shut on impulse. Another giggle and then something touched my leg. My eyes flew open and I jumped back with a gasp, only to find that the day had turned to night and half of the buildings had disappeared.
"Mamà?" a voice called from behind me.
I looked over my shoulder and my jaw fell open when I saw my Susan, looking exactly the way she had when she sacrificed herself in the Library. Tears welled up in my eyes as I stared open-mouthed at her.
"Susan?" I breathed.
But she's… she's…
Susan rushed forward and pulled me into a tight embrace, her hands clasping around my back. I fell into her arms, still in shock, and leaned against her as I tried to process what was happening. Just past her was River, who was wearing her Melody Malone outfit and was watching us with a half smile. Rory was standing just beside his daughter with one cup of coffee in his hand, some of the liquid dripping down the side and over his hand.
"Rory," I breathed in relief, still wrapped tightly in Susan's arms. "Are you okay?"
He nodded once and sighed. "Yeah, I- I guess."
Susan pulled back a moment later and all I could do was stare at her. She smiled brilliantly at me and tossed some of her long hair over her shoulder. I looked her over once, still in shock that she looked exactly the same as when she died.
"Susan, I…" I shook my head in disbelief. "It's so good to see you."
"Sorry to interrupt this little reunion," a man with a deep voice said as he stepped out of the shadows. The man came up behind Rory and River with a hat shadowing most of his face. "You should probably put your hands up."
Susan whirled around to see the man pull a gun on Rory. Rory, in turn, threw his hands into the air with a yelp. "Don't shoot!" he cried. "Please, God, don't shoot."
"Melody Malone?" another man asked as he walked up behind River.
"You're Melody?" Rory echoed incredulously. He looked at Susan in disbelief and asked, "So, what, are you Elizabeth Song?"
Susan smiled and just shrugged her shoulders. The man with his gun trained on Rory ordered Susan and I to put our hands up as well, which we did immediately. Somewhere behind us, a car rolled to a stop and I turned to see the driver's face covered in shadow.
"Get in," said the man standing behind Rory.
"What, all of us?" Rory asked. The man pressed his gun harder into Rory's back and he yelped in response. "Okay, okay!"
Once all four of us were crammed inside the back seat of the car, the two men jumped into the front and the car shot off down the street. I was squished in between Susan and Rory and since Susan and I were both a bit wide in the hips, it made everyone feel just a little bit uncomfortable. Except for River, of course, because she seemed to love having my daughter forced against her.
I leaned forward and pointed a finger at River. "You, hands off my daughter," I scolded. "I have absolutely no desire to see my best friend and my child going at it. Okay?"
River smirked and flashed a wink at Susan, but nodded in agreement. Susan's cheeks had already started to flush bright pink and she was staring straight ahead without saying a word. Then it occurred to me that I had probably embarrassed her. But Rory spoke up before I could say anything.
"Can someone please tell me what the hell is going on?"
"You're in the year 1938."
"What?" Rory exclaimed. I stayed silent, having already known what was going to happen and where we were.
" April 3rd, 1938, to be exact." River looked out the side window and sighed. "You didn't come here in the TARDIS, obviously," she added.
"Why not?"
"This city's full of time distortions," River explained. "It'd be impossible to land the TARDIS here. Like trying to land a plane in a blizzard. Even Susan and I together couldn't do it.
Rory tilted his head to the side in confusion. "So how did you get here?" he wondered.
I myself was wondering the same thing since a lot of the details were a bit fuzzy for me. River held up her wrist and turned it sideways so Rory and I could see what was strapped around it.
"Vortex manipulator. Less bulky than a TARDIS. A motorbike through traffic. You?" she countered.
"I'm not sure," Rory muttered.
Angles, I thought. It was the angels and it's my fault for not stopping it.
A tiny corner of my mind reminded me that I couldn't stop Amy and Rory from leaving. I knew that was true, but I didn't want to think about it. The Doctor would be heartbroken over losing two of his closest friends and it would be my fault that he would lose them. I wanted to prevent that pain if I could, although the knowledge that he needed to meet Clara still prodded at my mind.
We all remained silent for the rest of the ride, although my mind was far from quiet. I went over and over everything I could possibly remember from the episode, trying to find a way to stop Rory from being taken by angels again, to stop his and Amy's names from appearing on that gravestone.
The car stopped in front of a very large, long white house with tall pillars outside the doors. The two men in the front seat exited the car and then opened the doors to the backseat. Rory and I got out on the left side, while River and Susan exited on the left side. The two men drew their guns again and gestured for us to walk up the steps and into the house.
We all walked inside the house without complaint or any resistance, knowing it would end with someone getting shot. Susan and River stayed close to each other, although they didn't look nearly as scared as Rory did or as I felt. Once inside, the door was bolted behind us and we were ushered into the entry hall where a grand staircase stood at the far end of the wall.
"Ah. Early Qin dynasty, I'd say," River said, gesturing to a beautiful blue and white Chinese vase across the room with a nod of her head.
At the top of the stairs, an older gentleman with gray hair appeared and began to descend. "Correct. Are you an archaeologist as well as a detective?" he wondered.
You have no idea, I thought to myself.
"Early Qin, just as you say," the man continued. "You're very well informed."
"And you're very afraid," River countered.
Susan looked over her shoulder at the front door, then back at the man. "That's an awful lot of locks for one door," she said with knowing smile. "You trying to keep something out?"
