Author's Note: This is part of the 50,000 words I wrote for NaNoWriMo and needed less editing than I thought it originally would.

Hope you enjoy.

Rory sighed happily as he woke up, before wondering why his arm was pinned, what the weight against him was and where the extra heat was coming from. Forcing his eyes open, Rory saw Amy curled against him fast asleep, her long red hair falling over her face.

He remembered the night before, after dinner Amy had dragged him to see her amazing hotel room and, not wanting to say goodnight so soon, Amy suggested they watch a movie, so they sat side by side on the bed watching a bad action movie they laughed at and mocked. Rory winced remembering how, exhausted after the day, he'd had closed his eyes for a few moments and that was the last thing he remembered until now.

Amy murmured slightly as Rory slid away from her and got off the bed. Heading to the bathroom Rory washed his face trying to wake up a bit. It wasn't unusual for them to fall asleep together, Rory remembered after his final nursing exams that he was convinced he had failed Amy appeared in his room with a bag full of bottles and plied him with alcohol until he forgot about it. He'd woken up with her in his arms that morning too, at least this time he hadn't fallen off the bed and thrown up everywhere.

Amy meant everything to him. From the moment they met, the two of them had been almost inseparable even if Rory had never understood why she spent time with him at all. Rory loved her more than he loved anyone and, even if he was still hurt that she had left to have adventures without him, knew he wouldn't give up their friendship for anything.

Which was why he made sure never to entertain the thought of changing their relationship to a romantic one. Although times like this made him wonder what it would be like.

"Rory," Amy's voice made him jump out of his thoughts, "Your phone is ringing."

Opening the door, he gave her a quick smile and took the phone swapping rooms with Amy.

"Doctor," he answered, "Is something wrong?"

"I was going to ask you that," the Doctor chuckled amused, "Since you never came back to the TARDIS last night."

"We fell asleep watching a movie," Rory grimaced.

"I just wanted to let you know that I will be returning our friend from yesterday to his own planet," the Doctor told him, "I'll be back by tonight."

"Okay," Rory replied before asking, "Tonight?"

"I promise," the Doctor said softly, "I will be back, so enjoy your time with Amy."

Hanging up, Rory let out a breath hating that he was so paranoid about the Doctor disappearing, but the other man had become such a good friend and Rory loved travelling with him.

"Hey," Amy bounced out the bathroom, her hair tied up, "I'm going to have a shower then we can get breakfast, if you can stick around."

"I can," Rory smiled, "I'm free all day."

Amy beamed before she grabbed a change of clothes and disappeared back into the bathroom. Dropping to sit on the edge of the bed, Rory turned on the TV and channel hopped until Amy was ready.

x

"Morning," Julia greeted them when they entered the dining room for breakfast, "Rory, we added you for breakfast so if you're hungry just get what you want."

Stunned, Rory smiled, "Thank you."

Julia grinned at him, "We can't have you starving."

As Amy motioned him to go to get something to eat, she leaned into Julia, "We fell asleep watching a movie."

"Of course," Julia smiled at her, "Go get something to eat."

Amy quickly piled food onto her plate, noting that Rory only had an omelette and some toast typically not taking too much. Joining them at the table, Amy found Clayton had now joined Julia.

"Good morning, you two," he said, "I'm hoping you haven't got anything planned for today as an old friend of ours is joining us for lunch before we head to the airport and she is someone you should meet, Amy."

Intrigued Amy leaned forward, "Who?"

"Now that would be telling," Clayton chuckled, "But I will tell you I have talked about this person multiple times."

Amy rolled her eyes, "That could be anyone," she glanced at Rory, "He knows everyone and talks about them constantly."

Rory smiled slightly before asking, "What time are you meeting? I want to head home and change."

"About midday," Julia told him.

They ate and chatted a little more before Rory ran back up to the room to get his jacket, Amy's coat and bag. When he returned, they left so he could head back to his flat and get cleaned up. Amy sat in the living room while Rory had a quick shower and changed. Once he was ready, they went out for a walk. Amy enjoyed the time she got to spend with her best friend. She missed Rory when she was away, no matter how much fun she was having, and especially missed not being able to talk to him every day.

From the moment they'd met as children, Amy had found she could tell Rory anything and he not only listened but never judged. He encouraged her, when others mocked, and listened to her dreams no matter how insane or flighty they might be. When Rory had left Leadworth to study to be a nurse it was hard enough, but they managed to talk most nights and he came home at weekends.

