She was pretty sure that once the girls were gone, she was going home, and Amy wasn't about to let that happen. Not without getting in that last hurrah with her not-so-imaginary friend, all real and heroic, and perfectly fit. What Rory didn't know wouldn't hurt him. Aliens couldn't get humans pregnant, right? So it's not like there was a chance for an alien love child she'd have to explain to her husband in nine months or so.

He did that thing where he sent the ship into a drifting mode, and she adjusted her clothes.

"So! Pond! Where can I take you now? Anywhere and any when you'd like to go." He smiled as he turned toward her, but it fell pretty quickly. She thought maybe he caught him looking her over, and she gained just a little more confidence as she moved toward him. "Amelia," He said, deep but not husky. Maybe that was just a human thing, maybe that deep dark tone was what she was looking for. No other signals, really, though that wasn't a real deterrent.

"You're so clever," She stroked his ego. "Clever and brave."

He took a couple steps backward, gripping the rail behind him. "Lucky and a coward." He retorted rather firmly.

She liked that, the firmness. "Lucky yes," She said with a chuckle. "I'd say you probably are."

She lunged, grabbing the lapels of his jacket, pulling him toward her.

She'd barely got close to him before he pushed her away. "I'm married," He said, firmly.

Amy smirked. She could play this game a little longer. "That's sweet of you to stay so loyal, but she's not here, is she?" She moved in again, fully expecting he'd push her away again, and was already thinking of counters to the dozens of excuses she was sure he'd come up with before giving in. He was still a bloke, after all.

A dark look over came him as he pushed her back a little more firmly than he had the first time. It was likely meant to threaten, but had the opposite affect on her. He took her hand, tugging hard and dragging her up the stairs and down a different corridor than she was used to. Well that didn't take nearly as long as she was expecting. She thought he'd put up just a little more fight before taking her to what she assumed was his bedroom. His cool hand had a firm hold, and she was just starting to imagine what it would feel like other places when he stopped.

The door he led her to bore a picture of a wolf howling at a moon that looked more like rose. The Doctor turned the knob, pulling the door open roughly before stepping in a little more calmly.

Inside wasn't anything she was expecting. Not at all. A very small, simple room with yellow walls and floor. There were two chairs, one in the corner, one beside a bed.

A bed that had someone in it.

And she was gorgeous.

Gold, curled hair spread over the pillow her head rest on. Her eyes were shut, but Amy noticed the woman's make up was done impeccably. Her hands rested just below her breasts like a sleeping princess from a fairy tale. Even looked like one with the gold dress she was wearing.

"Amelia Pond," The Doctor said, a touch of the harsh tone he took with her earlier still there among the sadness. "My wife, Rose Tyler."

Amy circled Rose, looking her over. "Is she …?"

"In a coma," he replied, and she watched as he came up beside Rose, caressing her cheek with his knuckles in an affectionate gesture that made her swoon a bit. "Something happened, I'm not sure what, and she slipped into it. She'll wake up eventually, just not sure when. I hope it's soon."

"How long has she been like this?" Amy asked, seeing the tears well in Raggedy Man's eyes.

"For as long as I've known you," He replied, smiling weakly at her. "So a few days. I haven't gone this long without her in decades. I miss her terribly. So much that I went to see a younger version of her just before Jenny and River left." He admitted, dropping into the chair beside the bed.

"Decades?" Amy said, moving to stand next to the Doctor, resting her hand on the back of his chair behind his shoulder. "But she looks my age."

"She's about a hundred thirty, give or take a few years." He said, reaching out and resting his hand on Rose's elbow.

"And you've been married for how long?" She asked, her stomach starting to knot.

"A century." He replied without a beat. "Not that time matters. We're forever." He looked up at her, eyes smiling when his lips remained a bit down turned. "She and I, we're linked. We'll take our last breaths at the same time." He turned back to Rose. "My precious girl made it so I'd never be alone, that I'd never have to know life without her. But I don't think either of us really considered this a possibility."

Amy swallowed the lump in her throat. "Pretty literal in the vows, wasn't she?"

