Amy's Choice (Part 2)
"Evy!" the Doctor shouted, trying to wake her, "Evy! Evy wake up!"
"Amazing isn't it?" the Dream Lord remarked, looking at Amy, "How quickly his focus shifts from what's going on, from the danger around him, to her when she's in trouble."
"Wake her up," the Doctor glared at the Dream Lord as he held Evy in his arms, "You wake her up right now!"
"Why should I?"
"You can't leave her like this."
"And why not?" he raised an eyebrow.
"Because I know who you are," the Doctor's jaw tensed.
"Course you don't."
"Course I do. No idea how you can be here, but there's only one person in the Universe who hates me as much as you do."
The Dream Lord frowned and glanced over the Doctor's shoulder, "Never mind me! Maybe you SHOULD worry about them."
They looked over to see the elderly of the village advancing. They looked over to the Dream Lord, to see he was gone, and back to the elderly.
"Hi…" Rory began as the Doctor picked Evy up into his arms, her head lulling to fall on his chest.
"Hello," the Doctor looked over at Mrs. Poggit, "We were wondering where you went. To get reinforcements! Are you alright? You look a bit tense."
"Hello, Mr. Nainby!" Rory tried, taking a step towards an elderly man.
"Rory..." the Doctor warned.
"Mr. Nainby ran the sweet shop. He used to slip me the odd free toffee…" Mr. Nainby lifted him by the collar of his shirt with one hand, "Did I not say thank you?" and threw Rory backwards into the mud, "How did he do that?" Rory scrambled to his feet.
"I suspect he's not himself," the Doctor backed up, "Don't get comfortable here. You may have to run…" he looked down at Evy and over to Rory, "Can you take her? If it comes to that?" he looked at Rory, "I'll buy you as much time as I can, but you've got to take her."
Rory swallowed and nodded, "Yeah, I will."
"Rory…" the Doctor said seriously, looking straight at him, "Keep her safe, she…" he swallowed hard, trying to find the words to describe to Rory how important Evy was to him, "She's to me what Amy is to you."
It didn't even come close.
Rory nodded.
"Can't we just talk to them?" Amy asked as the Doctor passed Evy over into Rory's arms, "There is an eye in her mouth!"
The Doctor spun around to see a green eye sticking out of the mouths of the elderly and flashed the sonic at them, "There's a whole creature inside her. Inside all of them. They've been there for years, living and waiting."
"That is disgusting," Rory grimaced, "They're not going to be peeping out of anywhere else are they?"
Mrs. Poggit leaned forward and shot a green mist at them. Rory moved back quickly, nudging Amy back as well while the Doctor ran in front of them, holding up his arms, "RUN!" he called to them and they ran off. He looked back, waiting till they were far enough away to turn back to the crowd, "Ok, leave them. Talk to me. Talk to me. You are Eknodines, a proud, ancient race, you're better than this. Why are you hiding away here? Why aren't you at home?"
"We were driven from our pl..." Mrs. Poggit began.
"…planet by upstart neighbors."
"So we've..." Mr. Nainby started.
"…been living here inside the bodies of old humans for...years. No wonder they live so long, you're keeping them alive."
"We were humbled and destroyed," Mrs. Poggit continued, "Now we will do the same to others."
"Ok, makes sense, I suppose. Credible enough, could be real."
A man on a bicycle came up alongside the Doctor, "Morning!"
Mrs. Poggit turned and shot the green mist at the man, turning him to dust before the Doctor's eyes.
"You need to leave this planet," he turned to her but she just screeched.
~8~
Amy and Rory raced back to their cottage as fast as a pregnant woman and a man carrying someone could go.
"Wait!" Amy called, resting against a post, "Stop!"
"After all I've done for the over-70s in this village…" Rory muttered, looking back at a group of elderly that had followed them before noticing an old woman waiting at their front door, "Ok, this is crazy…" Rory went over to Amy, gently placing Evy against the post, Amy holding her up a bit, "She loves me, I fixed her depression, she's just a little old lady."
"Mrs. Hammill, we don't understand..." Amy began but Mrs. Hammill opened her mouth to reveal an eye as well.
"I'll deal with this one, Chubs..." Rory called over, "Now..." Mrs. Hammill released the mist and Rory dashed back behind the hedges, picking up a piece of wood, but hesitating as Mrs. Hammill approached, "I can't hit her."
"Whack her!"
