A/N: As you can imagine, and please do look at the warnings, a lot of pretty heavy stuff happens and is discussed in this chapter. But, despite everything that I may be warning you about, I do hope that you enjoy it!
Warnings: Language. Angst. Fluff. Sexual Content. Character Death, Frank Discussion of Safe Sex and Infertility. Referenced Past Non-Consensual and Unsafe Sex.
The Dread of Tomorrow and Yesterday
Chapter 87
Cold Blood: The Lurking Fear
"Okay," The Doctor slapped the table, excitedly. "Bringing things to order, the first meeting of representatives of the human race and homo reptilian is now in session." He paused. "Ha! Never said that before, that's fab! Carry on!" He rounded on Mo. "Now, Mo, let's go and get your son." He walked towards the door with Mo. "Oh, you know, humans, and their predecessors, shooting the breeze. Never thought I'd see it," he mused.
"Can you just get lost?" Rhea sighed.
The Doctor's lips twitched. "She's always so mean to me," he said, conspiratorially, to the others.
Rory gently placed Alaya's corpse on the ground, just in front of the four little platforms that would take them down to the Silurian's world.
"So, we get on those, and they take us down through the Earth?" Tony's brow was furrowed as if he didn't quite believe it was possible.
Rory shrugged. The science was beyond him as well. "Geothermal gravity bubbles, or something."
"They sent four. She was our only bargaining chip," Ambrose commented, dully.
Rory eyed her. He was unsure of how to approach Ambrose now, torn between his anger at her actions and concern for how her actions would harm their efforts to get the others back from the other Silurians, once they found out that Ambrose had killed Alaya.
"We have to hand her back," Rory said, sternly.
Ambrose looked up, the lines of her face tight. "Wait. Before we go down, there's something I've got to do..." she turned to Tony. "Dad, I need your help."
Ambrose led Tony to the side of the room, where Rory could no longer hear them.
The Doctor, Mo and Malokeh were standing outside the room where Elliot was enclosed.
There was a fierce amount of relief on the Doctor's face. "Elliot, there you are."
Malokeh used the panel outside to revive Elliot.
Mo had clearly only started to breathe once more, once he was certain that Elliot would open his eyes. He turned to Malokeh, his face pale and his eyes flinty. "If you've harmed him in any way…" he began in a low voice, wanting to deck the Silurian doctor.
"Of course not!" Malokeh protested, offended by the assumption. "I only store the young."
"But why?" the Doctor asked, curiously.
Malokeh turned to him. "I took samples of the young, slowed their lifecycles to a millionth of their normal rate. So, I could study how they grew, what they needed, how they lived on the surface."
The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "You've been down here, working by yourself, all alone?"
Malokeh paused. There was some grief in his expression. "My family, through the millennia..." He cleared his throat. "For the last three hundred years, just me." He turned to Mo. "I never meant to harm your child," he said, solemnly.
The Doctor felt that persistent pang in his chest whenever someone mentioned a dead family. His features were soft when he placed a hand on Malokeh's shoulder.
"Malokeh, I rather love you," he murmured. He held out his fist for a bump that Malokeh reciprocated with some confusion. "It's safe. We can wake him."
Malokeh entered the room and carefully removed the wires attached to Elliot. He turned to Mo and beckoned him inside.
"Come."
Malokeh stepped out and Mo entered, standing before his son as he slowly blinked his eyes open.
"Elliot? Ell, it's Dad," Mo said, gently.
"What…?" Elliot said, groggily. "Dad."
Mo wrapped his arms around Elliot as tight as he possibly could.
"You're safe now," Mo swore.
Elliot looked around, the surroundings unfamiliar to them. "Where are we?" he asked, quietly.
"Well, I've got to be honest with you, son," Mo began, cautiously. "We're in the centre of the Earth... and there are lizard men."
Elliot looked to the doorway where the Doctor and Malokeh were standing and his eyes widened comically.
"Wow," he breathed in awe.
The Doctor stepped inside the room. His hands were crossed in front of him and he looked appropriately regretful.
"Elliot, I'm sorry. I took my eye off you."
"It's okay," Elliot replied, genuinely. "I forgive you."
The two shook hands, all gentleman-like (Rhea would have been proud of the Doctor's show of maturity), and they all started down the corridor.
"You go on, Doctor. I'll catch up," Malokeh told them and stood aside.
The Doctor, Mo and Elliot continued on while Malokeh keyed in something on the panel.
"Storage facility 19 operational."
Eldane, Rhea, Nasreen and Amy were sitting at the table in the courtroom of the Silurian city.
"We lived on the surface of the planet, long before you did. Our sole purpose has been to return to our rightful place," Eldane said, grandly.
"And we've got a planet that can't already sustain the people who live there. And you want to add a whole other species, to drain resources..." Nasreen pointed out.
Eldane brought up a hologram of the Earth and Amy stood, eyeing the projection with interest and scrutiny.
"So, um, what about the areas that aren't habitable to us? Australian outback, Sahara Desert, Nevada plains..." Amy trailed off, looking at Rhea, Nasreen and Eldane hopefully. "They're all deserted."
Nasreen tugged Amy down by her arm. "Yes, fine, but what happens when their population grows and breeds and spreads? And anyway, what benefit does humanity get, and how would we ever sell this to people on the surface?" she turned to Eldane, expectantly.
"If I could get a word in, maybe I could tell you," Eldane said, dryly. "You give us space, we can bring new sources of energy, new methods of water supply, new medicines, scientific advances. We were a great civilisation. You provide a place for us on the surface, we'll give you knowledge and technology beyond humanity's dreams. We work together, this planet could achieve greatness," he said, fiercely.
Nasreen sighed. "Okay. Now I'm starting to see it."
"Oh, yeah," Amy said, approvingly.
"I don't," Rhea said, dramatically.
Amy and Nasreen groaned.
"Are you actually going to help us or just sit there vetoing everything we say?" Amy snapped.
"Let me ask you something, the two of you, do you actually understand the scope of humanity's greed?" Rhea retorted. "Okay, fine, I accept what the three of you have come up with; it seems all legitimate and fair and it should work. Key word: should," she stressed. "Have you met bad people before? People who don't want to do good, people who want to fill their pockets rather than actually help others, people who take advantage of every benefit presented to them? I have." She slid to her feet and turned to Eldane. "You come to the surface and you give us all of those things, but do you know what they will do? They will take whatever you're willing to offer, then they will kill you and take whatever you're not willing to offer. I may be cynical, but I know people and I know what they are capable of."
