06.05.12: Well, hello guttersluts and bubblebutts. So, I finally got this chapter done, huh? About bloody time. I have been so damn slow on this chapter, and for that I apologise.

Honestly, I had the inspiration for this chapter months ago, it was just finding the time to write it when I was free to do it, and my computer wasn't being a total pain the arse.

Anywhore, like I said, I apologise for how late this is. But hopefully you'll like it because you've had to wait that much more for it. Or you'll have expected it to be fantastic after waiting for so long, and you get totally disappointed by it.

I'd appreciate if it were the former. :)

As per usual, its time for "Reviewer Replies!" *fanfare* There will also be a reply here to a review from my one-shot Harry Potter story "Punch and Drarry" which if you're a Harry Potter fan, you'd probably like. :)

The Sheep of Destiny: I feel kinda bad for having Rory treated so badly, but it makes for good reading, no? And in the first chapter, I somewhat explained why Amy left, but if I ever think of a way I can expand on that and make it better, then yeah, I could do a bit on that.

Lady Locke: As long as your venting your anger onto fictional characters, it's all good.

Loki76: I'm glad you love it, I just hope you didn't mind the damn wait for this chapter. xD

Funky Bracelet Chick: I know, I don't like treating Rory like this, but don't worry, I think the depression stage will definitely start to pass from now on. Andhe actor's called Arthur Darvill.

DoctorRosie: HERE IS MORE. I'm glad you're enjoying it.

ElectricityRains: Thank you, I'm happy to know you like the story. I don't know if I have a particular style, but if you say I do, then I must, right? xD

burningjackets: Thank you! ^_^

Brixland: Well, here it is. :)

Lou: Not as soon as I'd have liked, but it's here, and that's what counts, right?

Ichi Sohma: In the first chapter, I said Amy left because she fell out of love with Rory, but I didn't expand upon that greatly. If I ever get more of an idea on why she left, I'll bring it up in a future chapter.

sometimes love isn't enough: I'm glad you love the story! :)

Gokkan: Thank you for helping me learn a bit more French. :D

noche-estrellada: Don't fall off your seat, I'll feel bad about it. xD

SeverusHermioneForever: Yeah, Rory does deserve better.

InvisibleBlade: YOU ARE GETTING MORE NOW. I HOPE IT PLEASES YOU.

sassycolfer: Thanks for the love, it makes me happy to know that more people than myself are enjoying this story. xD

ilovemarkaxel: Me gusta.

Noerue: Abandoned? I think not. (Sorry, I missed your review the first time around.)

Punch and Drarry Reviewer Relpy

yamiXyugi-setoXjou-4ever: Go Drarry, indeed. :)

So... here it is. Enjoy.

Chapter 8

On a busy high street in London, there was nothing about the somewhat overcast and gloomy day that would suggest that anyone was in a bad mood. Commuters hurried from place to place, businessmen in suits, children in school uniforms with their mothers or fathers, teenagers chatting as their either made their way to or skipped out on school. A mother, pushing her baby along in a pram, quietly passed by a small coffee shop, where two men sat at a table by the window.

The man sat the left of the table had his elbows propped on the table and his head in his hands as he stared mindlessly out of the window, his dark blue body warmer protecting him from the chill in the air while a steaming cup of coffee sat lonely in front of him. The man sat opposite him seemed much more relaxed. He was sat back in his chair, watching his companion with evaluating, and old, eyes, his long, dark green jacket almost brushing the glossy floor of the café. He also had a cup of coffee, but his was in his hand. He took a sip from the polystyrene cup and almost instantly started to wag his tongue around in the open air, as the coffee was far too hot for him.

The other man paid him no attention whatsoever. The man in the green coat sighed softly and leant forward, setting his cup down on the table.

"Rory." The man said, loudly enough for him to hear, but Rory seemed so far into his own little world that the man's voice seemed a million miles away. "Rory?" he repeated. He looked into Rory's eyes and followed their gaze out the window to see a couple stood on the opposite end of the street. The pair's lips were locked together and arms were wrapped around one another, and in one of the woman's hands, a string led up to a large, shiny, heart-shaped helium balloon.

The man let out another sigh.

