Rory didn't know a lot about romance, but at least he knew how to dance. He cringed as he remembered his mum dragging his 14-year-old self to her ballroom dancing lessons. His parents split up when he was little, so his mum didn't have a partner like all the other couples there. She'd forced him to join her every week. His school friends had never let him forget it, Amy in particular. It'd been one of the reasons she thought he was gay for so long. Rory had never thought he would have to use what he'd learnt, but now he silently thanked his mother for torturing him all those years ago. It had been worth it, apparently, in the end.

He spun Mary around the floor like a dervish, her blue skirt billowing. Rory expertly steered her through the throng so they didn't knock into the other dancers. People stared as they careered past, her peals of tinkling laughter filling the air. They whirled and whirled until Mary patted his chest and gasped, "Stop, stop…!" through her laughter. They staggered off the dance floor, slightly dizzy, and fell into the same chairs they'd been sitting in before, panting a little. "You, sir, are a surprise," she smiled.

Rory grabbed two glasses of champagne from a waiter and handed one to Mary. "You don't know the half of it – see my friend over there?" He waved his glass in Amy and the Doctor's general direction.

"Your fiancée?"

"Nah, the weird guy standing next to her."

"The one with the tweed coat and – what exactly is that thing he's holding?"

"Yes, him. His name's the Doctor. And that's his sonic screwdriver." Rory rolled his eyes. "Don't even ask."

"What's so surprising about him?"

"He's a sort of… detective. And a scientist. But stranger. I don't know how to explain him." Rory gulped from his drink. Mary looked at him with her blue eyes. "Can you try to, though?"

"What?"

"Try to explain him. He looks interesting to me. And he must be something important if you're so jealous of him. And you are jealous, aren't you?" It was more of a statement than a question.

"He's nothing important, it's just sometimes him and Amy… she likes him a lot, I think."

"Go on then, tell me about him! What does he do? He looks so interesting and – "

"He's not interesting, Mary. I shouldn't tell you anything about him."

"Pleeeeeeeeeease…?"

"No, OK? He's nobody. OK?"

Mary swallowed and looked away from him. "Fine. I don't care anyway." Rory turned to look at her and saw the hurt in her eyes. "Hey… hey. I'm sorry. I just don't really want to talk about him. I'd much rather talk about you." He put his hand on top of hers and squeezed, just like he would to Amy if she was upset. She looked down at their hands and smiled.

"I'd rather talk about you. Tell me about you. How old are you? What do you do? I bet you're more interesting than the Doctor ever will be. Cuter, too."

Rory grinned. "I doubt it. But thanks." He launched into his life story, hoping as he went that she wouldn't catch the differences between his life in the twenty-first century and the realities of life in the nineteenth. He laced his fingers between hers.

He liked how she looked at him. For now, Amy didn't matter so much.

Amy was bored, and on her second glass of champagne. She sat by the wall, fiddling with her necklace and frowning at Rory, who was dancing on the other side of the room with some blonde girl. He looked like he was having fun. It wasn't fair, he never danced with her like that. They only ever danced at nightclubs and parties, and all that ever involved was jumping up and down. And the Macarena. They frequently danced the Macarena.

How long had it taken him to make a friend? Half an hour? Maybe an hour? And here she was, stuck with the Doctor. She looked over at him and quickly looked away, embarrassed. He was putting his ear to the wall, listening for God knows what. She loved him, but this was a party, and she wanted to have fun. Like Rory. She wished she could go over and dance with him, but he looked preoccupied with that girl. Who was that, anyway? Who did Rory think he was, dancing with another girl? She found herself bubbling up with jealousy.

Hm.

She stood up, leaving her empty champagne glass behind, and walked past the Doctor over to a group of fine, wealthy women chatting with their balding, middle-aged husbands.

"Good evening ladies, good evening gentlemen," she did a small curtsey. "I was just wondering, see that woman over there, dancing, the blonde one? Do you know who she is?"

The women gaped at her in derision. "How dare you interrupt us, young lady?" The eldest, most haughty-looking one squawked, "We do not even know you! How very rude. Get out of my sight!" Amy rolled her eyes and strode away, swiping another glass of champagne as she went. These old-fashioned manners were wearing her thin.

She walked slowly around the circumference of the room, the bratty socialites already drunkenly forgotten. She eyed Rory and the girl, who had finished dancing and collapsed into their chairs, and harrumphed under her breath. Suddenly, she felt somebody standing behind her, and turned to see the husband of the rude woman who had shooed her away. He was a rotund, cheerful-looking, middle-aged man that reminded her of her favourite uncle. "I'm sorry about my wife, missy, she means well," he said with a wide smile. Amy looked him over and frowned. "What do you want?"

