I think this is gonna be the last chapter, guys. I hope you guys enjoy it! Please read and review!
The Doctor didn't know how long they remained there. The side of Rory's face was still pressed into his shoulder, the tearstains long dried off of the Doctor's jacket. The Doctor, subconciously, would occasionally rock the human back and forth, his chin resting on the top of Rory's head.
The Doctor and his Nurse.
Eventually, the silence was broken by the sound of an door opening and Amy running down the stairs.
"Doctor! I don't know what happened: I was sleeping, and then our room started to shake and Rory's gone and-" She stopped short, her wide eyes narrowing in confusion. "Is...is that Rory?"
"Shush." The Doctor held a finger to his lips and then stood, still holding the unconcious Rory in his arms. Amy opened her mouth to speak, but thought better of it. After a few moments of awkward standing, she decided to voice her opinion, considerably softer than she'd originally planned.
"So...what happened?" she whispered, lifting a hand and placing it on Rory's forehead. Rory murmured in his sleep and turned his face towards Amy, causing his head to droop forward. Amy smiled softly.
"I'm not sure," the Doctor answered, his brow wrinkling. "But I have an idea..." He turned, walking towards med bay, with Amy trailing him. Amy had to lean forward, but she didn't catch what the Doctor muttered next.
"I just hope I'm wrong..."
A few minutes later, Rory's motionless form was lying on a cot in med bay, with a protective Amy hovering over him. The Doctor tapped away at a strange looking device that, if Amy used her imagination, resembled an ultrasound machine.
"What is that?" Amy asked, leaving Rory for a moment to observe the Time Lord.
"It's called a postmarring multidimensional scanner," the Doctor explained, pulling a lever as he spoke.
"Okay..." Amy was still a little unsure. She glanced at Rory, and then back to the Doctor. "And what is the...PMS...do?"
The Doctor pressed one final button. A robotic arm extended from the machine, about four feet long. It swiveled and bent as the Doctor rolled the machine over to Rory's bedside. "It can look at injuries acquired in other dimensions, even if they've already healed."
Amy raised an eyebrow. "And why do you need that?"
The Doctor turned to face her. She'd seen this expression before; it resembled a child whose dog had just passed away. A mixture of guilt, concern, and shame. Without answering, he turned back around to the PMS, and as he hit buttons, the robot arm positioned itself over Rory. Another 'click', and a laser grid was projected from the arm, settling on Rory's face. Amy jumped.
"Don't worry!" the Doctor snapped quickly. "It doesn't hurt him. Now, wait for the machine to register..." The Doctor's face fell, blinking slowly as he stared at the screen.
"What?" Amy peeked over his shoulder. "What's the resul-" At the sight of the screen, her voice died in her throat.
Rory's face was laced with layer after layer of scar tissue, a mottled mess of skin. His nose was bent in three different places. The Doctor moved the grid down to Rory's chest, where several large, circular patches could be seen.
"Burns," the Doctor explained solemnly, biting his lip. "Most likely from...from exposure to high voltages. Electrocution." The Time Lord moved the grid off of the human for a moment, and gingerly turned Rory so that he was laying on his stomach. He repositioned the grid on Rory's back, which revealed itself to be laced with knotted ropes of scarring.
"D-Doctor?"
Amy's voice was soft and broken,tears rolling down her cheeks. "W-what happened to him?"
The Doctor didn't look at her; he stared at the machine. "I didn't find Rory by myself. The TARDIS led me to him. I found him crying his eyes out, scared out of his wits. 'Not tonight', he said. He said 'House'. That's when I realized it." He paused, swallowing. "What if...what if the visions you saw, in the TARDIS...what if they really happened to him?"
Amy's hands flew to cover her mouth, new tears flowing from her eyes. "Rory..." She bit her lip, unable to say anything.
The Doctor disabled the PMS, moving it back to its original place amongst the Gallifreyan medical machines. As he turned back to his companions, Rory started to stir. "Amy? What happened..."
Amy lost it. She burst into tears, launching forward and wrapping her arms around Rory, sobbing into his chest. "You n-never told us!" she yelled through tears. "W-why didn't you tell us?"
Rory wrapped his arms around Amy, sighing softly. "It didn't matter..." he muttered. "I didn't say any of those things, Amy." He pulled away and grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to look into her eyes. "House made me. I didn't say them. And I didn't write those things on the wall."
More tears started to fall down Amy's cheeks. "Oh...Rory..." She pulled him back into her arms, overcome with emotion for this man - this smart, stupid man - sitting in front of her.
The Doctor, still standing by the PMS, smiled softly, watching the couple. He noticed that the TARDIS had started to hum again, and he smiled.
The TARDIS had fixed her 'Pretty'.