The man narrowed his eyes at her, but said nothing as he continued down the stairs. Rory wandered over to a fancy wooden table with the Chinese vase River had mentioned earlier. He leaned over it and I watched in surprise as the Chinese writing on the side translated into English.
"River," he called to his daughter in shock, "I'm translating."
"It's a gift of the TARDIS," she explained. "It hangs around."
The older gentleman finally reached the bottom of the stairs and pointed to Rory, then Susan and I. "These three," he said to the men standing behind us. "Put them somewhere uncomfortable."
"With the babies, sir?" one of the men asked.
"Yes, why not?" the older man said with a laugh. "Give them to the babies."
"No!" I exclaimed. "No, wait. You can't."
"I beg your pardon? Just who do you think you are, young lady?"
"Just leave him up here. Please," I begged.
The men all looked at one another before the older one looked at Susan. "You're Elizabeth Song, yes?" he asked.
"I am," my daughter answered with a nod.
"Then you may stay. You two," he said in reference to Rory and I, "to the cellar."
The two men that had escorted us inside holstered their guns and grabbed us. I was grabbed from behind, my arms pinned behind my back as I was pushed forward. Rory was receiving a similar treatment and putting just as much of a fight as I was. I tried to yank my arms out the man's grip, but he was at least a foot taller than me and much stronger.
"Hey, hey!" I shouted. "Get off of me!"
Rory and I were not-so-politely escorted out of the main hall and down to the cellar door. The man who was holding Rory opened the door and then shoved my friend inside. I could see that the lights inside the cellar had all been turned off right before I too was practically thrown through the open doorway.
There was a short flight of stairs immediately through the doorway, so I lost my footing and stumbled down the steps until Rory's arms came around me and caught me. We both looked up to see one of the men pull something out of his coat pocket and then toss it onto the floor by our feet.
"The lights are out," the man said, even though he didn't really need to. "You'll last longer with those."
"What do you care?" Rory snapped as he tightened his arm around my shoulders.
"It's funnier," the man said before the door slammed shut.
I quickly jumped out of Rory's arms and began fumbling around for the matches. My fingers brushed against a small box and I let out a sigh of relief just as a childish giggle sounded by my ear. I gasped sharply and jumped back in shock, the matches clutched tightly in my hand.
"Hello?" Rory whispered, fear and panic evident in his voice.
I shakily pulled a match out and lit it, trying to spot the tiny angels as they raced around in the dark. "Here," I said as I handed the box to Rory. "Keep lighting matches. It'll keep them away."
"Keep what away?"
"Angels."
"Angels?" he repeated incredulously.
"They're the most dangerous predators in the universe." The flame on my match was getting dangerously close to my fingers, but I was too scared of the angels to care about being burned. "When you look at them, they're frozen and they turn into stone. But then the lights go out. Then you blink. And that's when they take you- ow!"
I shrieked painfully as my fingers burned and I instinctively dropped the match. It went out just as Rory lit another match. I grabbed the box and pulled another match out, ready to light it when Rory's went out.
"They're faster than anything you've ever seen," I explained. "They can move across entire rooms in the blink of an eye. That's why you can never blink when you're looking at them. Do you understand?"
"Uh… I-I think so," he stammered as he tried to look around the room.
Rory's match had started to get low, so I lit mine and held it out to try and illuminate the room. Something moved in the corner of my eye and then my light was blown out. Rory yelped painfully as his match burned his fingertips and he dropped it.
"Shit," I muttered as I fumbled with the matchbox. "Shit, shit, hurry up, Di."
The sound of tiny feet pitter pattering against the floor and childish laughter sounded around the room. By the time I lit another match, there were four tiny stone cherubs standing just at the edge of the circle of light the match cast.
"Quickly, Rory! Get another match ready," I ordered as I handed him the box.
We kept lighting matches in that order; mine would go out, so he would light his and vice versa. I suggested we start moving back up the stairs so we could get closer to the door when Amy and the Doctor came for us. We made it halfway up the stairs when I faintly heard the TARDIS wheeze and land, making the entire house shake.
"He's here," I breathed. "Oh thank God, Rory, he's here."
But I had been distracted by the TARDIS landing just long enough that Rory's match went out and we were plunged into darkness again. I fumbled with my match and lit it as quickly as I could, but by the time I did Rory was gone and the four cherubs were only a few feet away.
"Doctor!" I screamed. "Doctor, help!"
I tried to keep my match lit while I struggled to pull another one out of the box. The match fell out of my hand just as I grasped another one, so I raced to light it before the first one went out. I called for the Doctor again and again, shouting at the top of my lungs as I struggled tolight match after match. After I lit each match, I walked up a few steps and struggled to get another match ready.
"Doctor! Doctor, help me!" I shouted desperately.
As I tried to pull another match from the box, my foot tripped over a step and I fell backwards with a shout. The match stay lit until I fell on my back and then it was blown out. The matchbox fell out of my hands and down the stairs as I shouted for the Doctor again. Childish giggles and the faint sound of feet climbing up the stairs, then-
"Diana!"
The cellar door was pulled open and bright, white light flooded the stairway. The cherubs were frozen mere inches away from me with horrible smiles frozen on their faces. The Doctor rushed down the stairs to help me up, both of our gazes set only on the angels.
"Rory?" Amy called as she started down the stairs.
"No!" the Doctor shouted as he dragged me up the stairs. "They're angels. Baby angels. Don't go closer!"
Amy turned to me as I stumbled past her. "Did they get Rory?" she asked as she grabbed my arm. "Where is he? Did they take him?"