Rory winced and swung, knocking the old woman to the ground. He ran over to Amy, picking up Evy, as they ran inside their house. Rory ran through to the sitting room, placing Evy down on their sofa as Amy dead bolted the door and collapsed back onto the stairs.
"We just ran away," Amy began, "We just abandoned the Doctor. Don't ever call me 'chubs' again. We don't see him for years and somehow we don't really connect anymore and then…then he takes the bullet for us…"
"You know the Doctor," Rory mumbled, coming over to stand by her, making sure she was ok, "He's Mr. Cool."
~8~
The Doctor was practically falling over his own two feet as he tried to run down the road from the elderly, fighting the birdsong off as hard as he could. He nearly fell into a butcher's shop, locking the door, and flipping the sign to closed when the Dream Lord appeared.
"Oh, I love a good butcher's don't you?" he asked the Doctor, "We've got to use these places or they'll shut down. But you're probably a vegetarian, you big flop-haired wuss."
The Doctor grabbed a key from a shelf and tried to unlock a door in the back, "Oh, pipe down. I'm busy."
"Maybe you need a little sleep," he smirked, the birdsong returning. The Doctor slipped to the floor, "Oh, wait a moment..." it stopped and he stood, "If you fall asleep here, several dozen angry pensioners will destroy you with their horrible eye things," he ran into the hall behind the counter, his hands covering his ears, "Fingers in the ear? Brilliant! Didn't work for your Link though, did it?" he slid down the wall, "What's next, shouting boo?" the elderly began to enter, "Come in. Come in," they made their way around the counter to him, "Yes, we've got lots at 'steak' here this week. Lots at steak. Get it?" the Doctor's eyes widened as the Dream Lord's words filtered over to him…Evy! He jolted off the floor, grabbing the door for support, "Are these jokes wasted on you?"
He propelled himself down the hall to a freezer door, sliding to the floor as the seniors came closer, "Wait, stop..." he reached into his pocket…
"Oh, I can't watch," the Dream Lord put his hands over his eyes.
The Doctor stood with effort, using the sonic to unlock the door, locking it behind him just as he fell asleep, the seniors on the other side.
~8~
The Doctor woke with a snap on the TARDIS floor, Amy and Rory on either side of him.
"Ah, it's colder," Amy shivered, pulling her blanket closer to her.
"Evy!" the Doctor shouted, looking around, seeing Evy lying against the railing. He ran over to her, pushing her hair back as he stroked her face, "Evy...Evy wake up! We're on the TARDIS, you have to wake up."
But she didn't move.
"Why isn't she waking up?" Rory asked, "She fell asleep in Leadworth didn't she?"
"If she's not here or there…" Amy began slowly, "Where is she?"
The Doctor swallowed, "A different world…a reality just for her I'd imagine."
"But why?"
"The three of us have to agree, now, which is the dream," he said suddenly, cradling Evy in his arms.
"It's this, here," Rory said.
"He could be right," Amy agreed, "The science is all wrong here, burning ice?"
"No, no, no ice can burn, sofas can read, it's a big Universe," the Doctor shook his head, "We have to agree which battle to lose. All of us, now."
"Ok, which world do you think is real?"
"This one."
"No, the other one!" Rory countered.
"Yeah, but are you disagreeing, or competing?" he snapped at him. He wasn't in the mood to argue, he needed to solve this, now, and get Evy back. The only way he could see that happening was if they finished the Dream Lord's challenge.
"Competing over what?" Amy frowned. But the boys didn't pay her any mind. She groaned and got up, walking over to the other blankets on the console.
"There's nothing to compete over Rory," the Doctor said quietly.
Rory glanced over at Amy, "She's nothing?"
"That's not what I meant. I'm not competing, because…" he looked down at Evy, his gaze softening, "I've already got my prize."
Rory looked down at Evy as well.
The Doctor sighed and shook his head, he needed to focus. He checked his watch, "Nine minutes till impact," before gently laying Evy down and standing up.
"What temperature is it?" Amy asked as Rory stood too.
"Outside? Brr. How many noughts have you got? Inside? I don't know but I can't feel my feet."
"Can't we call for help?" Rory asked, holding up the phone.
"Yeah…" the Doctor took it from him, "The Universe is really small, bound to be someone nearby!" he tapped Rory on the head with it before hanging up.