She hated that they only had such a short time together before she had to return to work, they were due at the airport that afternoon and part of her was a little resentful of her bosses for arranging something to intrude on the few hours Amy had with Rory.

His phone rang at one point during the morning, and Amy frowned worriedly at the look of anger in Rory's eyes when he checked who was calling before hanging up.

"Something wrong?" Amy asked softly.

Rory shrugged, "Unknown number."

Knowing from the edge in his voice he wasn't going to talk anymore about it, and knowing exactly who he was avoiding, Amy hugged his arm then changed the subject. Checking the time she saw that it was almost lunch so they headed back to the hotel to meet up with Julia, Clayton and their mysterious guest. Reaching the hotel, they entered the hotel finding Julia talking to a woman about the same age as Julia with shoulder length brown hair and Amy grabbed Rory's arm.

"Nails," he winced, "Nails."

Letting go she turned, "Do you know who that is?"

Confused Rory shook his head just as Julia spotted them and motioned them over. Amy bounced, dragging her best friend with her.

"Amy, Rory, I'd like you both to meet my dear friend," Julia smiled, "Sarah Jane Smith."

x

Sarah Jane was happy to see her old friend Julia, they had known one another having started their first job at the paper together and did their best to meet up whenever they could.

"Amy, Rory, I'd like you both to meet my dear friend," Julia said as the young redhead she had been raving about for months arrived, "Sarah Jane Smith."

"It's so nice to meet you," Amy beamed, "Julia talks about you all the time and I've read so much of your writing…"

"You're gushing," the sandy blond man, Rory, murmured to the redhead.

Amy blushed.

"It's fine," Sarah Jane chuckled, "Personally I love being told how wonderful I am."

At her wry smile, the others laughed.

"Clay is waiting for us," Julia told them, "Let's get lunch."

Sarah Jane studied the younger members of the group as they headed into the restaurant, having heard so much about Amy she wondered about the relationship and decided to see what she could before asking Julia.

Lunch was delicious and Sarah Jane enjoyed catching up with her friends on their current work, neatly avoiding talking about what she was doing.

As they finished their lunch, Rory's phone rang and he excused himself. A moment later Sara Jane's own phone began to buzz in her bag.

"Apologies, Sarah Jane," the voice of Mr Smith, her supercomputer came, "I have detected a slight anomaly in your location. I believe it to be Warmpol, although not high on the list of concerns, if it bites someone then it shall make them quite ill."

Sarah Jane sighed, she couldn't even have a quiet lunch, "Alright, I will take a quick look around and see what I can find. If not, then we'll report it to UNIT."

Hanging up Sarah Jane slid her phone back in her bag before retrieving her sonic lipstick and setting it to check for the creature. As she received a signal Sarah Jane followed it, not realising that she'd picked up a tail of her own. Entering the stairwell leading up to the rooms, Sarah Jane walked carefully towards the corner she was being told the creature was hiding. Holding the sonic lipstick in front of her, Sarah Jane jumped when the furry creature with big green eyes suddenly scampered out and she lost her footing falling backwards. Stunned when she was caught by Rory.

"Why do you have a sonic screwdriver?" the young man asked confused.

"It's a lipstick," she corrected automatically as she pulled away a little embarrassed before asking, "You know about sonic screwdrivers?"

Rory nodded.

"You know the Doctor," Sarah Jane smiled.

Rory nodded again, "You could say that. How do you know the Doctor?"

Sarah Jane smiled again, "I used to travel with him. Some time ago now."

Rory tilted his head in thought, "He's mentioned that he travelled with others before I met him, but he's never given me names. I'm guessing you are one of the people the Brigadier gave me a number for."

Laughing Sarah Jane nodded, "He is a dear friend to both of us."

"What was that thing?" Rory asked, "Because it was odd even if a little cute."

Sarah Jane motioned him to walk with her, "It's called a Warmpol. I was trying to catch it so I could send it back where it belongs without getting UNIT, and their need to shoot everything, involved."

"I could call the Doctor," Rory suggested, "He's dropping a thing that was living in the sewers back where it belongs just now but…"

"I'm sure we can handle this ourselves," Sarah Jane noted, "That is, if you're up to it."