I nodded frantically as I trie to pull out her grip, my eyes flickering between her and the angels. "Yes. Amy, yes, and I'm sorry, but we have to go or they'll take us too!"
Amy turned to look at the cherubs and then dashed up the stairs with a gasp. The Doctor pushed me up after her and then ran along after me. As soon as the three of us had run through the doorway, we all turned and slammed the door shut. The Doctor reached for the lock on the door handle and turned it so the angels couldn't open the door from the inside.
I immediately threw myself into the Doctor's arms and buried my face in the curve of his neck. He whispered soothingly to me as he brought one hand up to cradle the back of my head and rested the other on my shoulder. I wrapped my arms around his waist and clung to him for dear life as I tried to calm my rapidly beating heart.
"Are you okay?" he asked me. "Are you hurt?"
I shook my head. "No, but… they took him," I whispered. "They took Rory and I couldn't stop them."
"I know," he sighed. "I know."
"Doctor," Amy asked from behind me, "what about Rory? Is he in trouble?"
"I don't know, Pond."
Once I had calmed down a little, the Doctor took Amy and I back to the entry hall. I wanted to sit down and rest for a moment or two, but then I heard River and Susan speaking to one another in the next room. As Amy sat down at the foot of the stairs, I rushed across the hall into the other room.
"Susan!" I exclaimed as I rushed to my daughter. "Susan, sweetie, what happened?"
Instead of grabbing River like it was supposed to, the angel that had been taken captive by the older man had grabbed my daughter by the wrist and refused to let her go. River pressed a gentle kiss to Susan's cheek and sighed.
"Mr. Grayle, the man who threw you and Father into the cellar, had this angel hidden. He turned out the lights and it grabbed Susan. He used her as leverage to get answers from me."
"I am alright, but ze angel won't let go of me," Susan added. "She has a very tight grip."
"Can we get her out?" I asked River.
The woman quickly looked away from me at the angel. "Not without breaking something," she admitted.
"No," I said firmly. "No, we're not breaking her wrist."
"It is alright, Mamà," Susan assured me with a falsely cheery tone to her voice. "I can always heal myself."
This time it was River who objected firmly. "No. You know you can't waste your regeneration energy," she scolded. "You don't have that much left."
"Well I don't have a choice, do I? Papa cannot know zat I have broke my wrist and you cannot heal me, so I must to do it myself."
I shook my head. "No. We will find another way. Do you both understand me?"
Susan sighed heavily and turned a little so she could look me in the eye. "Zere is no ozer (other) way." She looked back at River and forced a smile at her partner. "Would you help me, please?"
"Of course, my love."
I couldn't stay and watch my daughter break her own hand, so I hurried out of the room and back into the entry hall. The Doctor was pacing back and forth while Amy still sat on the stairs and chewed worriedly on her thumbnail. When the Doctor spotted me, his steps faltered for a moment and I could see how worried he was.
"Hey," I said softly as I stepped forward to take his hands in mine. "Theta, it's going to be okay."
Liar.
"Why do they want him so badly?"
"I don't know. Really, I don't," I answered with a shake of my head. "Maybe they're just eager for a meal? I don't know why they keep going after him."
"You do know I can hear you both, right?" Amy asked.
The Doctor and I pulled apart and I felt my heart clench with guilt. "I'm sorry, Amy," I muttered.
"Don't you know where he is?" she asked me.
"Uh…" I closed my eyes and tried to remember. "I know where, but I can't remember the name. It's still in the city. Big, tall building with an angel statue just outside. The name is spelled funny. Uh, it starts with a 'q', I think."
Amy sighed and ran her hands through her hair. "So is this what's going to happen? We just keep chasing him and they keep pulling him further back?"
"He isn't back in time," River said from behind me. I turned around to see her and Susan walk out of the other room, a scanner of some sort in River's hand. "I'm reading a displacement, but there are no temporal markers. He's been moved in space, not in time, and it's not that far from here by the look of it."
The Doctor looked at Susan and grinned. "You got out," he breathed.
Susan smiled and nodded, her broken wrist hidden by the long sleeve of her overcoat. She glanced at me and I raised one eyebrow in silence, to which she responded by looking away.
"So, where is he?" Amy asked River as she jumped off the stairs.
River pressed a series of buttons on her scanner, her brows furrowed in concentration. The Doctor bounded over to her with a grin. "Well, come on, come on, come on, where is he?" he asked.
"If it was that easy, I'd get you to do it," River retorted.
The Doctor turned to our daughter and put his hands on her shoulders. "How did you get your wrist out without breaking it?" he wondered.
Susan merely smiled. "You asked, I did."
"Susan, sweetheart, you just changed the future!"
"We are a family of Time Lords, Papa," she teased. "It's what we do."
"Hush, both of you," River scolded. "I'm working."
The nDoctor walked back to the staircase and sat down, tugging Amy down next to him. He grinned and pointed excitedly at Susan. "She's good, have you noticed? Eh? That's my daughter," he said proudly. "She's brilliant."
I put a hand on Susan's shoulder and leaned forward to press a kiss to her forehead. I didn't say anything because I knew Susan wouldn't want her father to know what she had done. Instead I pulled back and cupped her cheek in my hand as I smiled reassuringly at her.
River suddenly exclaimed triumphantly. "Aha! Wherever it is, it's within a few blocks," she told the Doctor. Then she looked at Susan with a false smile. "There's a car out front. Shall we steal it, dear?"
The Doctor leapt up from his sitting position and raced towards me. He pressed a kiss to the crown of Susan's head before grabbing my hand and tugging me towards the door. "Show me, Professor Song!"