"Put these on, both of you," Amy threw a blanket with a hole cut out at the Doctor but he just took his and knelt down next to Evy, slipping it on her instead. Amy looked away, taking one over to Rory and putting it on him.
"Oh, a poncho," Rory commented, "The biggest crime against fashion since lederhosen."
Amy slipped one of her own over her head as the Doctor made himself another one, "Here we go!" she walked over to Rory as the Doctor came over, "My boys and my girl...my poncho gang. If we're going to die, let's die looking like a Peruvian folk band."
The frozen star loomed closer in the monitor before them.
"We're not going to die," Rory said.
"No, we're not," the Doctor agreed, checking his watch, "But our time's running out. If we fall asleep here, we're in trouble…" he started to pace, "If we could divide up, then we'd have an active presence in each world, but the Dream Lord is switching us between the worlds. Why, why, what's the logic?"
The Dream Lord appeared in a poncho as well, pacing alongside him, "Good idea, veggie, let's divide the last of you three up, so I can have a little chat with our lovely companion. Maybe I'll keep your Link asleep and keep Amy so you can have Pointy Nose to yourself for all eternity, should you manage to clamber aboard some sort of reality."
The birdsong began again, but only Rory and the Doctor seemed able to hear it.
"Can you hear that?" Rory asked.
"What?" Amy looked at him, startled, "No."
"Amy, don't be scared, we'll be back," the Doctor told her before falling to the floor just across from Evy as Rory fell down next to Amy, "Watch over Evy…"
"Rory, Doctor, don't leave me," Amy begged.
"Amy, we're going to have fun aren't we?" the Dream Lord smirked.
"No, please, not alone…"
~8~
Rory woke up on the stairs next to a still sleeping Amy. He glanced into the sitting room to see Evy still on the sofa when there was a sudden crash as the seniors tried to break through the window, trying to get inside. He looked between Evy and Amy before running over to Amy, lifting her under the shoulders and dragging her up the stairs one by one, apologizing for every bump.
He pulled her around the corner and into the nearest doorway, the nursery they'd set up for their child. It was a cheery yellow room, neutral, they wanted it to be a surprise. He set her down in the middle of the room before running down the stairs, back to the sitting room, only to see the seniors had already broken in and two were spraying the mist at Evy who had already started to disintegrate. He ran back up the stairs, unable to do anything but shut the door and lock it by stuffing a chair under the knob. He looked out the window to see the elderly trying to get in the other side of the house, some even surrounding the TARDIS. He fell onto the chair, fidgeting nervously…
The Doctor was not going to like this.
~8~
The Doctor woke suddenly in the freezer, listening to the door as he pushed himself up. He pulled out his sonic screwdriver, flashing it against the door, "Ok, where is it?" the flashing of the sonic quickened and he threw the door open, shooting out the lights, and running through the confusion, out onto the street.
He cut through a yard and came to a different street where an old man was trying to get into a VW bus, a man inside it, trying to close the door.
"Oh, help, somebody!" the man shouted.
"You couldn't live near the shops, could you?" he muttered, racing to the bus. He pushed the senior away and climbed into the driver's seat, "It's ok, it's only me," he turned on the bus and drove through the village, slowing down when he saw two young women surrounded by the elderly as well. The man in the back slid the side door open as the Doctor shouted out to them, "Get in, get in, get in. Quickly, quickly, over here. Quickly, come on, jump in. Quick get in now, quickly. Hurry up," the two women ran alongside the car, jumping in as the man closed the door behind them, "Are we in?" he looked back, only to see a young family when he turned back, cowering by their house while elderly approached them. He stopped, the door opening again, "Come on, let's go, quickly, all four, that's it everyone in!"
As soon as they were in, he was off again.
~8~
Inside the TARDIS Amy sat on the steps, keeping vigil over the Doctor, Rory, and Evy when the Dream Lord appeared beside her.
"Poor Amy," he muttered, "He always leaves you, doesn't he? Alone in the dark. Never apologizes."
"He doesn't have to," she got up and stepped away.
"That's good, because he never will. And now he's left you with me. Spooky old, not-to-be-trusted me," he appeared in a chair, lounging there, now in a robe that showed his chest, "Anything could happen."
"Who are you and what do you want?" Amy turned to face him, "The Doctor knows you, but he's not telling me who you are. And he always does. Takes him awhile sometimes, but he tells me. So you're something different."
"Oh, is that who you think you are?" the Dream Lord laughed, "The one he trusts?"