Rory winced, "I'm meant to be spending the day with Amy. She's only here for a short time and I…" he trailed off before nodding, "Okay. If we work together then it shouldn't take long."

x

Rory was stunned that the special guest for lunch was a former friend of the Doctor but, in all honesty, it was nice to meet someone who had experience of his current situation. However trying to track down an alien creature in a hotel without letting Amy, Julia or Clayton know what they were doing was going to be complicated.

"How did you end up travelling with the Doctor?" Sarah Jane asked as they followed the signal towards the gym.

Rory smiled, "Basically he stole my bag."

Sarah Jane laughed, "Well that sounds about right. I'm assuming there is more to the story."

"Well, maybe a little more," Rory replied quickly giving her the story of how he came to know the madman with a box.

Chuckling as they followed the signal, Sarah Jane motioned Rory to the back corner of the mostly empty room.

"It's hiding in the dark," she whispered, "I think we need something to trap it which will hold it for transportation."

Rory nodded and found a basket he assumed was for towels, there was a lid which they would need to secure but he decided it should work for trapping the creature. As they tiptoed closer to the corner, Rory frowned at the strange noises coming from the creature. Readying the basket, Rory nodded, and Sarah Jane turned on the torch she pulled from her bag. They both laughed in relief and bemusement when they found the creature fast asleep in the centre of what looked like several half-chewed towels.

"Should I…" Rory motioned the basket he had in his hands.

Sarah Jane nodded, "I will make a quick call and get it collected."

Rory slid the creature into the basket, being gentle so he didn't wake it before he added a few more towels in case it got hungry again. Once it was inside, he put the lid on and used the skipping ropes he found to hold the lid tightly in place.

x

Rory was relieved when Sarah Jane's son and his friend appeared to take the Warmpol back to her house so she could find a way to send it back where it belongs. It took about twenty minutes and Rory grimaced as he wondered how to explain this to the others still having lunch.

"Where have you two been?" Amy asked when Rory and Sarah Jane reappeared back in the restaurant.

Sarah Jane laughed guilelessly, "It turns out Rory knows an old friend of mine."

"Dr Smith," Rory spoke up quickly.

"I started regaling him with a few stories," Sarah Jane slid into her seat, "And we didn't realise how much time had passed." Taking her seat again, Sarah Jane looked at Amy, "Julia was telling me how much your input has been helping with her book. A youthful look at everything."

Amy smiled, "It's been a lot of fun, and I'm getting to do things I never would have gotten to do if it wasn't for Julia and Clayton."

Rory glanced at Sarah Jane who winked at him before continuing to talk to Amy until their meals arrived. Rory listened to the conversation as he ate his lunch, feeling slightly guilty that he was angry at Amy for abandoning him for her adventure when it was an opportunity of a lifetime that she would never have had if not for this job.

"Where are you headed this time?" Rory finally spoke up, asking the question he'd been avoiding for hours.

"We're doing a tour of the USA," Clayton grinned, "My first book did well there so we're going to do a book tour while Julia and Amy add an American section to Julia's book."

"I'm lobbying that we go to every amusement park," Amy laughed, turning to Rory, "You know how much I love rollercoasters."

Rory rolled his eyes, memories of being talked into going on rides when he hated heights flooding his mind along with the screams of joy from Amy.

"I think if we do," Julia chuckled, "You and Clayton can go on all the rides without me. I'm terrified of heights."

Sarah Jane nodded, "They're not my favourite things either."

Rory had a feeling there was a Doctor related story attached to Sarah Jane's dislike of heights.

They finished lunch and Clayton paid insisting it was their treat before Sarah Jane made her goodbyes and left them to finish their coffees. All too soon it was time for them to head to the airport.

Amy squeezed Rory's hand, "I'll be right back, wait for me?"

"Of course," Rory replied, smiling when she hugged him quickly.

Watching her leave the restaurant with Julia and Clayton, Rory sighed sadly that their time together had finished too soon. He found a seat in the reception area to wait.

His phone began to buzz and with an annoyed sigh he answered, "What?"

"Rory," his dad's voice came, "I'm so glad you answered me..."

"What do you want?" Rory demanded cutting him off.

There was a small pause before his dad replied, "To talk to you."

"Well, I wanted to talk to you years ago and you were nowhere to be found," Rory snapped, "And now I don't. I never want to talk to you so stop calling me."

Hanging up Rory knew from experience that this would stop the calls. At least for now.

x

Amy checked the hotel room to make sure she didn't leave anything behind before closing her case, grabbing her carryon bag and jacket. It had been great to be able to spend time with her best friend and hated leaving him. She knew he was doing well in his own work, yesterday had shown her that he was trusted by the Doctor she'd met before although, thinking about it, Rory hadn't explained what he was doing or what the man's specialty was.