"Maybe February the 14th was a bad day to land on." the man admitted to himself. Rory blinked, his gaze lingering on the couple across the street. They finally seemed to come up for air, and taking each other's hands, walked away to wherever they were going. Rory eventually pulled himself back into reality, and picked up his cup, bringing it to touch his lips for a moment before setting it back down again. He let out a shaky breath.

"I need a moment, Doctor." he said quietly, standing up and walking outside. The Doctor didn't stop him, and allowed him to go outside, regretting it immediately as he saw Rory run past the window, his face screwed up in anguish. The Doctor was quickly up on his feet and out the door after him, but over all their adventures, all the running they had done must've kept the human quite fit, as he soon outran the Doctor, becoming lost in the hustle and bustle of the London street. The Doctor groaned, bent over with hands on knees as he caught his breath back.

"I'm not as young as I was..." he said to himself, starting to worry about how he would find Rory in the city. "The TARDIS." he said with a grin, knowing that he could use the TARDIS to track down people who were saturated with background radiation, typically picked up from time-travel. She would be able to find Rory in no time. He set off back to the TARDIS, but his thoughts began to wander as he did so.

Rory had been a wreck after Amy left again. He'd practically gone back to how he'd been the first time he left. But the Doctor just did what he always does, and helped. He just wished he could get inside Rory's mind; find out what he was thinking...

Rory collapsed on a park bench, exhausted from running. He'd gotten many weird looks from people he passed, but he couldn't care less about them. He just felt so alone in the world; he thought that's how he should be. Alone. He thought back, on all the people he'd loved who either left, or turned on him. Amy, taken from him by the prospect of something better. His mother, taken by illness 15 years ago. His father, taken by alcohol when his mother died. As soon as he'd thought of him, his arm began to ache, memories of the time his father had broken it in a drunken stupor all those years ago came rushing back to him. Rory closed his eyes tight and thought of the one thing that even brought him the slightest shred of happiness.

The Doctor.

There was no way that Rory would ever be able to thank the Doctor for all the time and care and love he'd shown him since Amy had left. The Doctor had been the best friend he could ever hope for, but he couldn't help but think, how much longer would the Time Lord be willing to put up with him in the state he was in? He wasn't even upset over Amy anymore. He had gotten over her fairly quickly after her visit. His current pain was almost the opposite. The Doctor had done so much for him, how could he have not started to fall for the man? But he wasn't sure if his love towards the man was because of how helpful the Doctor had been to him, or whether it was something else entirely. He groaned and leant forward, burying his face in his hands.

The Doctor, meanwhile, had made it back to the TARDIS, and had the scanner down in front of him, as he twisted various knobs, and typed away on the typewriter attachment of the console. He punched the enter key, and on the scanner, a map of Earth appeared, which was slowly zoomed in on as it tracked down large amounts of background radiation in central London.

"Find him." The Doctor whispered, stroking the smooth glass panel on the section of console in front of him. "Please." It took a moment, but it soon found a large amount of radiation on one person. The Doctor tapped into the CCTV in the area, and once the screen was clear, he began to scan up and down the screen, looking for the human. The Doctor inspected every inch of the screen, and eventually, in a blue body warmer on a park bench, he saw Rory. He let out a sigh of relief, quickly plotted a map from the TARDIS to the park, and hoped to hell he wouldn't forget it before he'd found him.

The Doctor tore through the streets, taking an alleyway shortcut that he'd noted on the map. There was a four way intersection down the alley, and the Doctor needed to turn right to keep heading for the park. 50 yards ahead of him, at the intersection, a man in a red suit ran across from the right to the left. The Doctor noticed that the man had the head of a blowfish, but he had to deal with Rory. Aliens could wait. The Doctor turned right at the cross, and crashed hard into someone, both parties falling onto the floor. The Doctor quickly sat up, and noticed he'd crashed into a dark skinned woman, who was carrying a distinctly alien weapon. She pushed herself off the floor, and looked down at the Doctor.

"Sorry, mister, can't stay and chat, aliens to catch and everything." she said before cocking the gun and running off after the blowfish. The Doctor couldn't help but smile.

"Well, well, Martha Jones..." he said quietly to himself, before standing up and running towards the park.

Rory stared down between his knees at the concrete below, wondering how the hell he would be able to get back to the Doctor after running off like an idiot. He was broken from his thoughts as a voice spoke.

"Am I alright to sit here?" the voice asked quietly.