"Then why should we not kill you now?" Eldane raised an eyebrow.
"Honestly," Rhea began, gently. "We're not a race known for our tolerance and understanding. We've proven that time and time again. I can't promise this solution will work. It is basic psychology: a child won't play with a toy, but he or she will be damned before they let someone else play with their toy. Therefore, it is my belief that your plan won't work, because giving up one inch of land, even land they don't use or inhabit, is one inch they don't have anymore, one inch they may need in the future but won't have access to anymore." She pursed her lips. "But I can and will promise you that I-we will try our hardest to convince them. I just want to be straightforward with you. I don't like lies; they may be a necessary evil for me sometimes, but now, here, doing what we're doing, we need more than lies. We need honesty and communication. I believe that most of you don't mean us harm, but that doesn't mean that you aren't capable of it either. Your soldier friend proved that."
Eldane grimaced. "She's not my friend."
Rhea grinned. "And the humans who may want to bomb the fuck out of you and your people aren't our friends," she said, pointedly. "Maybe we aren't the jackasses of our respective races, but that doesn't mean they don't exist and won't try to sabotage whatever we try and do here."
Eldane crossed his arms over his chest. "Then what do you suppose we do?"
"Do this properly. This plan, while smart, doesn't necessarily deal with what each of our races will complain about. The humans will worry about safety, the economy, physical resources and law. The Silurians will worry about safety, marginalisation, law and again, resources. Each race has a sense of entitlement to the Earth that won't easily be dismissed. How do we manage all of that?" Rhea sat back down and leaned into the back of her chair. "How do we know that the more belligerent of our respective races won't screw everything up? How do we stop that?"
"We make sure they don't interfere," Eldane said, blithely.
"How?" Rhea demanded. "How do we make sure? Sure, Restac made her play known right from the get-go. She's one threat, but she's a known threat. How do we know that any of your other race won't attempt to sabotage this plan? And the inverse; no one on the surface even knows were hatching this. There will be extremists. There are always extremists. All it takes is one gun and it becomes a war. How do we make sure they don't interfere?"
"We lock them up," Amy offered.
"How do we even know who they are?" Rhea retorted. "How do we practically stop them?"
"We can't," Nasreen said, heavily. "There are bad eggs in both our societies. None of us can deny that, nor can we ignore the threat they pose. But we also can't act like that's enough of an excuse not to do this."
Rhea folded her arms. "Do you have a solution, then?"
"We all need to commit to this, here and now. Make a promise that we see this through, until the end, no matter who our opponents are," Nasreen said, confidently. She stared Eldane down. "We need to know that you'll come down on anyone who tries to sabotage this, hard. Doesn't matter who they are. We need to know that you're committed to this." She said, sincerely.
Eldane curled his hand in a fist and pressed it to his chest, hanging his head. "You have my word." He looked at the three women, solemnly. "Do I have yours?"
"Yep." Amy nodded.
"Of course," Nasreen agreed.
The three looked at Rhea, who rolled her eyes.
"Hey, don't look at me like I'm the problem here. I'm just asking the questions that everyone else will. You need to think about all of this before you bring it to anyone higher-up." She grimaced but waved her hand in front of her. "But, you have my word that anyone who tries to fuck this up will have to deal with me. And that won't be pleasant for them."
There was a round of applause and they turned to see the Doctor clapping, accompanied by Mo and Elliot.
"Not bad for a first session. More similarities than differences," the Doctor said, approvingly. He looked at Eldane. "I hope Rhea wasn't too aggressive. She's actually a very nice person."
"Don't apologise for me, you jerk," Rhea snapped.
He walked over to her and patted her on the head until she swatted at his arm.
There was a whooshing sound and Eldane jumped to his feet.
"The transport has returned. Your friends are here," he told them.
Soon, Rory entered the Silurian court.
"Here they are," the Doctor said, cheerfully, waving at him.
Ambrose followed Rory. Upon the sight of his mother, Elliot ran to her.
"Mum!" he shouted.
"Rory!" Amy called out.
Rory's mouth twitched as if he wanted to say something but couldn't bring himself to.
The Doctor frowned. "Something's wrong…"
Tony entered, carrying a shrouded, tall body.
"Doctor," Amy clutched at his arm. "What's he carrying?"
The Doctor stepped forward, shrugging Amy off. "No. Don't do this. Tell me you didn't do this." He turned to Rory, betrayal stark in his eyes.
Tony laid the body on the floor as gently as he possibly could. The Doctor and Rhea approached, a grim expression on both of their faces. Rhea hesitated before pulling away the sheet, revealing Alaya's still-green, but quickly-paling face, pulling her hand back abruptly. The Doctor looked up, his face wrathful.
"What did you do?" the Doctor demanded, practically growling the words out.
"It was me," Ambrose said, quickly. "I did it."
Elliot pulled away from his mother, looking up at her as if he'd never seen her before. "Mum?"
Ambrose bit her lip. "I just wanted you back," she pleaded.
Elliot backed away from her until he was standing beside the Doctor and Rhea, while everyone else looked at her with pity and shame. The Doctor walked up to Eldane, his hands outstretched.
"I'm sorry. I didn't know. You have to believe me; they're better than this," the Doctor insisted.
Rhea respectfully wanted to disagree. She believed this was exactly what humanity was. They had played their hand just as Restac had.
"This is our planet!" Ambrose snapped.
The Doctor rounded on her. "We had a chance here," he growled.
Ambrose ignored him, her eyes fixed on Eldane instead. "Leave us alone."
The Doctor stormed over to Ambrose. "In future, when you talk about this, you tell people there was a chance, but you were so much less than the best of humanity," he hissed, making sure that every single word of his hit her like a blow to the stomach.
Armed soldiers then entered the room, proceeded by Restac.
"My sister," Restac murmured, seeing the body. She knelt beside the corpse and pulled back the sheet. She screamed in grief before jumping to her feet. "And you want us to trust these apes, Doctor?" she demanded, staring at the humans as if they were something she wanted to tread on with her feet.
The Doctor held out his hand, pleading. "One woman. She was scared for her family. She's not typical."
Restac turned to Ambrose, narrowing her eyes. "I think she is."
As much as Rhea hated this one, she had to agree.