"Actually, yes."
"The one girl in the Universe to whom the Doctor tells everything?"
"Yes."
"So what's his name?" he smirked, nodding at Evy, "She knows," he disappeared and reappeared in his tweed outfit, standing at the Doctor's feet, "You think he doesn't know? How you feel about Evy? How you dream of replacing her?"
"That's not true."
"I've seen you're dreams Amy," he reminded her, "You can't control how loud you think when you're asleep, and I can read your mind you know, not often, not well, out of practice me, but I can, especially dreams in the TARDIS. This old box operates on a telepathic circuit, shares a psychic link with its pilot, it can't help but amplify your thoughts when you shout them out the way you do in your sleep. In which case...I can hear you. I know you dream of you and the Doctor traveling around in the TARDIS forever. No Evy or Rory to speak of," he knelt by Evy and looked at her softly before glancing at Amy, "Did you like my little gift?"
"Gift?" she frowned, feeling both embarassed and startled that the TARDIS had magnified her dreams to the point where this strange man had been able to see them from somewhere.
"I took her away," he said innocently, "Isn't that what you really dream of? She's gone, in both worlds. Asleep, locked away in a little world of her own."
"Why did you do that?"
"I couldn't take away Rory. You have to pick Amy, between the worlds of the two men in your heart. Rory in the house in Leadworth or the Doctor in the TARDIS in space. But here's a secret…" he leaned in a bit, "They may be in your heart…but Evy…she's the only one in the Doctor's."
Amy looked away as he laughed, "'I want someone to look at me the way you do Evy,'" he mimicked her past words to the Doctor, "You think they don't know it's the Doctor? That you want the Doctor to look at you the way he does Evy."
Amy glared at him.
"You think he would keep you if she didn't want you here?" he asked her again, nodding at Evy's prone form, "The moment she wants you gone, you think he'll put up a fight?"
"Yes," she whispered.
The Dream Lord snorted, "No. She's the one person he would go to the ends of the Universe and back to please. Now…knowing that…which one of these men would you really choose? Look at them. You ran away with a handsome hero even though he already had his damsel. Would you really give him up for a bumbling country doctor who thinks the only thing he needs to be interesting is a ponytail?"
"Stop it!"
"But maybe it's better than loving and losing the Doctor," the Dream Lord remarked, standing, "Pick a world and this nightmare will all be over," he looked down at Rory and the Doctor, "They'll listen to you. It's you they're waiting for. Amy's men. Amy's choice."
And then he disappeared.
Amy bent down beside Rory, straightening his poncho before looking over at the Doctor. She could feel her eyes fill with tears as she looked at him and where he was. Rory was beside her, always beside her, but the Doctor…he was lying across from Evy, his hand outstretched under him, holding Evy's in his own, connected to her even asleep.
She fell back onto the steps, looking away from the Doctor and Evy.
The Dream Lord was wrong…they weren't her men. And she realized, she'd been fooling herself into hoping for something, trying to convince herself it was possible, but…now, looking at them…she realized…
The Doctor always was, and always would be, Evy's.
Not hers.
~8~
The Doctor pulled up to a church, letting everyone out, "Everybody, out, out, out! Into the church, that's right. Don't answer the door," he slammed the door shut and drove off back to the village, towards Amy and Rory's cottage, the bus bouncing violently as he went.
The Dream Lord appeared in the backseat, wearing a racing uniform, "It's make your mind up time in both worlds."
"Bye," the Doctor cut in, "I need to find my friends."
"Friends?" he scoffed, "Is that the right word for the people you acquire? Friends are people you stay in touch with. Your friends never see you again once they've grown up. If it weren't for your Link, you wouldn't have any friends left to keep. But perhaps you prefer it the old way, the old man prefers the company of the young, does he not?"
And then he disappeared
The Doctor's jaw tensed as he pulled up to the cottage, only to see the elderly laying siege to it. He looked around carefully for a way in, "Ok…" he muttered, getting out and ducking behind the bus.
~8~
Rory was sitting on the floor of the nursery, cradling Amy's head in his lap when she woke up.
"How did I get up here?" Amy looked around, startled.
"I carried you. I'm afraid you may experience some bruising."
"Where's Evy and the Doctor?"
"I don't know where the Doctor is…"
"And Evy?" Amy asked.
Rory looked away.
