Chapter 14- When in Rome
"Amy," Rory called out as he quickly sat up breathing heavily. His hand instinctively went to his chest to feel the wound that had been there only moments before. Except for the cold sweat he was covered in though, there was nothing there. The Doctor must have found a way to save him. Looking around though, it didn't look like he was in the TARDIS. He was currently on some sort of army cot in what appeared to be a tent. He could see the outline of people outside illuminated by various campfires. Rory started to panic thinking he was still in the Silurian cave.
He quickly got out of bed looking for his stuff trying to remember how he got there. His last memory was staring up at Amy after being shot by the Silurian soldier. Did they leave him behind? Did the Silurian's revive him? There was something else at the edge of his memory, but he kept shoving it to the side trying to concentrate on what to do now. He definitely wasn't in the TARDIS as the ground was covered in soil. He was afraid to call out in case it attracted the Silurian's attention.
Rory couldn't find his clothes, but did find some sort of armor. He couldn't quite make it out in the low light, but it didn't look like it was the Silurian's. "All right, calm down. You need to see where you are," he told himself attempting to calm down a bit. He took a breath as he slowly crept to the opening of the tent. He quickly poked his head out of the opening.
His breath caught in his throat at what he saw. Outside of his tent was what appeared to be a full Roman legion. Falling backwards back into the tent, his mind was suddenly flooded with the new memories he had felt earlier.
He remembered that his name wasn't Rory at all it was Nasica. He was born in a small province outside of Rome. He lived a solitary life until he joined the Roman military, fighting his way to the position of Primus pilus. It had been a great honor and made his parents proud. His legion was currently tasked to help secure certain parts of Britain, as the battle against some of the natives was not going well. He could remember his entire life here, a life without the Doctor, without Amy.
Rory started to panic even more as he asked himself what was going on. He had to find Amy and the Doctor. They would know how to get rid of these extra memories he had. He decided to risk going outside among the soldiers. If he had new memories, maybe everyone else here did too. Confident he wasn't under any kind of arrest, Rory thought it was safe to light the lamp next to his bed. He then quickly got dressed in the Roman armor that he had found, ignoring the fact that he knew exactly how to put it on. His only goal was to find his friend and fiancé.
Once he was ready he marched out of his tent and started surveying the camp. "Primus," two soldiers said saluting as they passed him. Rory simply nodded at them as they continued on their way. "This is going to work," Rory whispered to himself. He ventured into the camp unsure of where to start. It quickly became obvious that Rory was correct. Many of the soldiers seemed to know him, and all of them were aware of his rank.
Rory decided to use his superior rank to his advantage as he started to question the various lookouts. He decided to keep the questions as vague as possible though. He was afraid that if someone knew the truth, it might cause some problems. So he stuck to asking about a strange blue box, a red-haired girl, or a madman who called himself the Doctor. Unfortunately no one had seen anything of the sort, although a few of the men had words about wanting to see a red-haired girl. The closest he had gotten was when one of the Pilus' brought him a field medic.
Rory spent several hours circling the camp unsuccessfully before heading back to his tent. He had found nothing, not even a clue as to their whereabouts. He went back inside his tent and sat down on the cot feeling defeated. A stray thought crossed his mind that his other life was simply a dream. As he had wandered through the camp he remembered more of his life here. Most of the men looked up to him, as it was rare for a village boy to attain the rank of Primus pilus. It had been an honored life, one that he was very happy to have.
Rory took a large sigh as he rested his head in hands. As he closed his eyes, he could see Amy looking down at him as he was lying there dying, tears in her eyes. He felt the warmth of her hand on his face as she brushed it. She then reached for his hands, squeezing them so tight as if she could hold onto his life for him.
"No," Rory told himself shooting upright. The emotions were so real, that it couldn't have been a dream. That meant he would never stop looking for her, because he was sure Amy would not stop looking for him.
Rory began pacing in his tent trying to figure out what his next move would be. His first thought was to leave the camp. If he were caught deserting though, they would hunt him down and execute him. Rory didn't know where to start looking either. Until he had something real to go on, he would play his part. This was after all a fake; maybe he could learn something by staying with the Romans. He had to be here for a reason.
Rory slowly removed his armor and returned to his cot. He refused to forget that his life in Leadworth was the real one. He went to sleep holding Amy's memory in his head as he would every night until he found her.