"I thought you wanted to know about that blonde woman. I think I know who she is, missy."

Amy stared and the man motioned her over to the seats by the wall. "It doesn't really make sense to me," he whispered, "But she looks just like someone I once knew, a long time ago…" he hesitated. "Maybe I shouldn't tell you. She was a… prostitute. Her name was Mary. But listen, missy, this was a twenty years ago. She should be my age by now. Maybe it's her daughter. But she looks so similar… it doesn't make sense. And why would she be here, how could she be here…?" He trailed off.

Amy suppressed a giggle. In her drunken state the man just seemed silly. A whore, at this party? He couldn't be more ridiculous. And old people didn't look that pretty. They just didn't. But she didn't really care who the girl was anyway, when it came down to it. Know what? she thought to herself, if Rory wants to be with someone else tonight, I'm going to be with someone else tonight.

Amy thanked the man vaguely and walked over to the Doctor, who was talking intently with a waiter. She tapped him on the shoulder, and when he turned to look at her she wrapped her arms around his neck. "So. Have we found them yet, sweetie?" She stumbled over the last word and flashed him a lopsided, tipsy smile. "No, but I did find out that the waiter I was talking to has a big crush on Lord Melbourne," he replied.

She giggled and cinched her arms tighter around him. "You should take a break from looking, Doctor. Spend some time with me." She pressed her forehead against his. "Come on. We can dance if you want to." He pulled his head back to look into her eyes, a furrow inching across his brow. "Amy… is something wrong?" he murmured in genuine concern. "You're acting very strange."

"No, Doctor, nothing's wrong. I just want you to pay attention to me. I'm a bit bored." She batted her eyelashes up at him. "Come on, just one dance?" She grabbed his arm and tried to pull him towards the floor, but he pulled her back. "Amy, I'm not going to dance with you, not here. Rory wouldn't like it," he frowned. Amy let go of his arm and glared at him. "Fine, I'll find somebody else to dance with. Who cares about you?" she stomped off in a huff. There were a hundred attractive bachelors here, she didn't need the Doctor. More champagne, she declared to herself.

"You are so funny!" Mary laughed at Rory's joke, he suspected more out of pity than anything else. "Please excuse me, though, I have to powder my nose. Hold my champagne?" She smiled at him as she stood and walked towards the ladies'. Rory was left to sit alone for a minute and survey the ball. Something dropped in his stomach when he looked around and spotted Amy with her arms around the Doctor, foreheads pressed together. He clenched his fists around the champagne glasses and quickly looked away, not wanting to see any more. He knew that they liked each other, but he never would have thought that they would actually do anything. He couldn't believe Amy. He could handle the constant flirting, but it was obvious now that she and the Doctor had been going behind his back. Had they been kissing just now? He reckoned so. Rory burned with jealousy.

Wallowing in his own misfortune, he barely noticed that Mary had come back from the bathroom. "Ro-ryyyyy?" She waved a hand in front of his face, making him jump. He grinned up at her. "Hello," he said, an idea crossing his mind. If he left the party with Mary and didn't come back to the TARDIS until morning, it would give Amy a shock. She would worry herself sick if she thought he was with another woman. Maybe it would bring her back to Earth, with him. And it wasn't like he would ever actually sleep with another woman or anything – he wasn't a total bastard. All he had to do was make her think that he was off sleeping with Mary. It was worth a try.

"Mary," he stood up and took her hand, "How about we go and explore a bit? This party's dull and I'm sure there are some nice rooms around this palace that nobody's appreciated in a while." Her eyes twinkled mischievously. "All right, sweetheart. We might get in trouble…" she leaned in and whispered in his ear, "But I'm up for it if you are." He grinned and tugged her away, leading her out a side door. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure nobody important had seen them, and nobody had – nobody except Amy, standing alone in a corner with a glass of champagne, a stunned look of hurt painted across her face. Rory's eyes met hers and he felt a flash of guilt, but determinedly pushed it away. He had to stick with the plan, he told himself, but he paused in the doorway and looked at her for a second. She was beautiful. But Mary tugged urgently on his sleeve, and he ripped his gaze from Amy and hurried out after her.

He shut the door behind them with a click.

Sorry for the slow update. More coming soon. Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Reviews are always more than welcome.