Amy gasped, "No…"
"I don't know how we're going to get out of this. So before something happens to us…I want to do something for you," he turned around and unzipped a bag, taking out a pair of scissors. He reached back and cut off his ponytail.
"I was starting to like it," Amy remarked, tears in her eyes, though he couldn't be sure if it was from finding out Evy was gone in this world or the loss of the hair.
There was a squeaking sound by the window and they looked up in alarm, only to see the Doctor climb in, "It's alright, I had to stop off at the butcher's," he fell to the floor.
"What are we going to do?" Rory asked.
"I don't know. I thought the freezing TARDIS was real but now I'm not so sure…" he trailed off, looking around, "Where's Evy?"
Amy and Rory fell silent.
The Doctor spun around as though, perhaps, he might have missed her somewhere else in the room, "Where is she?" he demanded, "Amy? Rory?"
"They got her…" Rory admitted, getting up.
"What?" he breathed, feeling as though someone had punched him in the gut, "What do you mean they got her?"
"They broke in…" Rory began, unable to look up at him, "I only had enough time to get to one of them and…"
Suddenly he was thrown back, into the wall, the Doctor shoving him there, his arm against Rory's neck, "She's dead?!"
"Doctor!" Amy shrieked, pushing herself up and to Rory's side, trying to push the angry man away.
"You let her get killed!" he nearly spat, "How could you!? She…"
"It was her or Amy," Rory gasped.
The Doctor stumbled back, falling to the ground and scrambling to the other side of the room, wanting to get as far away from Rory as possible.
"She's gone?" he whispered, blinking rapidly, trying to hold back tears.
"I'm sorry…" Rory rubbed his throat as Amy checked his neck.
"No…" he shook his head, "No, no, no, no. She…she can't be."
"I saw it. The gas got her."
"No!" he snapped, "She can't be gone. I…I would have felt it. I should have known…" he shook his head frantically, "This is the dream."
"What?" Amy shook her head, not understanding, "You just said the oth…"
"This is the dream! It has to be."
"What if it's not?" Rory asked.
"Then all the better," he replied darkly.
Amy stared at him in shock, hearing him talk like that was making her stomach squirm…and clench…and hurt…
"I think the baby's starting!" she gasped, falling to the floor.
"Honestly?" Rory asked, dropping to her side as the Doctor just turned to look away from them.
"Would I make it up at a time like this?" Amy snapped at Rory.
"Well, you do have a history of..." he began, but she glared at him, "Being very lovely," Amy cried out as Rory looked at the Doctor, "Why are they so desperate to kill us?"
"They're scared," he replied grimly, "Fear generates savagery."
A piece of garden statuary flew through the left window. Rory jumped up, going to check it out, when Mrs. Poggit appeared, shooting a green mist at him. He fell back with a groan, Amy scrambling to his side as the Doctor just pushed himself up and bashed Mrs. Poggit with a lamp, knocking her off the roof.
"Rory!" Amy called, at his side.
"No!" he gasped, looking at his hand as it started to dissolve into dust, "I'm not ready."
"Stay," Amy begged.
The Doctor looked on in stony silence. Even if this was a dream…losing his Link...losing Evy...he couldn't muster up anything.
Rory looked over at her, tears in his eyes, "Look after our baby," he whispered before he turned to dust.
"No…" Amy gasped, she'd seen it, there in his eyes, magnified by his tears…that look that she'd dreamt of…that look that told he she was someone's world, and now she was about to lose it, "No. Come back," she looked up at the Doctor, "Save him," she pleaded, "You save everyone. You always do. It's what you do."
"Not always," he replied.
"Then what is the point of you?" Amy asked, glaring at him before touching a pile of dust that was Rory. She closed her eyes, taking a breath and pushing herself to her feet as the Doctor watched, "This is the dream. Definitely, this one. Now, if we die here, we wake up, yeah?"
"Unless we just die."
"Either way, this is my only chance of seeing him again. This is the dream."
"How do you know?"
"Because if this is real life, I don't want it. I don't want it."
He nodded, "Now you understand," and with that he turned and walked out of the room, Amy following him. They strode out of the house, the elderly doing nothing to stop them.
"Why aren't they attacking?" Amy asked.
"Either because this is just a dream, or because they know what we're about to do," he replied, walking to the bus. Amy stopped him and held out her hand, "This could be the real world…" he warned her.
"It can't be," she sniffled, "Rory isn't here. I didn't know. I didn't, I didn't, I honestly didn't, till right now. I just want him."