I was pulled along after the Time Lord as River, Susan, and Amy hurried along behind us. The door was left wide open as I scampered down the steps outside the house with my hand still tightly grasped in the Doctor's. When we reached the car, he opened the driver's door and looked around.
"No keys. Luckily," he pulled out his sonic and pointed it at the key hole on the side of the wheel, "I'm clever."
The car started up a few seconds later and then jumped inside. "What are you doing?" I asked as I bent over to see the Time Lord better.
"I'm driving," he replied with a grin. "What's it look like?"
I smiled and shook my head. "No. You can barely fly the TARDIS, you're not driving," I said. "Now scoot over."
"You're not driving," he countered.
"Why not?"
"You never got your license!"
"Shut up, both of you," River snapped as she came up behind me. "Doctor, in the back with Amy and Susan. Diana, you stay up front and let me know if you recognize something."
Once everyone had found their seats, River sped off with the tires of the car screeching against the pavement. I grabbed at the seat with a gasp and prayed to every god imaginable that we would all survive the woman's apparently crazy driving.
"You can slow down!" I yelped as River took a dangerously sharp turn.
"We're in a rush," she said with a smile. "Don't be such a baby."
But when she took another sharp turn a little too fast, Susan suddenly cried out behind me. I turned around in my seat to see that the Doctor had grabbed her broken wrist during the turn. River glanced at her partner through the rearview mirror, but continued driving without saying a word.
"Why did you lie to me?" the Doctor asked, his voice low and deadly calm.
"You wanted me to get out without breaking my wrist, but it was impossible," Susan replied softly. "I had no ozer choice, Papa."
River suddenly snapped her fingers right by my ear, making me jump and turn around to face her. "Pay attention," she ordered. "Look around. Tell me if anything looks familiar."
I leaned forward in my seat and craned my neck to look at the building as we sped past them. I knew what the building looked like in my head, but for the life of me I couldn't remember what is was called or where it was. Then an idea came to me.
"Amy! The book. Give me the book!" I exclaimed as I reached over the back of the front seat. "Quickly!"
She handed me the Melody Malone book and I quickly flipped to the first few pages, scanning over the table of contents. "Chapter 9: Calling the Doctor, Chapter 10: The Roman and The Wolf in the Cellar, Chapter 11: Death at Winter Quay," I mumbled to myself. "That's it. Winter Quay. That's where Rory is!"
"It's pronounced 'key', darling," River told me with a half smile. "Do you know where it is?"
I shook my head as I tried to think. "Um, tall building. There's a big sign on top of the building with the words 'Winter Quay' on top and they're lit up. And…" I vaguely remembered the Statue of Liberty's angel side appearing by the roof to threaten Rory. "Water. I think it's by the water."
"Susan, sweetheart, why didn't you just tell me?" I heard the Doctor whisper.
I glanced up at the rearview mirror and caught a glimpse of Susan staring out the window, avoiding her father's as completely. "I did not want to disappoint you," she sighed. "You wanted hope that we could change ze future and I gave it to you."
The Doctor exhaled softly and I just managed to see in the mirror as he took Susan's injured hand in his. "It must hurt," he murmured.
Susan nodded as I turned around to look at her. There were tears in her eyes and I felt my heat break at seeing my child in so much pain. "Oui."
"Let me," he said gently as his hands began to glow.
"Papa, no!" Susan cried. She tried to pull away, but the Doctor hushed her and tightened his grip on her hand. She whimpered painfully and closed her eyes as the golden regeneration glow healed her wrist. "Why did you do zat?"
"Why wouldn't I?" He leaned forward and cupped Susan's face in his hands. "You're my daughter and it's my job to look after you. Now you don't do something like this again, do you understand? Don't hide these things from me because I will always be there to fix them. Always."
"But Papa, I only wanted to-"
"No, Susan. You tell me when you're hurting so I can fix you like I'm supposed to."
"Susan?" I said softly. "Sweetie, I know you're all grown up and everything, but I agree with your father. We only want to help you."
She looked between the Doctor and I for a moment before finally nodding. "I know. But I was only trying to help."
"I know. But I just want you safe," I told her. "Please, Susan, you need to understand that your father and I only want to keep you safe."
My voice cracked as I finished my sentence and I quickly turned around to face the front of the car as a tear slipped down my cheek. River had told me in the Library that before she and Susan traveled there, she had lost her parents. That meant that this was the last time before Susan received her screwdriver that she would ever see us.
My lower lip trembled as I tried desperately to keep from crying. But the only thing I could focus on was that my daughter was steadily approaching her death and there was no way I could stop it. Just like the Ponds, soon she would be nothing more than a memory and it would be my fault for not stopping it.
"You okay?" River questioned as she spared me a glance.
"Yeah." I nodded and looked out the side window so the woman wouldn't see me rub my dampened cheek against my shoulder. "Fine."
The Doctor reached over my seat and placed a hand on my shoulder. I glanced up at the rearview mirror and saw him looking at me. We both knew what the other was thinking about and all I could see in the Time Lord's eyes was pain and sorrow. I swallowed and tilted my head to the side so his hand was lightly pinned between my cheek and my shoulder.
But then River slammed on the brakes and the moment was gone. I slid forward on the seat as the car halted and then leaned forward to look out the window. The tall building with the red 'Winter Quay' sign loomed ominously across the street, each window dark. I nodded and sighed as I felt my chest tighten with anticipation.
"That's it," I told River.
She nodded and pushed her door open. "Right, everybody out," she called as she stepped out.