The Doctor turned to Eldane. "One person let us down. But there's a whole race of dazzling, peaceful human beings up there. You were building something, here, come on... an alliance could work," he said, urgently.
"It's too late for that, Doctor," Ambrose said, suddenly.
The Doctor looked at Ambrose, questioningly, as Tony ran a hand through his hair, half in frustration, half in guilt.
Rhea stared at Ambrose, blankly. "Oh, my God, what the fuck did you do?"
"Our drill is set to start burrowing again in..." Ambrose looked down at her watch. "15 minutes."
"I knew it; I fucking knew this would happen." Rhea shook her head. She turned to Eldane. "This is what I meant. Are you still committed?" she asked, solemnly.
Nasreen baulked. "Wait, what?" she demanded, looking at Tony in betrayal.
Tony flinched away from her anger. "What choice did I have? They had Elliot," he said, defensively.
The Doctor was still pleading with Eldane. "Don't do this, don't call their bluff."
"Let us go back. And you promise to never come to the surface ever again. We'll walk away, leave you alone," Ambrose said, firmly.
"Oh, my God, stop talking," Rhea hissed, her hand sliding to the hilt of her gun.
"Execute her!" Restac shouted.
"No!" the Doctor shouted, pulling Ambrose out of the line of fire as the soldiers pulled the triggers on their weapons. He turned to the others. "Everybody, back to the lab! Run!
The humans ran for the exit.
"Execute all the apes!"
The Doctor slipped the sonic screwdriver into his hand and used it on the Silurian guns, which exploded in their hands.
"This is a deadly weapon, stay back," the Doctor warned.
One of the soldiers approached from the seats, smoothly, out of sight, and lashed out at the Doctor with her tongue, which he deftly avoided. He backed out of the way and ran out of the room. He quickly caught up to the others, who were making their way out of the tunnel, grabbing onto Rhea's hand, who eased when she saw the Doctor coming from around the corner.
The Doctor turned to Rory. "Take everyone to the lab!" he ordered, just managing to dodge a beam from a gun. "I'll cover you! Go! Go!" He urged. When Rhea didn't leave with them, he groaned. "Go with them, would you?"
Rhea looked at him as if he were the stupidest person she'd ever seen; it made him smile. Some things never changed.
"When do I ever leave you?" she said, pointedly.
The Doctor grimaced, but he was gentle when he pressed his palm to her cheek. "Fair point."
Restac and her battalion rounded the corner and stopped, the guns in their hands immediately aimed in their direction. The Doctor, without missing a beat, used the sonic screwdriver on their guns, which smoked in their hands, causing them to drop them with a hiss.
"Ah-ah!" the Doctor warned. "Stop right there! Or I'll use my very deadly weapon again. One warning, that's all you get." He stared them all down. "If there can be no deal, you go back into hibernation," he ordered. "All of you. Now. This ends here."
Restac hissed. "No. It only ends with our victory."
The Doctor's shoulders twitched as if he regretted what he was about to do next. "Like I said... one warning."
The last two guns smoked in their soldiers' hands, and he and Rhea ran in the opposite direction. Finally, they managed to reach the lab within which the others had cloistered themselves. The Doctor used the sonic screwdriver on the panel beside the doors and they slid shut, barring Restac and her soldiers from further pursuit.
The Doctor turned to Elliot. "Elliot, you and your dad keep your eyes on that screen. Let me know if we get company." He tossed a stopwatch in her direction. "Rhea, keep reminding me how much time I haven't got."
Mo and Elliot kept watch on the screen showing the tunnel outside.
"We have twelve minutes until drill impact," Rhea told the Doctor.
Tony was sitting down, with Nasreen standing next to him. The exhaustion in his face caught the Doctor's attention and he made his way over to the older (by appearance) man.
"Tony Mack, sweaty forehead, dilated pupils, what're you hiding?" he queried.
Tony sighed and opened his shirt to show the sickly-green lines that had spread down from his neck across his chest.
"Tony!" Nasreen shouted in alarm. "What happened?!"
The Doctor clucked his tongue and used the screwdriver as a scanner on the infected area.
"Alaya's sting. She said there's no cure." Tony looked up at the Doctor with despair. "I'm dying, aren't I?" he said, resigned.
The Doctor moved to the control panel and checked the readings.
"You're not dying, you're mutating," the Doctor explained. "How can I stop it?" He mumbled to herself.
"What about the decontamination program? Would the venom from her sting be considered as bacteria?" Rhea suggested.
The Doctor looked thoughtful. "Maybe. I'm not quite sure." He turned to Eldane. "Eldane, can you run the program on Tony?"
"Doctor, shedload of those creatures coming our way! We're surrounded in here!" Mo protested.
Eldane helped Tony to the decontamination chamber.
"So, question is, how we do stop the drill, given we can't get there in time?" the Doctor mused. "Plus, also, how do we get out, given that we're surrounded? Nasreen, how d'you feel about an energy pulse, channelled up through the tunnels to the base of the drill?" he asked, hopefully.
Nasreen raised a threateningly-sculpted eyebrow. "To blow up my life's work?"
"Yes. Sorry," the Doctor grimaced. "No nice way of putting that."
Nasreen sighed, although dejection could be seen in her posture. "Right, well, you're going to have to do it before the drill hits the city, in..."
"Eleven minutes, forty seconds..." Rhea helpfully added.
"Yes!" the Doctor crowed. "Squeaky bum time!"
"I'm not even going to pretend to understand what that means," Rhea muttered.
"Yes, but the explosion is going to cave in all the surrounding tunnels, so we have to be on the surface by then," Nasreen said, pointedly.
"But we can't get past Restac's troops," Rory protested.
"I can help with that…" Eldane said and everyone looked at him. "Toxic fumigation: an emergency failsafe meant to protect my species from infection. A warning signal to occupy cryo-chambers. After that, citywide fumigation, by toxic gas. Then the city shuts down," he explained, solemnly.
"That could kill your people," Rhea told him.
Eldane grimaced. "Only those foolish enough to follow Restac."
The Doctor's brow furrowed. "Eldane, are you sure about this?" he asked, slowly.
"My priority is my race's survival," Eldane replied. "The Earth isn't ready for us to return yet."
The Doctor shook his head. "No."
Rhea looked down at the stopwatch. "Ten minutes, Doctor."