Shaking her head Amy dragged her case out the room and headed to the lift, there were times she was a little tired of constantly moving but it was part of the job and she loved that.

Reaching the reception, Amy handed in her key before moving over to where Rory was sitting staring at his phone.

"Did he call again?" she asked softly, making Rory jump obviously not realising she was there.

Rory nodded, "I told him to leave me alone."

"Hey," Amy took his hands in hers, "You owe him nothing. Okay," when he didn't say anything, she asked a little more forcefully, "Okay?"

"Okay," Rory replied softly, "Thanks."

Hugging him Amy murmured, "I'm always here for you no matter where I am. You know that."

Pulling back Rory nodded, "I do. Just make sure you keep sending me videos so I can see all the amazing places you're visiting."

As Clayton and Julia appeared with their luggage Rory walked them to where their car was sitting waiting to take them to the airport.

"It has been an absolute pleasure meeting you, Rory," Clayton shook his hand, "And nice to finally get to meet who Amy talks about all the time."

Rory smiled back, "It was nice to meet you both as well."

Julia gave him a quick hug before she slid into the car, followed quickly by her husband. Amy wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly for several minutes before she pulled away.

"I'll see you soon," she promised.

Rory nodded, smiling when she kissed his cheek and stepped back letting her climb in. As the car started away Amy waved watching until he was a dot on the horizon. Turning to sit properly Amy felt Julia gently pat her shoulder.

"Are you okay?"

Amy nodded, "Just a little worried about him."

"He'll be fine," Julia soothed, "And perhaps we can work out a way to ensure you see him again soon."

Smiling Amy let her friend and boss hug her, deciding to ensure she called Rory the moment that would be best for him once they got to their destination.

x

"Do you need a lift?"

The unexpected voice from his side made Rory jumped and he turned to find Sarah Jane standing there.

"Ah…thanks," Rory smiled.

"Well, friends of the Doctor need to stick together," she chuckled motioning to follow her to where her car sat.

Rory slid into the passenger seat, wincing slightly at the fact he was a little squashed but said nothing to the woman who climbed into the driver's seat.

"Where am I dropping you off?" she asked while starting the engines.

Rory rhymed off his address and sat in silence as Sarah Jane drove him back to his flat. As they turned into his street, he spotted a familiar looking box sitting just outside his building.

"And there he is," Sarah Jane chuckled.

"Early," Rory mused.

She shrugged, "There is a first time for everything."

Parking the car, Rory slid out and stretched his stiff legs nodding hello to the Doctor who had a look of joy on his face.

"My Sarah Jane," the Doctor breathed, moving and hugging the woman the moment she was out of the car, "What are you doing here?"

"Just giving Rory a lift home," Sarah Jane laughed as she hugged him, "We have acquaintances in common."

"I'll let you two catch up," Rory noted, "It was nice to meet you, Sarah Jane."

"You too," she quickly pulled out her business card and handed it to him, "If you need someone to talk to."

Hesitantly, Rory took it before he headed into the TARDIS.

x

The Doctor watched his current companion leave him alone with one of his former friends.

"We had a slight Warmpol situation," Sarah Jane explained, "Rory and I stumbled across one another trying to stop it."

The Doctor nodded before asking, "Did it fall asleep after eating a pile of towels?"

Laughing Sarah Jane nodded, "It did. It was even snoring,"

Smiling the Doctor hugged her once more, "So all is well?"

"For the moment," Sarah Jane replied, "I'm guessing you're heading out for an adventure."

"Always."

"Well, look after him," she ordered.

The Doctor nodded, "I promise, Sarah Jane. Look after yourself."

"I've been doing it for years."

With a final hug the Doctor stepped into the TARDIS where Rory was standing waiting for him and hit the lever sending them into the timestream.

"How was your time with Amy?" the Doctor asked.

Rory smiled, "Good. It was nice to meet the people she's on her adventures with. Although you didn't tell me about the Dr Smith thing."

"Just a name I go by on occasion," the Doctor shrugged before he changed the subject, "Now, where do you want to go?"

Rory pursed his lips in thought, staring at the control console before he turned to the Doctor, "Somewhere fun."

With a grin the Doctor bounced around the console entering co-ordinates before hitting the button.

"I have just the place."