Amy didn't need any encouraging from her daughter to get out. Before her door had even slammed shut, the redhead was already racing across the street and up the stairs that led to the front door of the building. The Doctor followed right behind her with River and Susan just beside us. I spared a glance at the angel statue just outside the door and saw its face frozen mid snarl.
"Keep going," the Doctor whispered as he tugged on my hand.
Inside the building was an entry room, a flight of stairs, and an elevator that was nothing more than a metal cage with a single light bulb attached to a thick cable. But it was the fastest way to Rory, so all five us piled inside the machine and River pressed the button that opened up to the eleventh floor.
"How do you know which floor?" I asked.
River gestured to her scanner, which she had pulled out of her coat while we were running. "I'm tracking Rory's signature," she explained as the elevator started to rise.
Once on the eleventh floor, Amy burst out of the elevator calling Rory's name. River and the Doctor hurry out behind her while Susan and I squeezed out of the elevator and rushed after them.
"Rory!" Amy called desperately.
Ahead of us, Amy stopped at one of the many doors that lined the hallway. She turned and looked inside, then gasped and practically flew inside. River and the Doctor stayed just outside the room as the couple reunited. Susan and I were just about to come up behind them when Susan stopped in her tracks with a gasp.
"Susan? Sweetie, what's wrong?" I asked worriedly.
She raised a hand and pointed at one of the doors on our left. Beside the door handle was a slip of paper that had been attached to the wall and on it was my name. The whole world seemed to freeze around me and then suddenly collapse.
In a panic, I grasped the handle and ripped the door open. Inside was a small entry room that was completely bare and just past that was another room where a bed, a small table, and a lamp had been placed. Lying on the bed asleep was a woman who looked exactly like me with almost no difference to her physical appearance.
"Mamà? Is zat you?"
I turned back to Susan and nodded. "Yes." I backed out of the room and shut the door with a shake of my head. "Let's go."
We started down the hallway only to stop when we spotted an angel outside Rory's room. Its hands had lowered just enough that I could see its eyes and the terrifying grin on its face. I glanced at the door of Rory's room to see that it had been shut and the angel was standing dangerously close to it.
"Mamà, what's going on?" Susan asked. "What is zis place?"
I looked over my shoulder to see an angel just outside the elevator, its eyes still covered. "Susan, keep looking at that angel," I instructed as I stared at the one by the elevator.
"What's happening?"
"They're going to take Rory. And me too, it seems." I blindly reached out for Susan's hand and squeezed it. Out of the corner of my eye was a flash of gray and I whimpered in fear. "Susan, there's more than two of them," I said softly as I flicked my eyes back and forth between the two angels.
"Papa!" Susan cried. "Ze angels are coming!"
As the angels advanced on me between glances, another two appeared in the elevator. "Damn." I tried to look at all four of them at once, but that was obviously impossible. "Susan, get inside that room and stay with River and your father. Do you understand?"
"But-"
"There's four of them now! Just go!"
I'm bloody terrified of you but there's no way in hell that you're taking my daughter too.
"Susan, go! Now! I can't stop them!"
Susan's hand was suddenly ripped from mine and I could hear her running for the door. I spread my arms out so they almost spanned the width of the hallway. It wasn't much, but if it would delay the angels for even a second it would mean my daughter was safer for that much longer. The angels were seconds away from taking me. My eyes flickered frantically between all four of them in an attempt to hold them off as long as possible.
They all smiled as they neared me between frantic glances, which meant they were playing with me. I was so terrified that I felt like I couldn't breathe and my eyes were watering, but I wouldn't let them anywhere near my family if I could help it. I would rot in that room for years if I had to, but I wouldn't let them touch my child.
"Papa, River, hurry! Zey're after Mamà!"
Then the closest angel appeared in front of me, its smile taunting me as I shivered in fear. Its arm was outstretched and so close that if I leaned forward just an inch, it would be able to touch me. But then two other angels appeared behind it and I stumbled backward in shock. The fourth angel appeared and, with a sinister grin, grabbed me by the arm.
"No!" I shouted as my world went white.
I woke with a loud gasp. My legs wobbled under my weight and I stumbled back in shock, then fell backwards when my thighs hit the wooden frame of a bed. The backs of my knees knocked roughly against the bed frame as I landed on the mattress with a grunt.
"No." I immediately pushed myself up and ran to the window to look outside. The view was mostly the same, but with less tall buildings and less bright lights. "No, no, no, no!"
They took me. You stupid, stupid… You idiot!
I ran to the door and tried to open it, but it was locked. I yanked desperately at the handle, using every ounce of strength in my body to try and pull the door open. But it didn't work, of course. The angels had taken me and I couldn't escape because the entire building was guarded.
I rushed back to the window and pressed my palms against the glass as I looked out. I was high up, high enough that looking out and staring at the ground made me feel a little dizzy. With a sob, I stepped away from the window and pulled frantically at my hair.
I have to get out of here. I have to get out. I have to… A bird flying past my window caught my eye and then I remembered the one way I could escape. No. No, no, no, no, no. I can't.
"No," I said aloud. "I'm not going to kill myself."
I shut my eyes and dragged my hands down my face as I started pacing the floor. I knew what I had to do if I wanted to escape before the Doctor and the others would arrive years from now. And it would be easy to do. I was high enough in the building that if I crawled out of my window and just let myself fall, it would create the paradox I needed.
"There's another way," I told myself. "There has to be."