"She did it before we were married." He said with reverence, staring off as if he was seeing something else entirely. "She tied us together before I even knew she could love me. Rose was always the kindest, most considerate soul I'd ever known, and she was the best thing that could have happened to me." He suddenly looked up at Amy, guilt coming off him in palatable waves. "I'm sorry if I had done or said something to mislead you. It's not the first time I'd done that. Usually gets me in trouble."

Amy nodded, smiling weakly, finding it suddenly hard to hold eye contact.

"Doctor, there's something I didn't tell you when I, umm, when I left with you." She took a deep breath. "I was getting married."

"Was?" He said with confusion.

"Suppose, technically still am. Maybe. I dunno. I was … running, when I left with you. Running because I didn't know if I wanted to do that. Marriage."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Blimey."

"Yeah." She said, laughing a bit this time. She glanced over, seeing him eye her left hand.

"You aren't wearing a ring, though. Humans, you lot give rings for that kind of a promise. Where's yours?" He asked, arching his brow.

"I ran away with a strange man the night before my wedding, where do you think it is? I heard the TARDIS land, I took off my ring and went outside."

"You took off your ring before you came outside?" He asked, sounding more confused.

"You really are an alien, aren't you?" She laughed to ease some nerves. "I had every intention of going with you. You knew it, I knew it, but I wasn't about to let the ring hold me back. I didn't want the reminder that I had to go back to that life."

He stood, looking right into her eyes, and she felt for a moment as if he was peering directly into her soul. "You wanted adventure. Boring town, simple life, the little girl whose guardian wanted her to give up her imaginary friend. Who were you marrying?"

"Rory." She replied without thinking.

"Rory, Rory, Rory the Roman."

"The Roman?"

"Yes, his nose, very Roman. I should know, had one like that before, long time ago, Rose loved me in spite of it. You love Rory, but you're afraid that he doesn't understand you. He's a nurse, safe, practical. You're a person who has their picture taken to make money, less stable from my understanding, and you ran away without a second thought, knowing it was dangerous. You know what I think needs to happen?" He asked, and she shook her head, her throat growing tight as she worried what he was going to say. "We need to pick up Rory." He grinned. "Where will I find him?"

~DWDWDW~

He hoped this was the right cake. He really, really hoped. Because from what he saw the last two times he'd managed to come out of the wrong cake he became increasingly grateful he didn't allow Jack to throw him one of these ridiculous send off parties all those years ago. He was also infinitely glad he ran off without making much eye contact when said Captain turned out to be attending one of the raunchier of the two previous parties. The Doctor wasn't sure if he was recognized, new body and no TARDIS to give him away, but he also had a feeling that one of his longest living friends could easily know it was him just by the eyes. Rose had said that was how she could often pick out a future regeneration, his eyes. And while Jack, thankfully, didn't know his quite as intimately as his pink and yellow woman, he was sure there was likely a chance he'd see the ancientness behind them.

He heard the shouts of "out" from beyond the cardboard walls of the fake structure, and a moment later it stopped moving. Hoping this was the last time he'd have to do this, he popped up to the dismayed sounds of the men in attendance of the stag. He looked around, spotting the horrid red shirts emblazoned with a picture of Amy and Rory together, feeling sorta relieved he'd at least made it to the right stag.

The Doctor then spotted the gob-smacked, would-be groom staring at him like he wasn't sure he was real.

"Rory!" He cried out in greeting. "Rory the Roman, been looking for you everywhere. I thought I'd burst out of the wrong cake … again. Which reminds me, there's a girl outside in a bikini, could someone let her in? Give her a jumper?" He looked around the room, seeing one of Rory's mates pulling off his jumper and heading to the back door. "Now then," he said, turning back to Rory. "We need to talk about your fiancee. She tried to kiss me," He said, causing the room to gasp. "Funny how you say something in your head and it sounds fine. Suppose this is when Rose would call me rude. Rude, and not ginger. Rose, by the way, is my wife. Which, in all fairness, Amy did not know about when she tried to kiss me. Mostly because she's in a coma. Rose, not Amy, let's be clear on that."

"Wait, hold on." Rory said, hands out as if he were going to still the unmoving Doctor. Though, he supposed, his hands were moving a lot on their own accord. "How is it possible that Amy tried to kiss you? She was home tonight. She was gonna stay in and … oh my god, did she plan this?"