"But maybe it should be," the Doctor retorted. "So, here's the deal. Everybody listening?" He looked around, expectantly, and everyone listed with rapt attention. "Eldane, you activate shutdown... I'll amend the system, set your alarm for a thousand years' time." Eldane went over to the controls. "A thousand years, to sort the planet out. To be ready. Pass it on. As legend, or prophesy, or religion, but somehow, make it known. This planet is to be shared." He looked at Elliot, the youngest and most hopeful out of all of them, meaningfully, when he said this.
Rhea didn't voice her cynicism at this, knowing that it was important for the Doctor to believe that humanity would one day find the magnanimity and appreciation to share the Earth with a race that had just as much right to the land as they did.
Rhea was not of the same opinion, but she had been proved wrong before. Perhaps, humans were capable of that kind of altruism. Or they would be, in a thousand years.
Elliot nodded, firmly. "Yeah. I get you."
"Nine minutes, seven seconds," Rhea told the Doctor.
The Doctor joined Eldane at the control panel. "Yes, fluid controls, my favourite! Energy pulse timed, primed and set. Before we go, energy barricade, need to cancel it out, quickly." He used the screwdriver on the controls and the barricade went down.
"Fumigation pre-launching," Eldane muttered.
"There's not much time for us to get from here to the surface, Doctor!" Rory said, pointedly.
"Ah-ha, super-squeaky bum time! Get ready to run for your lives. Now..." the Doctor looked around.
"But the decontamination program on your friend hasn't started yet," Eldane protested.
Everyone looked at Tony, who was still waiting in the chamber. He rolled his eyes.
"Well, go. All of you! Go," Tony insisted.
Ambrose's eyes widened. "No, we're not leaving you here!" she snapped.
"Granddad!" Elliot ran over to Tony and threw his arms around the older man.
"Eight minutes, ten seconds," Rhea said, an itch growing on her skin as she realised that wasn't much time at all.
Tony looked down at Elliot, all soft. "Now you look after your mum. You mustn't blame her. She only did what she thought was right," he said, gently.
Elliot's eyes watered, but he stubbornly kept the tears back. "I'm not going to see you again, am I?" he said, dully.
Tony cracked a small smile. "I'll be here." He touched Elliot on the chest, just where his heart was. "Always. I love you, boy." He hugged him, fiercely, and then looked at Ambrose. "You be sure he gets home safe!"
Elliot went over to Mo and buried his face in his father's chest.
"This is my fault," Ambrose whispered.
"No," Tony shook his head. "I can't go back up there. I'd be a freak show. The technology down here's my only hope." He hugged Ambrose just as fiercely as her son.
"I love you, Dad," Ambrose mumbled into his shoulder, clutching at him one final time.
"Go. Go. Come on… Go on," Tony urged.
Eldane activated the fumigation.
"Toxic fumigation initiated. Return to cryo-chambers."
Amy peered at the control panel, seeing the surveillance footage.
"They're going! We're clear!" she said, excitedly.
"Okay. Everyone, follow Nasreen. Look for a blue box. Get ready to run." The Doctor used the screwdriver on the door once more and it slid open. He turned to Eldane, his face sober. "I'm sorry."
"I thought for a moment, our race, and the humans..." Eldane trailed off, something terribly regretful in his eyes.
The Doctor sighed. "Yeah. Me too."
"Uh, less than six minutes here." Rhea tugged at the Doctor's arm.
"You go. I'm right behind you," the Doctor soothed.
Rhea scowled. "Like hell you'll be." The Doctor gave her such a maudlin, breathless look that she had to hide her flush by turning to the others, glaring at them severely. "What are you still standing here for? Run!" she snapped.
The others, animated by her words, rushed from the room.
Nasreen, however, remained right where she was standing.
Rhea frowned. "What are you still doing here?" she demanded.
Nasreen shook her head. "I'm not coming either."
The Doctor narrowed his eyes. "What are you talking about?"
Nasreen stood by Tony, placing a hand on his arm. "We're going to hibernate with them, me and Tony."
Eldane rushed up to them. "Doctor, you and your woman, you must go!" he urged.
Tony looked at Nasreen, tenderly. "I can be decontaminated when we're woken. All the time in the world."
"But… Nasreen... you..." the Doctor trailed off, unsure of how to take this sudden change in plans.
Nasreen softened. "No. This is perfect. I don't want to go. I've got what I was digging for. I can't leave when I've only just found it."
"Oh, come on, Doctor," Rhea rolled her eyes. She winked at Nasreen, approvingly. "Love breeds fools of us all," she murmured.
She would've made the same choice for the Doctor, she thought. And for some strange reason, the realisation didn't make her want to run away screaming.
"Thank you, Doctor," Nasreen said, gently.
There was a flicker of a smile on the Doctor's face. "The pleasure was all mine." He hugged her tightly.
"I'd hug you, but I'm not really a hugger. And we really need to get the hell out of here now," Rhea insisted, tugging on the Doctor's hand.
The Doctor laughed and grabbed Rhea's hand, heading for the door.
"Come and look for us," Nasreen murmured, just as the doors to the lab slid closed.
"Immediate evacuation..."
"Other way, idiot!" Amy shouted at Rory.
"Toxic fumigation is about to commence."
The humans and the Doctor found themselves in a large cavern, as the warning blared.
"Come on!" the Doctor shouted.
Finally, they managed to reach the tunnel where the TARDIS stood.
"No questions, just get in! And yes, I know it's big!" the Doctor unlocked the doors and ushered the family inside. "Ambrose, sickbay up the stairs, left, then left again... get yourself fixed up. Come on! Five minutes and counting..."
"Uh, Doctor, you may want to see this," Rhea said, urgently.
When the Doctor turned around, he saw Rhea gazing at a jagged crack in the tunnel wall, spitting an eerie, white glow, which was exactly (albeit a larger version) the same crack that they had seen in Amy's bedroom back in Leadworth.
"Not here. Not now. It's getting wider," the Doctor muttered. "Rhea, back away from it. Now."
Rhea straightened and did as she was asked, recognising the warning for what it was.
Amy came to stand beside the Doctor. "The crack on my bedroom wall," she commented, confused.
"The crack is in everything. It's a split in the skin of the world."
"Oh, no, that really doesn't sound good," Rhea moaned.
"Two parts of space and time that should never have touched, pressed together...right here in the wall of your bedroom." He pressed his ear against the wall, right over the crack.