Something had changed but Rory couldn't figure out what it was. The past month had been difficult. He had two sets of memories fighting in his head and his survival depended on relying on the Roman ones more. He had started a ritual where every night he would spend some time alone reliving his life in Leadworth and with Amy. It was mostly effective as he had yet to forget them, but every night it was getting harder and harder to remember all the details.
Still he continued to look for them though. Every day he made sure that the reports from the fronts went through him before proceeding to the Legatus. He would scan them for any clues or hints that the Doctor had been sighted. Every day he had been disappointed.
The Legatus had misread Rory's actions as initiative and decided to bring him along to tour two other nearby legions. Rory originally protested because he wouldn't be able to receive reports while traveling. When the Legatus firmly insisted, he realized he had no choice though.
Luckily the time passed quickly as not much was asked of him. He was able to concentrate on his former life while simply observing the Legatus' inspection. He had woken up this morning with a pit in his stomach though. It was the last day of their journey, so he should have been happy, but he wasn't. The Legatus had seen the concern on his face and questioned him if anything was wrong.
"I'm sorry sir," Rory said trying to figure out what he could tell his commander. "I am just missing home. This is the longest I've been away without a visit."
"I can understand that," the Legatus answered surprisingly sympathetically. "Stay strong Nasica. Remember that this is what you fought for. When I found out some village boy fought his way up to Primus, I requested him specifically for my unit. I told myself that there is a soldier who will never let you down."
"Thank you sir."
"I've also noticed that lately you have been looking for something. Is this something I should know about?"
"Sorry sir," Rory said slightly panicking. If he knew the full truth, Rory would be in serious trouble, even if they didn't believe him. Rory remembered all the rumors that had floated among the men lately. They had been stationed close to Stonehenge, which had made the men pretty superstitious. He decided to use that, "It's just that a while back sir, I thought I saw something strange. It was in the woods. I didn't want to bother you with it because it was most likely nothing. Especially with all of the talk among the men, I didn't want to spook them."
"Wise choice," the Legatus said looking as if he was debating something in his head. "Keep your search up and notify me if you find anything. But keep this under wraps of course. It's probably nothing, but I trust your judgment. We should be ready if anything is occurring in the woods around us."
"Yes sir," Rory answered feeling relieved that he wouldn't have to hide his search from his commander anymore. Something still felt strange though. He shook the feeling off thinking there was nothing he could do about it at the moment.
A few hours later they had returned to their camp. One of the guards quickly came up to the Legatus whispering in his ear causing him to quickly rush off. Rory stood there watching them go as another soldier took care of the group's horses.
"Primus," he heard someone call. As Rory turned to the voice he saw one of the friends he had made while in the legion. It was one of his Pilus' Cilo. He was jogging to his position waving his hand.
"Cilo," Rory responded nodding. "How has the camp been doing?"
"Have you not heard, Nasica?" he said putting his arm around Rory pulling him closer. "Cleopatra has come to the camp and summoned Caesar himself."
Rory was in shock, "What are you talking about Cilo?" Rory took a second trying to remember his history classes. "They are both dead. They have been for over a hundred years."
Cilo looked a bit confused. His eyes clouded over a bit as he responded in the negative, "No Nasica, they still live, and they are here. She showed up right after you and the Legatus left. Then just today Caesar himself along with a red-haired girl strolled into camp."
Rory froze at Cilo's comment. "Red haired girl?" he asked.
"Yes, her clothes seemed strange, but the man was Caesar as I live and breath."
Rory was trying to control his excitement in case it wasn't them. But hope began to grow in his chest. Was this the feeling he woke up with this morning? Was this the day they finally found him? "What was the man, Caesar, wearing?"
"He was as strange as the girl. Some sort of cloth jacket and around his neck was another piece of cloth tied like a flower."
It had to be a bow tie. Rory let his excitement out a bit as he let out a laugh into the night. Cilo looked at him strangely but said nothing.
"Thank you my friend. Thank you so much," he said running off towards the Legatus' tent. That must have been the news he had been told upon arrival. Rory had to find them first, convince the Legatus they meant no harm. As he approached the tent, he heard what was unmistakably a laser blast. He slowly crept to the side of the tent trying to see what was happening.