"Yeah, it's fine." Rory mumbled in response, soon feeling someone sit in space next to him.

"Do you have any idea how worried about you I was?" the voice asked, sounding slightly hurt. Rory was puzzled down, and turned his head to see who had sat next to him, meeting the eyes of the one person who he'd been thinking about. Rory was certainly happy to see him, but the Doctor's hurt tone soon allowed guilt to settle in the pit of his stomach.

"I'm sorry..." he said quietly, not being able to bring himself to look at the man who he'd upset. "I just... I needed to be alone." he lied. In truth, he'd had to run away from the Doctor because he needed somewhere to think about his feelings where the object of his affection wasn't around.

"It's perfectly okay, Rory, I was just a little concerned. If you wanted to be alone, you should have just said." The Doctor explained, placing a comforting hand on the human's shoulder. "Besides, being alone is overrated. Believe me." he said with a wink. Rory was able to muster a small smile. "I like it when you smile," the Doctor commented. "Through all the pain, it's nice to let the world know you're okay every once in a while."

A long moment of silence passed between the two men, where the Doctor's hand lay protectively over Rory's in the middle of the park bench.

A soft sigh escaped the Doctor's lips before he stood up, stretching his arms towards the sky. "C'mon then, Williams." he said, offering his hand to the younger man. "It's time we got back to the TARDIS. And this time, it's your choice. The universe is your oyster."

Rory's lips twitched into another smile, as he took the Doctor's hand, and pulled himself up, both men starting to walk hand-in-hand back towards the TARDIS.

"I bumped into an old friend, today." The Doctor said after a couple minutes of near-silent walking. Rory was fairly surprised at this news, as the Doctor had never before talked of travelling with other people. "She didn't recognise me, though. Well, they never do. When you're a man who can change his face, you can't expect everyone to keep up." He said with a grin, thinking back on a familiar incident where he'd bumped into another old friend at Deffry Vale School.

"Did you two chat?" Rory asked, curious about this old friend.

"Nah, she was a bit preoccupied." the Doctor said, grinning to himself.

Eventually, they reached the TARDIS, the Doctor unlocking the door and pushing it open.

"Doctor." Rory said, just as the man had taken a step inside the door.

"Yes, Ror-" The Doctor started, being cut off as Rory's lips silenced his own, tenderly moving against them. Rory had hold of the lapels of his jacket, but the Doctor certainly wasn't going to walk away from this, his hands unconsciously reaching out and settling on the human's hips. A moment later, Rory prised his lips from the Doctor's, and looked at him with a gentle smile.

"Thank you." He said softly. "For everything you've done." He leant forward, wrapping his arms around the Doctor's body in a soft embrace, his face in the crook of the Doctor's neck. "Happy Valentine's Day, Doctor." he said ever-so-quietly against the Doctor's skin. The Doctor gave a surprised smile, and let his arms reach around Rory, holding the human to him.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Rory."

What did you think? Love it, hate it, want to hunt me down and lock me in a room until I write the next chapter? Well, you may not have all that long to wait, depends when I have time to write it.

Also, what did you think of my little mention of Martha? I've no idea where it came from, it just happened.

Currently, I have two ideas for future chapters.

1. I'm planning a cross-over with another popular BBC show, which I hope you'll enjoy. Bonus points if you can correctly guess the show. :)

2. I want to pay my respects to the late and great Elisabeth Sladen, so I will probably do a chapter with the Sarah Jane Adventures gang.

Until next time, guys.

~ RyRy

P.S. Check out the poll I have on my profile page, please, I want to know who the favourite characters of my readers are.

08.05.12 - I will be closing the poll after my next three ideas have been seen through to the end. That could be three chapters, that could be three months. Who knows how long I can draw out this cross-over for, eh?

Yes, you're right, I did say a third idea, but I'm keeping that one to myself for now. ;)

Also, Chapter 9 is finito, aside from reviewer replies, which I do just before I upload it. I am setting myself a date here, so you can expect Chapter 9 to arrive this Saturday! I don't know what time, but definitely Saturday, I promise you. At the rate I've been writing recently, I might be able to get ahead here and have a few chapters stocked up for a while.

I'm a little surprised about some of the guesses of the cross-over. I'm not saying they're right or wrong, but surprising, yes.

See you Saturday! :D

~ RyRy