I'm late and for that I apologize. Where I am, it is Christmas already. I will try to have the next chapter up before the Christmas special but I will be at my brother's for Christmas lunch and we traditionally stay the day over there. If I'm late again, I'm late again, but won't say any spoilers regarding DW&W.

Back to a short chapter again, but this one sets up some very important stuff. I can assure you, having previewed it, that the next chapter is twice as long.

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Chapter 5

Blood. Screams. Cries. Repeated, grating shouts of "Exterminate!"

Burning, everything and everyone burning.

Including himself, burning bright gold…

With a sudden jerk, Rory was jolted awake. Breathing heavily, hearts pumping, he simply laid there, Amy's red hair splashed across his pale chest. On the ceiling, stars danced and twinkled. Two stood out from the rest. The first was big and red. The second was smaller and blue. Gallifrey and Earth. The planet where the Doctor was from and the one the Doctor chose to belong to. The one that had been erased from the universe, and the one that would exist for millennia more.

The nightmares fading from his mind, Rory sighed. He felt caught. On the one hand, he was more than Rory now; he was Rory the Time Lord. On the other, he had spent nearly 2,000 years as a plastic man waiting for Amy and wasn't about to take the feel of real skin for granted.

But when he closed his eyes and let his mind wander, he saw so much. He didn't remember a lot of it, but it was still pretty cool. If he focused on someone in history, his mind provided the info on that person. Idly, he wondered who in history would be interesting to pop in on. He could visit any time, any planet, any where he liked.

Amy stirred, opening her eyes. "Hey."

"Hey," he replied.

She snuggled closer. "So, where are we heading now?"

Rory thought, letting the information flow through him. "The Eye of Orion is pretty calm this time of year. Maybe we can have a picnic lunch there."

"Sounds good."

She slipped out of the bed, throwing the nightgown back on as she did.

"See you in a few."

As Rory sat up, a sharp pain shot through his head.

"Ow!"

Amy poked her head back in. "You all right?"

"Yeah. F-fine." It was gone just as quickly as it had come. "Right behind you."

She shrugged and left. Rattled, he scrambled to dress and was promptly out of the room in just a few minutes.

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Quietly, Amy reentered the main console room. The Doctor was flicking switches and turning gears. She paused as he glanced up at the screen. It was displaying Rory's information again. She opened her mouth to ask the Doctor if they had landed yet when she heard him muttering and withdrew from sight.

"-thought I made sure she wouldn't ever want to come back. Hah, Rory Williams. What would you have done if you had lived for Amy to choose you, eh? Worked as a nurse, gotten married to her, had a bunch of kids, and lived in boring old Leadworth until you both died."

She heard him flipping a few switches.

"Well, I wouldn't have it. Checked you out before I came back. Good thing, too, made me make sure I wouldn't overshoot that trial run. And all I had to do to secure her was put the TARDIS in a street long enough for him to run into, then vanish. Poof."

She closed her eyes and covered her mouth in horror. The Doctor had…had basically murdered Rory. Without her parents and without Rory, she would have no ties to Earth.

Carefully, she schooled her face into a neutral expression, then stepped back into the console room.

"So, have we landed yet?" Her voice was cheery, but a bit forced.

"Sure have, we're in London, England, early 2012. They're getting ready for the Olympics, so there will be quite a lot of excitement going on out there. Arrived way before the last time I was here, so no chance of running into myself."

He grinned at her. She managed to force out a smile, trying to ignore the sudden pounding in her head.

"Well, then, let's go!"

She took off. The Doctor hesitated, before wiping the screens and, this time, deleting the file.

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The Doctor decided that he was definitely living a better life here. He had Gallifrey, he had his people, and, best of all, he had River Song. No spoilers. The only problem was a slight headache he seemed to be developing. It was probably due to an overload of information, he decided.

He found here that he had had several children with River. They were mostly grown now, following different paths. Most were Time Lords, with their own titles. One had opted for a normal life, living in what was considered rural on Gallifrey. He had seen his granddaughter Susan sketching the plans for the latest TARDIS model.

"Whatever happened to the old Type-40s?" he wondered aloud.

Susan looked up at him from her work. "All of those were decommissioned and destroyed, Grandfather."

"What about…?" he trailed off, uncertain of how this timeline had unfolded.

"Oh, the one that took a shine to you when we sneaked in the lot and the guards caught us? I think that one was also destroyed."

His hearts panged at the thought of losing the Old Girl. But as he stared up at the night sky, hearing grandchildren and great-grandchildren play in the house, hearing River laugh, untainted by Kovarian and the Silence, he could not help but want to stay in this place.

Forever.

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And now the Doctor is locked into his fantasy. Who will escape first, Rory or Amy? Find out tomorrow!

And only 4 reviews? I'm a bit sad. I do read the reviews and find them to be encouraging and uplifting. I actually considered not posting this story here once, but seeing if it could be submitted to the BBC instead. If someone knows of a way an American can submit an idea to the Moff and crew, let me know, ok? Won't stop me from posting to the end, of that I can assure you.

Ta!