Chapter 5

Pond in Pond

'Doctor, what is it?'

'Hmmm...?' The Doctor looked up from the burn 'I.. I don't know, Rory, I really don't..' he scratched his head, thoughtfully. 'We have to get to a river, she needs water, severely dehydrated by the look of things.' Musing like this, he bent close to examine the burn better.

'Doctor!' Rory said impatiently and, adjusting Amy's position on his shoulder, he staggered onward along the road.
'O right!' said The Doctor and scurried after him.

About an hour later, and there was no sign of water, and Rory was beginning to understand how frustrating something infinitely big felt. The irritation on Amy's arm was spreading to the rest of her, and Rory would have ran, but he found when he tried, he almost fell over. The Doctor was silent, either pondering or sulking, Rory wasn't sure.

Suddenly, they rounded a corner. And there the path split into two. The Doctor stopped and looked up.

'What on Earth?' cried Rory gaping.

'We're not on Earth, Rory, remember that'.

'How is this possible?'

'Its not..' The Doctor scanned both routes, looked at the screwdriver. 'Well, apparently it is.'

'Okay, which one then?'

'Ermm..' The Doctor picked up a stone and threw it into the path to their right. It fell with a thump a few feet away. 'It looks real, at least.. But it can't be!'

After a while, of standing looking indecisive, The Doctor inhaled deeply and step towards the trail in front.

'No, wait... err...

umm...

this one...

no, that's not right...

err...

hmm-'

'O come on, Doctor! This way then!' Rory marched off down the route directly in front of them.

Presently, The Doctor caught up with him and said, rather humbly, 'Rory?'

'Yes!'

'Are you angry with me?'

'Yes, you could say that!'

'Why?'

There was a silence.

'You could have offered to help carry her!'

'Okay then, I'll carry her'

'You mean it?'

'Of course I do'

'Fine then!'

Promptly, and with some difficulty, Rory managed slide Amy onto The Doctor's shoulders. He almost buckled under the weight.

'Rassilon!, what have you been eating? Rocks?' he muttered as he staggered hither and thither all over the path, nearly falling into a tree.

Rory stood a rock a few feet away, staring. Presently, The Doctor joined him, panting, finally having managed to stabilize his weight. 'Here,' he breathed, taking his screwdriver out of his pocket, 'In case I fall on i-'

Then he saw what Rory had been gaping at.

They were standing on the edge of a low cliff. Over the path below, and in the beginnings of the trees on the left hand side, there was a pool of shining gold. It stretched on as far as the eye could see. From the right, there was a crashing noise like water on stones, but they could see nothing.

Slowly, The Doctor put Amy down and crept forward to the rippling gold surface, and dropped a rock onto its surface. There was a large splash and the spell broke! The unsettled water turned from gold to a cold blue-black.

'I wonder what sort of fish live in there..' mused The Doctor. Then he looked back up at the cliff.

'Hey, Rory!' he exclaimed 'you're not standing on a cliff! Its a meteor! Blocking the path, it probably crashed here sometime after this path was put here!' He bent down and examined the ground around the huge boulder.

'Rory?'

'Yes?'

'Drop Amy in will you?'

'What- No!'

'Rory, trust me!'

'But she's out cold, she'll drown!'

'Trust me!'

The Doctor heard the splash and the scream. Smiling, he turned around to face a drenched and bedraggled Amelia.

'Welcome back, Pond'

'Rory! did you drop me!'

'He told me to!'

While Amy fumed, The Doctor scanned her up and down, 5 times to be sure. She seemed, well, normal. The burn had gone. Her skin was pink not red, which was a good sign.

'Come along, Ponds' he said and was about to cross over the water, when he suddenly stopped 'Oh.'

'What, Doctor', Amy asked.

'Any idea how deep this pond is, Pond?'

'Errr.. quite deep I think'.

'O dear. Taller than us?'

'I think so'.

'Could we swim it?' Rory chipped in.

'I don't like the idea of going into a river without knowing however wide it is'.

'hmm...'

'We'll just have to see if we can find a crossing, won't we?' said The Doctor brightly.

And off he went along the bank.

The Doctor sauntered along, as if he were strolling down a high street. But inside, his mind was calculating. An annoying little voice in his head said What was he thinking? What sort of crossing was he expecting for a river that was probably infinitely wide? O shut up! he told himself, I never liked you anyway. The feelings mutual, it said. Wouldn't that make it a sea? said a pondering, questioning and frankly, pestering voice. Why am I even thinking about that? He asked.

Suddenly the voices stopped. There, in front of him, was the wreckage of an aeroplane.