The Doctor walked up to the wall, just beside Rhea, and squatted down.
"And the Byzantium. All through the universe, rips in the continuum," the Doctor muttered.
Amy stared at the crack in the wall of the Byzantium.
"How could it be following me?" she whispered.
"Some sort of space-time cataclysm," the Doctor mused. "An explosion, maybe. Big enough to put cracks in the universe. But what?" He studied the crack, fascinated.
His hand twitched at his side as if he wanted to reach out and touch it, but Rhea saw the slight movement out of the corner of her eye and grabbed his hand, holding it between her own.
She looked down at the stopwatch. "Four minutes, fifty... We have to go!" she nudged him.
"The Angels laughed, when I didn't know. Prisoner Zero knew, everybody knows, except me!" the Doctor growled in frustration.
"Honey, we can deal with this later, but we won't get out of here alive if we don't leave now," Rhea insisted.
"Doctor, just leave it," Amy added, bouncing on her feet.
"But where there's an explosion," the Doctor pulled a red handkerchief from an inside pocket of his tweed blazer. "there's shrapnel." He approached the crack.
"Doctor, you can't put your hand in there!" Rory protested.
The Doctor smirked. "Why not?"
The Doctor reached inside the crack, with his hand wrapped up in the handkerchief. He shouted in pain as the light grew brighter. Rhea watched, her hands fisted in her dress, as if the action would prevent her from pulling him away from the crack.
"I've got something!" the Doctor told them.
"What is it?" Amy asked, nervously.
The Doctor was suddenly shoved to the ground by an unseen force of energy, still clutching whatever he had grabbed a hold of, wrapped up in the handkerchief, which sizzled with heat and energy.
"I don't know," the Doctor muttered.
"Doctor!" Rory called out.
The Doctor and Rhea turned to see a weak, possibly dying Restac crawling into the tunnel, determination etched into every single twitch of a muscle. The Doctor and Rhea jumped to their feet.
"She was there, when the gas started... She must've been poisoned," Amy hissed.
"You!" Restac shrieked, glaring at the Doctor with such fierce hatred that if she could, she would burn him to the ground, then and there.
Rhea understood the sentiment (not that she'd ever felt that towards the Doctor), but like hell if she'd let that happen. She tipped her body in his direction, making sure that she could cover him if she needed to, thumbing her blaster in anticipation.
"Okay, get in the TARDIS, both of you," the Doctor told Amy and Rory, quickly, reaching into a jacket pocket.
"You did this," Restac hissed, aiming her gun and taking her shot.
"Doctor!" Rory shouted.
Before Rhea could step in front of the Doctor, Rory was standing in front of them and taking the blast that was meant for him.
"Rory!" Amy screamed.
Rory was sprawled on the ground, groaning in pain, clutching his stomach where the blast had burned a hole through his flesh.
Rhea made a harsh sound of disbelief and rage and took aim, the blast from her gun hitting Restac in the head and hacking her skull wide open, killing her instantly, which Rhea observed with a satisfied smile.
The Doctor and Amy were crouched by Rory's side, the latter smoothing down his hand with a shaky hand.
"Rory, can you hear me?" the Doctor asked, urgently, scanning him with the sonic screwdriver.
"I don't understand," Rory wheezed out.
Amy hushed him, gently. "Don't talk." She stroked his face, as if she feared she would hurt him further. She looked up at the Doctor, makeup streaked across her cheeks as her eyes dampened. "Doctor, is he okay? We have to get him into the TARDIS!"
Rory looked up at Amy, his eyes glazed over as if he didn't quite see her completely. "We were on the hill. I can't die here."
Amy swallowed past the thickness in her throat. "Don't say that." She shook her head.
"You're so beautiful," Rory whispered, his mouth quirking up at the corners sadly. "I'm sorry."
He choked something unintelligible out and his eyes went dull.
Rhea stared. For a moment, she didn't believe what she was seeing before her.
Rory. Kind Rory, who had only ever been welcoming to her, who had held her hand when they had burnt the Doctor's body on that lakeside. He was dead, in front of her, because he had tried to save the Doctor.
He was dead, and she had just stood there.
He was dead, and his girlfriend was crying over his dead body right in front of her.
He was just dead.
"Doctor, help him!" Amy insisted.
The Doctor looked towards the crack and saw the white light reaching out for Rory, entwining around his feet.
"What does the Time Energy do?" Rhea asked, grimly.
"Don't worry." The Doctor waved her off.
Rhea growled, determined to not be brushed off. She walked over to him. "Tell me, goddamnit!"
"If the Time Energy catches up with her, she'll never have been born. Is that what you wanted to hear?" the Doctor snapped, glaring at her, furiously, a far cry from the man who had been determined not so long ago to keep Rhea by his side at all costs just so he would know she was safe. "It will erase every moment of her existence. She will never have lived at all," he finished, his voice hard and his eyes angry and terrified. He turned his attention back to the communicator. "Now, keep your eyes shut and keep moving!" he growled at Amy.
The Doctor jumped to his feet. "Rhea, Amy, move away from the light," he ordered. "If it touches you you'll be wiped from history. Both of you, move away now."
"No!" Amy shouted, tears dropping onto Rory's shirt. "I am not leaving him! We have to help him!" she insisted, looking up at the Doctor helplessly.
The Doctor gritted his teeth and gripped Amy by the shoulders. "The light's already around him, we can't help him," he told her, solemnly.
"We have to, Amy," Rhea said, gently.
Her hands were still shaking as she thumbed the gun. Despite the number of dead bodies that she had seen, she couldn't bring herself to look at Rory's now.
"I am not leaving him!" Amy snapped.
"We have to," the Doctor protested.
"No!"
The Doctor looked at Rhea, helplessly, not knowing what to do that would save Amy from the crack's light. Rhea grimaced and lunged for Amy, grabbing her by the waist and pulling her forcefully away from Rory. Amy struggled – it was a valiant struggle, but Rhea pinned her arms to her sides and backed away.
"Get off me!" Amy shrieked, kicking out at Rhea.
Either the strikes didn't quite hit their mark, or Rhea had an incredible pain threshold. In any case, she couldn't get Rhea to release her before she was bodily shoved into the TARDIS.
"No!" Amy shouted, once Rhea let her go. She lunged for the doors that the Doctor had just shut. "No! No!"