"What? No?" The Doctor furrowed his brow. "Missed the part where I told you I was married, I suppose? I would not go into a twenty-one year old girl's room in the middle of the night in hopes for a good snog ... again." He amended, brief memories of early kisses with Rose crossing his mind. "No, I got the time streams wrong again, came back and offered Amy a trip to say thank you for helping me. To apologize for leaving her alone in her garden as a little girl." The Doctor paused as he heard someone cough uncomfortably. He noted half the room looked ready to pummel him in Rory's name, while the other just looked to the groom-to-be with pity. "You know what? Why don't you come with me, see for yourself exactly what's been going on."

He hopped out of the cake, or at least tried. His foot got caught on the edge, and the Doctor found himself flying forward. The cake, mercifully, broke a bit more and released his foot before he face planted and allowed him a less humiliating but not at all graceful roll. He stood up, straightening his clothes, adjusted his bow tie, then gestured with his head toward the door as he held eye contact with Rory.

Rory shrugged, hands flopping against his sides as he took a step and made to follow the Doctor outside.

It wasn't all that long of a walk back to where he'd parked the TARDIS, having made sure it was a good distance from all the Leadworth pubs, as well as Amy's home so she could pick up the ring she shucked before taking off.

With a snap of his fingers, the doors opened, and he was greeted with not only the strong hum of the TARDIS, but a stronger mental signature from his wife. It made him beam as he stepped inside, almost to the point that he didn't notice Amy nervously chewing her thumb while leaning against the console at the top of the ramp.

He looked over his shoulder at Rory who was now staring down his future wife as the TARDIS quietly closed her doors behind him. The Doctor returned his gaze to Amy. There were time lines surrounding the two of them, all of which should converge, needed to converge, and many that were now splitting off. They had been since Amy made the decision she had wanted to kiss him, or worse, and they hadn't quite settled back the way they should have since.

Never good.

"You know how I met my wife?" The Doctor said, bolting up the ramp to the console. "Saved her life. Took her hand, told her to run, never stopped. Didn't take us long to fall in love, but it did take us awhile to say it, which isn't the point. The point is, of course, that it was the adventure, the danger, that brought us together. The life out there, it dazzles. And for one person to see all that, to taste the glory and go back, it will tear you apart. We've seen it happen to friends of ours, and I won't let it happen to you. So, I'm sending you somewhere together."

At that, Amy suddenly stood straight, turning around and gaping at him with nervous fear. "Whoa, what, like a date?" She asked.

The Doctor nodded with a grin. "Anywhere you want, any time you want. One condition: it has to be amazing. The Moulin Rouge in 1890, the first Olympic games. Think of it as a wedding present." He then turned to Rory, about to continue his uncontrollable rant when he noticed the man with the roman nose looking up at the vast space above him. "Tiny box, huge room inside."

Rory shrugged. "It's another dimension."

The Doctor's grin fell at the nonchalance his new guest was displaying. "What?"

Rory moved up the ramp, looking around. "After prisoner Zero, I've been reading up on all the latest scientific theories. FTL travel, parallel universes."

"Don't go getting any ideas there, travel between them is impossible. Probably for the best, as that's where my mother-in-law is. And for the record, you were supposed to remark how my glorious ship is 'bigger on the inside'." He pouted at first, then stiffened at the feel of Rose's mind just that tiny bit stronger against his, a spike of humor and joy before it faded. He smiled in spite of himself, noting the confused looks exchanged by his companion and her fiance.

"So this date," Amy said carefully, bringing his attention back to her. "Where were we going, exactly? Kinda done running down corridors, and all."

"How about somewhere … romantic?" He suggested with a twitch of his eyebrow. Hoping beyond all hopes, he called out to the room, "What do you think, Sweetheart? Somewhere romantic?" His hearts constricted when the image of Italian gondolas flashed in his mind for only a second. His grin stretched wide. "Hold that thought," he said to the couple before him. "I will be right back."

He ran for the stairs, his haste not hindering him as it should have while he rushed to the room where Rose rested.

Inside, he was disappointed to find her exactly the way she'd been.