But three hours later, I was lying on the bed and staring up at the ceiling with tears in my eyes because I knew there was no other way. Rory knew there was no other way when he jumped off the roof with Amy. If I wanted to spare myself the months and possible years of solitude in an angel prison, then I would have to jump like he did. He and Amy came back, so why couldn't I?
"No." I shook my head as I paced back and forth across the room. "No, there has to be another way. God, please, please let there be another way."
I fell onto the bed with a sob, my legs dangling over the side as I stared hopelessly at the ceiling. I knew that they only way out of the angel's prison was to either wait months or even years for my future self to arrive, or to jump. But even though I knew I would come back if I jumped, I couldn't quite stomach the thought. How could I possibly convince myself to jump off a building and essentially commit suicide?
Letting out a little hiccup, I pulled my phone out of my back pocket and stared at it for a moment. If I was going to do this, I would need help because there was no way I could do it on my own. I found the number I was looking for and called it with a brush of my thumb against the screen. The phone rang four times before the Doctor, in his familiar twelfth incarnation, answered the phone with a confused "Hello?".
"Theta?"
"Diana?"
I sniffled and nodded. "Hi, Theta."
"Are… Are you crying?" he asked hesitantly.
"Yeah."
"What's wrong? Did something happen?"
I sat up and closed my eyes as fresh tears welled up behind my eyelids. "Um… I need you to do something for me," I said shakily.
"What is it?"
"Don't get off the phone. Please. I… I can't do this without you."
"Do what? Diana, what's going on?"
I stood up and began to take slow, hesitant steps towards the window. "Manhattan," I said. "Rory was taken by the angels and we all went to Winter Quay to rescue him. Susan found a door with my name on it and when I went inside, I saw myself. Then the angels took me."
"Rassilon, Diana," the Time Lord sighed. "When I went out to help you, you were gone. They took you before I could do anything to stop them."
I nodded. "I know. It's okay. But… Theta, I need you to help me right now. I can't do this on my own."
"Do what?"
I stayed silent for a moment as I opened my window. The opening was just wide enough that I could crawl out. "Jump. I-I have to create a paradox, right? And my room's high enough that if I jump, I… God, I won't make it."
There was a moment of silence. "Diana, love, don't. Look, we'll find another way-"
"It's either jump or wait months, years for you and the others to show up. I can't do that either, Theta. Not seeing you for that long, knowing that I'm stuck here with no way to leave? I can't do that." I laughed humorlessly as I stuck my head out of the window and looked down. "Besides, it's not like there's another way out. You can't come and get me or you'll blow up New York."
"I'd blow up the whole damn planet to keep you safe, Diana, you know that."
"Please don't." I sniffled as a few more tears leaked down my cheeks. A sob escaped my throat before I could stop myself and I closed my eyes again. "I have to do this. It's my only way out and it'll destroy the angels. And I'll come back, right?" When the Doctor didn't reply, I felt another sob work its way out go my throat. "Theta, tell me I come back."
"You do. You do, I swear. I just… I don't want you to do this. You don't have to. Just wait for me. Alright? Wait a few months and I'll come and get you."
"More like a few years," I replied. "I think I'm back in the late 19th century." I pinned the phone between my shoulder and my cheek as I started to try and crawl out of the window. "Look, there's a fire escape right outside my window. I'll just stand on the edge and then…"
"Diana-"
I put my phone in my pocket so I wouldn't drop it while I climbed out. Once I had crawled out onto the fire escape, I pulled my phone back out and held it up to my ear.
"-ana! Diana, stop! Just stop!"
"Hey, easy there," I said with a false smile. "I was just trying to get out onto the fire escape."
"Diana, listen to me, just wait. Alright? Just wait! I will come back for you!"
"I know you will. But I can end it all right now. It's like a fast return switch. All I need is for you to stay with me while I jump," I told him. "Please."
"You want me to listen to you fall to your death?"
I winced a little, not having realized the gravity of what I was asking him to do. "It sounded better before you said that," I admitted. "I'm sorry."
I stepped to the edge of the fire escape and leaned against the metal railing. The wind was gentle and cool and the sun was just starting to rise. Everything was so beautiful and calm that it felt odd considering what I was planning.
"Theta?" I whispered as I closed my eyes again.
"Yes?"
"I love you." The tears started up again and I had to fight to keep myself from breaking down. "I love you. I've only said that once before, same version of you. I was always afraid of saying it because I'm used to people leaving me, even though I knew you never would. But I mean it. I do love you. I think I always did."
"And I love you."
I opened my eyes again and swallowed my tears. "I have to hang up," I said. "Or else I'll drop the phone before I even jump. I can't get my legs over the side without two hands."
"Put the phone in your pocket," he suggested after a moment. "And put it on speaker. I'll stay with you."
"Theta, no. It's not fair for me to ask that-"
"I'm your husband. And I promised you once a long time ago that I would always look after you and always stay by your side, no matter what. So let me help you the only way I can."
I nodded. "Okay. Um, give me a second." I turned the volume on my phone all the way up and then turned the speaker on before slipping it into my front pants pocket. "Uh, c-can you hear me?"
The Doctor's voice was faint, but I could hear him. "Yes. You?"
"Yeah. Um, I'm gonna try and put my legs over the side now, okay? Could you… could you just keep talking, please?"
The Doctor was silent for a moment and I could just hear him clear his throat as I started to swing my left leg over the edge of the fire escape. Then he started talking, telling me about the first time he saw my face after he regenerated. He explained how I had been the first face he saw, how I had tried to help him as the TARDIS crashed, and that even though he didn't know who I was or who Clara was, he had known somehow that he could trust me and that I was important to him.