The Doctor flashed the sonic screwdriver on the doors, preventing Amy from forcing them open and going outside to where Rory's body was still lying in the Silurian cavern. Amy continued to scream her fury out and pound on the doors with her fists.
"Let me out, please let me out..." Amy pleaded, sobbing. "I need to get to Rory."
Rhea leaned back against the console, pressing her fingers to her hairline. She wouldn't cry; she hadn't even cried for the Doctor, but there was something distasteful about leaving Rory's body just lying there, where it would be eaten by the crack.
Everyone deserved their last rites.
If the Time Energy catches up with her, she'll never have been born.
Oh, shit, Rhea thought.
While she was understandably resistant to the idea of her memories being so comprehensively tampered with, it was tempered by the grief and desperation she knew that Amy must be feeling now.
She knew what it felt like – that vicious, jagged hole that opened up when she had seen the Doctor die, right in front of her, while she could do nothing to save him or even help him – it would stay with her forever, even if she still had her moments with the Doctor at other points in his timeline.
The Doctor strode determinedly to the console. Rhea watched him in concern. His face was utterly devoid of emotion, but she could see it in the lines of his eyes, just how weary he was.
This loss would take its toll on him.
She wanted to smooth out those lines, bring some joy back into him, but she couldn't even bring herself to feel anything but sorry, what could she do for him?
Amy turned around, her face streaked with tears, watching the monitor with horror as the light continued to loop around Rory's body.
"That light, if his body's absorbed, I'll forget him. He'll never have existed," Amy breathed. She stared at the Doctor. "You can't let that happen."
The Doctor's hand hesitated before he pulled a lever on the console. The TARDIS shook, and Rhea knew they would leave Rory here.
Smart choice, Rhea thought, dully. We all can't die here.
She wondered when she had become so calculative.
"What are you doing?" Amy demanded and raced over to the console, frantically pulling at the lever to stop the TARDIS' movement, but to no avail, since the Doctor had locked the controls. "Doctor! No!" she screamed.
Rhea looked up and air was punched out of her lungs as she saw Rory's body fully wrapped in the light.
There would be no saving him now.
Amy beat her hands against the Doctor's chest as he pulled her to him.
"No! No! Doctor, we can't just leave him there!"
The Doctor cursed and cupped Amy's face in his hands. "Keep him in your mind. Don't forget him. If you forget him, you'll lose him forever," he warned.
Amy choked, hitching in a breath. "On the Byzantium, I still remembered the Clerics because I am a time traveller, now you said," she snapped, pitifully.
The Doctor tightened his grip. "They weren't part of your world. This is different... this is your own history changing," he insisted.
"Tell me it's going to be okay. You have to make it okay," Amy pleaded. She turned around. "Rhea, help. Please. I don't want to forget him." She whimpered.
Rhea flinched at the desperation in Amy's voice and looked away, shamefully. She couldn't do anything for Amy now. She didn't even understand what was going on herself.
She hated being so helpless. Hated, hated, hated it.
The Doctor gritted his teeth. "It's going to be hard, but you can do it, Amy." He led her over to the captain's chair, pushing her down onto the seat and kneeling in front of her. "Tell me about Rory. Fantastic Rory, funny Rory, gorgeous Rory," he said, urgently. "Amy, listen to me. Do exactly as I say. Amy, please. Keep concentrating. You can do this." He patted her knee.
"I can't," Amy whispered.
"You can," the Doctor said, sharply. "You can do it. I can't help you unless you do. Come on. We can still save his memory. Come on, Amy. Please…"
Amy held his words close. She forced herself to remember Rory, all their years together, everything they had done together, how happy she had been when he had gotten down on one knee and shyly shown her the ring he'd bought.
Even if she had her misgivings, there had been something right about that ring on her finger.
Rory.
Sweet Rory.
Rory, who loves me.
I need to remember him.
"Come on, Amy, come on. Amy, please. Don't let anything distract you," the Doctor insisted.
Please, please, I don't-I don't believe in anything, but I need him. He's the only one who loves me. I can't forget him. Please don't let me forget him.
"Remember Rory. Keep remembering, Rory is only alive in your memory. You must keep hold of him. Don't let anything distract you. Rory still lives in your mind."
The Doctor looked at Rhea, curled in on herself, on the other side of the console. Amy had a chance; she had known Rory almost her entire life; she could remember him. Rhea had barely a few months before his existence was ripped out of her mind; no, she wouldn't be able to hold onto him. Not like she was now.
The TARDIS jarred once it had materialised, knocking all three of them to the floor. The small, velvet box with Amy's engagement ring landed on the floor beside the Doctor and he simply stared at it.
Amy blinked. "What were you saying?" she asked, brightly.
Rhea groaned and got to her feet. "This is why I should drive." She shot the Doctor a fond glare. "I don't give people whiplash."
The Doctor stared at the two of them, unsure of what to say, just as Mo and Elliot walked down the stairs.
"I have seen some things today, but this is beyond mad." Mo was shaking his head.
Rhea looked down at the stopwatch on the floor and picked it up. "Uh, guys, only five seconds to go."
When they all stepped out, they were standing in the graveyard overlooking the drill site and watched as the site exploded.
Later, Elliot, Amy and Mo walked through the graveyard as the Doctor, Rhea and Ambrose stood at the entry to the church.
"All Nasreen's work just erased," Amy said, mournfully.
Mo sighed. "Good job she's not here to see it. She's going to give Tony hell when they wake up."
Ambrose looked at the Doctor, blankly. "You could've let those things shoot me. You saved me."
For the life of her, she couldn't understand why.
"An eye for an eye, it's never the way." the Doctor shook his head. "Now, you show your son how wrong you were. How there's another way. You make him the best of humanity... in the way you couldn't be." He stared at her with a gentle smile, as if all was forgiven (and she supposed, with him, it was; he was always nice like that) and took Rhea's hand, pulling her back into the TARDIS.
"You're very quiet," Amy commented. Her eyes crossed over the graveyard and she saw a dark, shadowy figure in the distance. "Oh! Hey! Look!" she exclaimed. "There I am again! Hello, me!" she waved to her future self, who was on her own.
Something changed in her expression and her brows knitted together, as if she were confused by something.
The Doctor looked at her, worriedly. "Are you alright?"
"I thought I saw someone else there for a second," Amy explained, and then shook her head. "I need a holiday." She joked. "Didn't we talk about Rio?"