"Not waking up yet, are we?" He asked. He felt a flash of pain, like a burn, across his right arm, and he clutched at in surprise. He then felt his head ache like he often imagined Donna's did before the Meta Crisis saved her. Both feelings lasted only a moment, and then he felt Rose slip back and away from his mind along with the pain. "Oh, Rose," he said softly, crossing the room and brushing her cheek, his knuckles caressing her hair. "What other prices are you going to pay to stay with me?" The TARDIS hummed sadly, nearly apologetic, and then reminded him with flashes of images the amount of pain he'd been in before regenerating. "So it wouldn't have mattered, my sealing her off from the pain. She still experiences it. The longer I held off, the longer she ends up staying under." The TARDIS hummed in agreement. "Thank you, dear, for helping me understand."

"Is this her?" He heard Rory say behind him, and he turned to see the skinny man in the doorway, looking at Rose. "I expected machines." He admitted as he stepped inside without permission.

The Doctor watched as Rory picked up Rose's wrist and held her pulse point like a habit. "Different than your average coma." He replied, appreciating in some small way the automatic care this virtual stranger showed his mate.

"Is she human?" Rory asked, brow furrowing.

"Mostly. Why?" The Doctor asked.

"Her heart rate is just a touch faster than I would expect." Rory replied, letting Rose's wrist go.

The Doctor bowed his head. "She's in pain at the moment, healing from an unexpected trauma."

"How long's she been …?"

"Four or five days, roughly."

"Not terrible then. Not, like, years or something."

He looked at Rory, half reaching for his time lines as he studied the man beside him. He was important, as was Amy, but most importantly they were more so together. He could never see Rose's time line because it had been destined to become one with his own for eternity. But looking at how Rory's and Amy's should go, he'd imagine theirs would look about the same. Strong, bright, needed, and dangerous to the Universe should it have never converged.

"No, not years." The Doctor said, placing a kiss on Rose's forehead before turning back to Rory. "But that's enough of my wife, let's get back to yours. Or at least your almost wife, your bride to be. What do you say to Venice?"

~DWDWDW~

She wasn't sure how long she remained in the searing pain with so few breaks. Hours, days, years, she didn't really know. But from the moment the Doctor had finished his regeneration, Rose felt the second consequence her alterations created washing over her. A woman could stop herself from aging beyond that of thirty, but she would have to sacrifice the possibility of baring children with the man she wanted to spend forever with. And she could tie her life to his, die in time with him, but when he changed she would suffer pain as a reminder that she was not meant to last that long. But one thing she didn't see as Bad Wolf was how long he'd have held off his regeneration.

The burn he endured was echoing in her mind, and with every second he held it back she endured the same pain for ten times longer. Her mind did catch brief snippets of relief, and she got to feel the mind of this new Doctor against hers. She heard him tell her about his day, feel the care he took in bathing her and ensuring her comfort. She could send him brief reassurances, and as time went on, the pain in Rose's head receded for longer periods where she could connect with her husband again. But her body needed to heal from the burn his exploding energy caused, from the way her mind felt as though the vortex was in it again while the huons shifted and resettled. Rose knew she'd get back to him, sooner than they'd both realize, losing hardly any time at all when they could live for thousands of years.

So Rose drifted back to the burning pain, knowing it would be over soon, that she wouldn't really remember it. Like child birth, or at least the stories she was told since she'd never experienced it herself. She'd forget the pain so she wouldn't fear the following, inevitable regenerations as there would simply be a new man on the other side ready for her to love and whom already loved her unconditionally.

A/N: Guys ... it's happening really soon. Like, next post.

Thank you all to the readers, favoriters, followers, and especially the reviewers who still left word despite the wonderful glitch we had for the last week.

Antisocial Me, WaitingformyDoctorintheTardis, Cupcakeflake, PanoramaGirl, LaughingLadyBug, Nyx MG, micbb, pyro-pixiechik (glad to help make a bad day better), shadowneko003, debygobel, Loca8892, ErtheChilde, Alittlemorecreative, Nayru Von Karma, TheKichenMistress, and Insane-Bookworm-4ever.

Sorry it's short. There may be a bit more shorter chapters here and there as sort of interludes that don't fit with a chapter.

Anyway, next post will be Saturday or Sunday. Until then.