There was a tiny lip on the outside edge of the fire escape that I used to balance my left foot on. It wasn't very steady and I had to keep an incredibly tight grip on the railing to stop myself from falling prematurely. I knew I couldn't jump with the view of early morning Manhattan looming before me, so I adjusted myself so I was facing the open window of my room. Then my right leg went over the edge and I held onto the railing with trembling arms.
"Theta?" I asked, my abdomen clenching tightly as my arms continued to shake. "Can you still hear me?"
"Yes. How are you doing?"
"Oh, you know. Could be better," I said through my tears. "You?"
"I'm not leaving you."
"Good. 'Cause I'm gonna need you right now."
The wind was still playing gently with my hair as I clung tightly to the railing of the fire escape. My legs were starting to shake from the effort of holding my body weight on the tips of my toes.
"I-I can't hold on much longer."
"It's alright," the Doctor assured me. "It's going to be alright. Just… Just close your eyes and I'll be there when you open them."
My left leg, although not permanently damaged from the bullet, was still a little weaker than my other leg. Searing pain suddenly shot through my calf muscle and my foot lost its grip. My arms instinctively tightened their grip on the railing while my other leg tried to compensate for the loss of balance. I cried out in terror as both of my legs slipped from the edge of the fire escape and I was left dangling by my arms.
"Diana! What's happening?"
"Stay with me!" I begged as I tried to hold on to the railing. "Theta, please! Stay with me, stay with me, stay with me."
"I'm not going anywhere." I closed my eyes again and tried to focus on his voice. "Just close your eyes and-… I'll be with you the entire time."
My arms were shaking violently by now as my legs kicked back and forth to find something to balance on. "Theta, please," I whispered through my tears.
"I'm staying with you, Diana. It's alright."
"I'm scared."
"Me too."
I looked up from my arms into my room to see an angel, frozen by my gaze just past the window. That was when I knew I had to let go because if I didn't, then putting the Doctor through all of this and gathering my courage had been for nothing. I wasn't going to let the angels control me or my life and if I was going to die, then it wouldn't be at their hands.
"I love you," I said loudly, making sure the Doctor heard me. "You can hang up now. I-I'm gonna let go."
"No, Diana. I'm staying with you."
I smirked at the angel and shook my head. "You don't control me," I spat before finally letting go.
It was a little similar to when I fell out of the restaurant, only this time there wasn't a TARDIS somewhere below me waiting to catch me. And it was fast, too. Once I let go, everything was a blur as I fell through the air. I was terrified and I wanted to scream, but my voice was gone. I couldn't even breathe.
Seconds later, my body erupted with searing pain. And then there was nothing.
I woke with a gasp. All I could remember was falling, letting go of the railing and… dying? I scrambled to my feet, almost expecting to not be able to move because when I fell I knew I broke my back. I had felt it the instant before my world went black. I reached around and placed a hand on my lower back, only to find that it was fine and definitely not broken.
Arms were suddenly thrown around my waist and I was tugged back. Startled, I tried to pull out of the stranger's arms and fought their embrace. I stumbled away from them and turned to find that it was Susan, her eyes puffy and red and her cheeks tearstained.
"Mamà?"
Then I remembered that I had been taken by the angels while I tried to stop them from closing in on her. I had been sent back years and forced myself to jump to my death with the Doctor listening to everything.
"The Doctor," I breathed.
"Mamà, what is it?"
I lunged forward and drew my daughter into a tight hug, my hands pulling her closer and closer. "Oh, Susan, you're okay."
"Do you know what happened?" she asked, her voice muffled slightly.
I nodded and buried my head in her shoulder. "I jumped."
Susan pulled away form me with a gasp. Her hands grasped firmly at my shoulders as she stared wide-eyed at me. "What? You… You jumped?"
I nodded again. "The only way to escape was to create a paradox, so I… jumped. I died."
"Wait a second, you did what?"
I looked past Susan to see the Doctor marching towards us. I swallowed and looked away, not able to bare the look in his eyes as he approached. He firmly grabbed onto my chin and forced me to look up at him.
"Diana-"
"The angels took me and I could either wait years and years for you to come back, or I could jump then and end everything. I could create the paradox that would kill the angels. So I jumped."
The Doctor shook his head in disbelief. "I thought you were dead. Susan told me what she found, that they took you. And then I couldn't get back to you. The angels-"
"I know," I interjected softly. "I know, Theta. I'm sorry."
The Time Lord looked at me for a moment before he pulled me into his arms. "Don't you ever do that to me again," he muttered. "Do you hear me? Never."
I nodded and wrapped my arms around his waist. "I won't."
"Papa?"
The Doctor didn't pull away from me, but he lifted his head so he could look at his daughter. "Susan?"
Without another word, Susan reached forward and drew both of us into her arms. I was wedged between the Doctor's chest and Susan's arm, but I didn't move or try to adjust myself. I was back with my family, right where I belonged.
After our family reunion, the Ponds all came over to check on us. River pushed the Doctor and Susan aside to give me a hug and I wrapped my arms around her as we stood there holding each other. I was still shaken up after my death, but I felt a little better knowing that I was back with my friends and family.
Once the hugging and reunions were done with, everyone started back for the TARDIS. However, the Doctor kept me back. He looked into my eyes for a moment or two before pulling me into a deep, passionate kiss that stole my breath away. I rose up on my toes after a second and wrapped my arms around his neck as I returned the kiss with equal fervor. One of his arms came around my waist and pulled me against him as his other hand gently cupped the back of my neck.