"A fool would say the work of the Gods," he heard a woman inside explaining. "But you've been a soldier too long to believe there are Gods watching over us, she continued. Rory found the opening and saw a woman in a white coat holding a blaster. "There is, however a man. And tonight he's going to need your help."
The man she spoke of must have been the Doctor. He needed to intercede, "Sir?" Rory called out to the Legatus.
"One moment," he told the woman as approached Rory.
"What is it Nasica?"
"What we spoke of earlier sir. I believe I know the man she speaks of. I'll help." Rory spoke quickly trying to convince his Legatus.
He turned to look at the woman, "Well, it seems you have a volunteer."
The woman looked over to Rory before holstering her weapon. "Thank you."
"Don't thank me, thank my Primus, Nasica." he signaled for Rory to enter. "Nasica, I give you permission to gather some men and head out to Stonehenge. Volunteers only, I will not have anyone ordered on this fools errand. As soon as you are aware of what is in the sky you will report back so we can prepare an appropriate response. Is this clear?"
"Yes, sir."
"You Madame," the Legatus said motioning towards the woman again, "Shall wait outside of the camp under guard. I will not allow you to mesmerize any more of my soldiers. Nasica will meet you when he is ready."
"Fine, I can be patient," she answered. Looking towards Rory she added, "Don't keep me waiting too long sweetie." At this she turned around and was escorted out of the tent.
"Thank you for the leniency sir."
"Of course, I need to know what the hell is in these skies."
Rory saluted as he turned and left the tent to gather volunteers. He wanted to leave immediately but if the Doctor had asked for soldiers he was going to do the best he could to accommodate that. He was so close to seeing Amy again, he would only have to wait a bit longer.
"This box needs a guard, I killed the last one," Rory said staring at the Pandorica.
"No Rory, no. Don't even think about it." the Doctor said starting to pace away from the box.
"She'll be all alone."
"She won't feel it," the Doctor answered.
"You bet she won't," Rory shot back. He had promised Amy that no matter what, she would never be alone again. Even if she didn't know he was there, he couldn't break that promise.
"2,000 years, Rory. You won't even sleep," the Doctor said trying to reason with his friend. "You'd be conscious every second. It would drive you mad."
The Doctor had a point as he always did, but Rory had one simple question, "Will she be safer if I stay?" He turned to the Doctor and took a step towards him, "Look me in the eye and tell me she wouldn't be safer."
"Rory, you-" the Doctor said weakly.
"Answer me," he yelled back.
"Yes. Obviously." The Doctor answered.
"Then how could I leave her?" Rory asked looking back at the box that contained the woman he loved.
The Doctor let out a little laugh, "Why do you have to be so…human?"
"Because right now, I'm not," Rory said as he walked to gather his items.
The Doctor watched him feeling prouder than ever. If he ever had any doubts of why he protected and believed in the human race they were silenced in this moment. He brought up Rivers vortex manipulator and started to program it as he spoke to Rory, "Listen to me. This is the last bit of advice you're going to get in a very long time. You're living plastic, but you're not immortal. I have no idea how long you will last. And you're not indestructible. Stay away from heat and radio signals, when they come along."
"You can't heal or repair yourself, any damage is permanent. So for God's sake, however bored you get, stay out of-" the Doctor didn't finish as he activated the vortex manipulator. The Doctor was with Amy now, he was sure of it. Rory drew his sword and sat on the edge of the Pandorica, beginning his long vigil.
As he sat there, he quickly realized the enormity of what he had taken on. He promised himself that he would do everything he could to keep Amy safe though. He was probably okay for a few years, but if his memory was correct, things would be getting hairy for the Roman Empire fairly soon. He was only one man and wouldn't be able to keep entire armies away. He would figure out something though. Rory closed his eyes and he could see Amy smiling. Neither of them would be alone since they had each other. That's how he would make it.
A/N- Thanks for all the follows and reviews everyone.
This chapter originally didn't have Rory finding River, but reviewing the two sections, I really found it missed that part of his journey. I wanted to add a bit to show how hard it was for him while he was waiting for them. Rory's Roman name is also a fun little aside if you want to look it up. I also wanted to create a sense of longing in these chapters. Hopefully with the thoughts of Amy and the death scene that came through. I also wanted to show that the Roman life she created for him was a good one. A small little comment on her feelings for him. Also that she kept him single. haha
Hope you enjoy!