Rhea popped her head out of the door. "And this time, we're actually going," she insisted, narrowing her eyes at the Doctor pointedly.
The Doctor softened and reached out, brushing his knuckles over her cheek. "You two go in, beautiful. I just need to fix this lock, keeps jamming."
Amy rolled her eyes. "You boys and your locksmithery," she joked, following Rhea inside and closing the TARDIS doors behind her.
Once Rhea and Amy were inside, the Doctor unwrapped the item he had pulled from within the crack. It was an aluminium sign, slightly jagged at the edges, with words written on it, words that made him take a deep breath. He held the sign up against the board fixed to the front of the TARDIS.
It was a perfect match.
Later that night, once the three of them had exhausted themselves by watching an entire season of Only Fools and Vervoids that the Doctor had streamed, the Doctor made his way to the room he shared with Rhea once he had made sure the TARDIS was still on course. He opened the door and slipped inside, closing it behind him and locking it (the TARDIS would not be silent if there was anything wrong).
"Can I ask you a question?"
The Doctor turned around from where he had been unbuttoning his shirt to Rhea, who was lying in the blankets strewn across their bed, clad in only her underwear. Her back rested against the headboard and her hair was twisted up in a messy bun, baring her breasts to his gaze; although, she didn't seem too concerned about this.
Rhea was often unashamed when it came to nudity. Most of the time, she preferred to sleep naked, citing that the room was too warm. She sprawled out across the sheets and she was always happy to give him the covers since she disliked the weight on top of her. The Doctor quite liked it when she slept naked (apart from the obvious advantage – she had teased him about easy access for months); he liked the skin-on-skin contact. It felt pleasant and cool and he knew that she always trusted his touch.
However, there were certain times when her scars bothered her and had her curling in on herself. Those times, she was clothed from head to toe when she went to bed: leggings, long-sleeved shirts (often his from his ninth regeneration that she happily stole from the wardrobe) and sometimes even a thin cardigan to go over. Those times, the Doctor always made sure to lower the temperature in their bedroom, lest she start to sweat and become uncomfortable during the night. Those times, his touch was unwelcome. Not just for sex (although, she always made it clear when she didn't want anything not safe for work, as she dubbed it), but even to hold her. She just didn't like it. Those times, it was better to give her some space (and granted, when he had problems of his own, Rhea was always willing to let him be, if that was what he wanted).
"Of course, darling," the Doctor said, striding over to the bed and taking his place beside her.
She instinctively curled her body against this, wondering when this had become knee-jerk upon feeling his warmth beside her. She conceded her skin still crawled, but it was an irritation she could easily ignore now, in favour of his body pressed against hers. His arms were draped across her side, fingers pressed against the curve of her breast, although not intending for it to be a sexual touch.
"You don't seem bothered that we don't use condoms," Rhea approached, hesitantly. She resisted the urge to pull her hair from its bun so that she could twist her fingers in it. "I mean, you clearly know my history, but you didn't seem to care."
The Doctor sighed and kissed her on the forehead. "Well, firstly, pregnancy seems out of the question," he said, carefully.
Rhea nodded her acceptance of that, not needing him to clarify. While her hysterectomy would never be an easy topic for her to discuss, considering the circumstances of it all, it wasn't something she was willing to pretend that never happened.
"Honestly, I did think at some point that you might have super sperm," Rhea said, lightly. "But, no uterus, so…" she trailed off. She cleared her throat. "And I wasn't sure of how compatible Time Lords – or Gallifreyans, I suppose – were with humans, biologically speaking."
"Well, obviously we have sex." The Doctor stroked the curve of her breast, thumbing her nipple purposefully, making her smile unthinkingly. "We are capable of reproducing with humans, of course, but many of my race adopted a process of asexual reproduction called Looming. Each family had their own Loom, which 'weaved' new life from base matter and biodata."
"Were you Loomed?" she asked, curiously.
The Doctor hummed in agreement, stroking down her side. Her skin was almost soft and warm, which he enjoyed. "Yes, but physically in the form of a child. We could be Loomed in the form of an adult as well."
"So, if I had a uterus, and we still hadn't used a condom, I may have gotten pregnant," Rhea guessed.
The Doctor nodded. "But that didn't seem a concern."
Rhea paused. "And you're okay with that?"
Children were easily a deal-breaker for a lot of a people.
"Rhea," The Doctor smiled. "I don't need children to love you. Nine-hundred years proves that."
"But what about when I go earlier into your timeline?" Rhea said, quickly. "When you're younger, you may feel differently."
The Doctor shook his head. "Children were never a something that I demanded to have in my life, Rhea. You'll see that for yourself, someday."
Rhea bit her lip; she hated showing this much vulnerability. "You're sure?"
There was almost a pleading tone to her words (as if she needed him to reassure her of this), and it made his bones ache. His arms tightened around her, not so much that he was bruising her or that she couldn't escape, but firm enough that she knew how permanent his feelings for her were.
"Yes, darling, I'm sure," the Doctor said, gently.
Rhea took a deep breath. She believed him, no matter what her heart said. "Okay."
"Secondly, you're concerned that because of the number of partners you've had, perhaps you would've passed something on to me. You don't have anything yourself. Not that I didn't trust you to confide in me once we started, well, you know, but the TARDIS does routine medical checks on all of her passengers. She would've told me if there was something."
"I could be a carrier," Rhea said, solemnly. "In my right mind, I've only ever practiced safe sex, but there are certain times that I'm not too sure of."
The haze of force-fed drugs wasn't exactly conducive to making sure that her rapist was necessarily wearing a condom.
"It doesn't matter." The Doctor shook his head. "My immune system destroys anything potentially harmful in my body before it can spread."
"So, you're protected against all sexually-transmitted infections?" Rhea raised an eyebrow.
"Well, unless you've got something alien you're not telling me about, yes," the Doctor teased.
Rhea frowned and pushed herself upwards onto one of her hands. She knew he was joking, but she just needed to say this to him, so he knew where she stood.
"You're the only partner I've had since I started travelling with you," she said, seriously. "I haven't-Look, I may flirt a lot, but I wouldn't do anything like that to you." She said, awkwardly. "I'd have told you, if I had been with someone since I came onto the TARDIS, no matter the timelines."
"Rhea, beautiful," the Doctor groaned. "I was just teasing you. I know that you've been with no one else." He paused. "The TARDIS would've told me if you had been."