I pulled back first, but only because I had to tell him something. "I love you," I whispered against his lips.
"I love you too."
We kissed once more before finally pulling apart. We clasped hands and started back for the TARDIS, where River and Susan were standing and pretending to not have seen the intense embrace the Doctor and I had shared. Meanwhile, the Ponds were standing by one of the gravestones and talking to one another, sparing the Doctor and I amused glances as we passed. River had apparently gone inside the TARDIS while we kissed and returned with a bucket of water and a large sponge.
"What's that for?" the Doctor asked.
River gestured to the burn marks on the side of the TARDIS and smiled. "It could do with a repaint," she suggested.
The Doctor sighed and scratched the back of his neck with his free hand. "I've been busy."
River hand the bucket to Susan and then dipped the sponge in the water. "Does the bulb on top need changing?" she asked as she started scrubbing at the burn marks.
"No, I just changed it."
River nodded and dunked the sponge in the water again, but not before she gave Susan a peck on the cheek. "So," she began as she started on the burn marks again. "Rory and Amy, then."
I turned to look at the Ponds as the Doctor answered, "Yes. I know, I know."
"I'm just saying," River laughed. "They're going to get terribly bored hanging round here all day."
"Doctor?" Rory called. "Look, next time, could we could just go to the pub?"
The Doctor smiled. "I want go to the pub right now," he whined. "Are there video games there? I love video games."
"So, a family outing, zen," Susan said as the Doctor stepped back inside the ship.
Susan grabbed River's hand and the other woman whispered something in my daughter's ear with a smile. They both walked inside the TARDIS hand in hand and with their eyes focused on one another. I turned around to see Amy and Rory still by the gravestones, although Amy was already heading for the TARDIS. Something had caught Rory's eye and made him stay back while his wife moved on.
"Watcha looking at?" I asked him as I approached the headstone, my eyes wide and searching for an angel on the move.
I didn't have to ask, but I hoped that maybe there was still time to change things. I stood on Rory's left side and looked between the headstone and the empty space behind him, still looking for the angel that was meant to take him.
"Look," he said as he nudged me with his elbow.
He pointed at the headstone and I followed his finger for just a second to see his name printed across the stone. I looked up from the headstone just in time to see an angel appear behind Rory. "No!" I shouted desperately as I shoved my friend aside and right into the headstone. I had apparently blinked while pushing Rory out of the way because I was suddenly shoved to the side by an unseen force. There was a rush of air beside me and I instinctively turned towards it just in time to see Rory disappear.
"Rory!"
One of my arms shot out to reach for him, even though there was no use in trying. Spirals of gold wrapping around my arm caught my eye as the angel rushed forward and grabbed me by the neck. I clutched desperately at the angel's arm as I stared into its eyes and snarling mouth.
"Diana, no!"
"Where's Rory?" Amy shouted. "Where is he?"
"It took him," I choked as I stared at the angel. "Amy, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I tried. I tried to stop it."
The Doctor was suddenly by my side, scanning the angel with his sonic. "Diana, are you okay? Is it hurting you?"
I winced slightly as I tried to move my neck. "It's a little hard to breathe," I said. "But I-… I think I'm leaving anyway."
He held up his sonic and looked over the information he had gathered. "It's a survivor," he said softly. "Very weak, but it's still draining your energy. The, er, chronon particles in your DNA are weakening because it won't let go."
"Is that bad?" I asked hesitantly.
"Well, i-it's not good. You'll be fine, but I-I think it means you won't be able to time jump as often while the chronon particles recharge."
I nodded. "Um, Theta, I-I can't keep staring at it. My eyes are watering."
"I'm looking," he said. "Go ahead and blink. It's okay."
"Where's Rory?" Amy asked again. "What do you mean, it took him? How?"
"Amy," I began, "this angel somehow survived the paradox. It took Rory and I tried to stop it, but I didn't. Now it's trying to take me, but I'm already leaving. So once I'm gone, you have to let it take you."
"Why? Can't we just go back and get him?"
"It's a fixed point, Amy! But this is the only way you'll ever see him again!"
"Diana, no!" the Doctor snapped. "It's not the only way. Amy, we will find another way."
"Amy and Rory will always leave the Doctor. Amy and Rory will always be taken by angels. And Amy and Rory will always be together," I said, my eyes unblinking and trained on the angel. "I tried to stop all of this from happening, but I can't. Because it's supposed to happen. Because it's always going to happen, whether I'm here to stop it or not, and I'm sorry."
"No," the Doctor said as he came up behind me, his voice right in my ear. "No, you stop this. You stop telling her to let an angel take her away from me and you explain."
The angel's face suddenly began to melt away and I knew then that I was leaving. "Theta, I'm sorry," I whispered as I felt the angel's grip on my neck start to weaken. I spared a glance down at my body and saw that it was completely enveloped in warm, golden light. My voice was echoing in my ears as I continued, "Amy, you and Rory belong together. You'll find him. I promise."
Then everything disappeared; the graveyard, the angel grasping my neck, my daughter. Everything seemed to melt away like water down a drain and I stumbled back with a gasp, finally able to breathe fully. My surroundings were a mix of burnt orange, red, and flashes of silver, but everything was out of focus. I tried to stop walking backwards, but it was as if I was on an incline and I couldn't slow myself down. Then my foot caught on something and I fell backwards. My head smacked against something hard as I fell and then everything went black.
A/N: So. Thoughts…?