Rhea grimaced. "That is… surprisingly creepy. And a slight violation of my sexual rights and privacy."
The Doctor chuckled. "It's not meant to be a violation; the TARDIS scans all of us the moment we come back inside, in case we may have caught something on one of the planets. It's just meant as a precaution. She'll only tell me if there's something to worry about."
Rhea hummed. "So, she's like my on-board doctor."
"Right," the Doctor agreed, smoothing a hand down the length of her dark hair. He hesitated. "Rhea, you should know…"
"What? That you have something?" Rhea raised an eyebrow, almost teasing.
"No," the Doctor chuckled. "You're the only person, human or alien, I've ever been with. How would I have something?"
Rhea found herself smiling at that. Perhaps it was some primal instinct within her that she didn't even know she had (she hadn't cared much about Damien's indiscretions before they had married, and he hadn't hers, which was at least one redeemable thing about the bastard), but she was glad that she was the only person he'd ever been with. Not in the sense that he didn't have the right to be with someone before he'd met her, but she liked the idea that she was everything he knew when it came to sex. No other man, woman or alien knew what the Doctor was like when he was inside her, or when she had a hand wrapped around his cock, or when he had his mouth between her legs, or any of the myriad of things they did when they were naked together.
She had never had anything that was completely hers. She shared the Doctor with his companions and the TARDIS and the universe when it came down to it, and she was glad to do it because she knew the Doctor was worth more, but everything that happened between them in this bed, behind these doors, or wherever they chose to be together, it was all theirs (he was all hers) and that meant everything to her.
And at the same time, she couldn't help but hate the fact that she couldn't be completely his. Oh, she didn't regret her experience. She regretted some of the men and some of the women (the ones that had smiled when she screamed in pain and the ones that knew she didn't want it but pushed on for whatever sick reason they had). She didn't even regret Damien (oh, he had hurt her and ruined her and carved out pieces of her, but he had shown her what evil was, what men could be and how strong she would be because of him and how could she regret that?). But she regretted that the Doctor had never had a chance to meet an unarmed, wide-eyed, kind Sunehri Adwani who would've thought making love with him was the greatest joy in the world (her cynicism didn't allow for her to call it making love anymore, unfortunately), who would've gladly given him her virginity and even smiled after (she hadn't smiled after her first time; she had made him drive her home, so she could throw herself into the shower and wipe the blood from her thighs and pressed a heating pad between her legs for the next couple of days until the pain faded). She would've liked him being her first.
"What I want to say is… even if you had something, even if you are a carrier for something, that wouldn't stop me from loving you. It wouldn't even stop me from wanting to be with you in that way," the Doctor said, solemnly, looking down at her with earnest grey eyes. "Nothing would. You're it for me."
Rhea smiled like she was still seventeen and kissed him on the cheek for that remark. She turned and sidled close to him, pressed against his side, with her cheek lying on his chest, just under his jaw. He absentmindedly started petting her hair, falling into silence, as if it gave him comfort to do so. After a few minutes, Rhea found herself frowning. While she didn't begrudge the Doctor his silence, she had to admit he had been acting strange ever since they had dropped Mo, Elliot and Ambrose back home. She supposed that the loss of Nasreen and Tony, as well as the failure to create a pact between the Silurians and the humans, may have been weighing heavily upon him, but it continued to worry him.
There was only a moment's hesitation before she was tipping herself over him and straddling his hips. She tucked an annoying lock of hair behind her ear and stared down at him, her palms slotting into the dip of his shoulder bones. His eyes strayed briefly downwards, to her breasts, bared without the sheet to protect her, but it was barely a moment before he was looking her in the eye once more. His fingers twisted in the ends of her hair.
"Is everything okay?" she asked, bluntly. "You're not your usual, uber-loquacious self."
The Doctor's mouth twitched, as if he wanted to smile. He shuffled upwards for a moment, so that he could rise at the waist, moving backwards until he was leaning against the headboard, with Rhea still comfortably seated in his lap.
"It's nothing, really. Just thinking," the Doctor replied.
"Oh, that's dangerous," Rhea teased.
The Doctor laughed, quietly. He continued to play with her hair and Rhea wondered if it was some sort of coping mechanism for him.
"What-" the Doctor's mouth parted as if he didn't want to voice his next words. "What would you do if I forgot you?" he asked, hesitantly.
Rhea's brow knitted together. "Strange question. Why are you thinking about this?"
The Doctor shrugged, although his eyes slightly strayed in an off direction. "No particular reason. You know me, my mind wanders. So, what would you do?"
Rhea made a face. "It'll happen to us, won't it? I mean, there'll be a day for me where you don't know me, and there'll be a day for you when I don't know you."
The Doctor thought of a day where there'd be no recognition, not even a cursory one, in Rhea's eyes. She wouldn't know him; she wouldn't know all the beautiful and terrible things that had happened between them; she wouldn't know that he thought she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen; she wouldn't know that she was his everything.
He wondered if he'd ever be able to survive that.
"I forget, sometimes, that you've already experienced that day, for me at least," the Doctor mused.
Rhea wrapped her arms around his neck. "I don't like thinking about those days," she confessed. "Not anymore."
She hated that the first time she had met the Doctor, he had wanted something from her and she hadn't been able to give it to him because she had no fucking clue what he would come to mean to her. She hated that there would come a day where she would meet the Doctor, in a very different body to this one, and he wouldn't know who she was; he wouldn't know everything they had been to one another; he wouldn't know that he needed her, and she needed him like she needed fucking air to breathe.
"Neither do I," the Doctor muttered. "It sounds like a nightmare."
"In retrospect, it was," Rhea said, dully.
She laid her chin on his shoulder and he held her close.
"Why are you even thinking about all of this now?" she asked, curiously.
The Doctor shook his head, unwilling to answer her. "You're right, I don't like thinking about those days at all."
And when he started kissing down her shoulder and collarbone until he reached the curve of her breasts, she let herself fall back against the bed and let him touch her like it was the very first time all over again and she prayed to all the gods she believed it that those days wouldn't come for a very long time, for both of them.
A/N: I hope that was appropriately sad. I wanted to make things kind of morbid and solemn with Rory's death because you know, I actually forgot that he died until like halfway through this chapter.
Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and don't forget to review!
Reviews:
Purplestan: I totally agree!
NicoleR85: Thank you!