"Good," he said, handing her the keys.
Amy walked around the car to the driver's seat and started it, the Doctor sliding in the passenger's side.
"I love Rory, and I never told him, but now he's gone," was all Amy said before she slammed her foot down on the gas and sped off, smashing through her fence and straight at the front door.
~8~
The Doctor snapped his eyes open, his face covered in frost. He looked over to see Evy there and painstakingly made his way towards her. Amy and Rory woke slowly, Amy reaching forwards to clasp Rory's hand.
"So...you chose this world," the Dream Lord applauded, "Well done. You got it right. And with only seconds left. Fair's fair. Let's warm you up," he walked over to the console and powered it up, "I hope you've enjoyed your little fictions. It all came out of your imagination, so I'll leave you to ponder on that. I have been defeated. I shall withdraw. Farewell."
"Wait!" the Doctor shouted, forcing himself to his knees beside Evy, the Dream Lord turned to face him, "Bring Evy back."
"I don't know what you mean," he smirked.
"Evy's still asleep," the Doctor glared as Amy and Rory began to pick themselves up, "I want her back."
"We don't always get what we want."
"You take me to her, now," he threatened.
"And why should I?" he glared as well.
"I know you, and I know where you've put her," he said, pulling Evy into his lap, "And you know what she's going through…you like her. You said it yourself. You want her as safe as I do…so let me save her."
The Dream Lord eyed him for a long while before they suddenly appeared in a dark corridor.
"Doctor?" Amy breathed, looking down at herself, not pregnant or frozen, "Where are we?"
The Doctor didn't answer as he just strode down the hall.
"We're in a hospital," Rory commented, looking around, it was far too sterile to be something too far from that.
"An institute," the Doctor corrected, heading down to the very last door at the end of the hall, "The Mason Institute."
"The what?" Amy frowned.
"It's a mental institute," Rory shook his head, "One of my mates in college worked there."
"But Doctor why are we here?"
"For Evy," he said, sonicing the heavy door and shoving it open.
A scream reached them.
Someone was screaming.
The Doctor ran into the room, Amy and Rory stopping short at the door at the sight before them.
Evy was lying on the ground, in a short hospital gown, a straight jacket wrapped around her as she curled in on herself. She was crying and screaming and shuddering as though in the most terrible of pain.
The Doctor was knelt at her side, "Evy…" he whispered, reaching forward but she flinched back, shuffling so she was now sitting pressed against the corner.
"Not real," she mumbled, her eyes clenched shut, "It's not real…another trick…it's not real…"
"Evy," he quickly moved to her side, kneeling with a leg on either side of her, "Evy…" he reached out taking her face in his hands.
"Please no…" she whispered, trying to lean away from him, "Not another trick…"
"I'm real Evy," he breathed, "I'm here…I'm really here…"
They could hear his voice breaking as he spoke to her.
"No," she shook her head, "You died…the star…the water and fire…"
She sobbed.
He reached out and placed his forehead on her own, forcing his way into her mind, pushing out the reality the Dream Lord had created. The vile man had forced her back into the day when Donna had created the alternate reality. Locked her inside the feelings the other her had suffered with when his previous incarnation had died in that world. He'd made her think her Link was dead.
"Shh…" he whispered, "Shh, shh, shh…"
Moments later her cries subsided, "Doctor?" she breathed, her voice hoarse.
"I'm here," he reached out and hugged her, Evy burying her face in his neck, crying in joy, "I'm going to get you out of here."
He reached out, scooping her up in his arms, and turning to walk out. Amy and Rory stepped back allowing him to pass, following after him as a bright light filled the room and…
~8~
They were back on the cold TARDIS, all of them half frozen again. Amy and Rory got up off the floor, kneeling as the Doctor hugged Evy tightly to him, relieved to see her awake.
Amy suddenly reached out and hugged Rory to her as well, "Oh!" Rory cried out, a bit startled, but hugged her back, "Oh, right. This is good. I am liking this. Was it something I said?" Amy pulled back, just looking at him, "Can you tell me what it was so I can use it in emergencies? And maybe birthdays."
There was a whirring noise as they looked up to see Evy and the Doctor working the controls, "What are we doing now?" Amy asked
"Blowing up the TARDIS," Evy said.
"What?" Rory's eyes widened.
"Notice how helpful the Dream Lord was?" the Doctor countered, "Ok, there was misinformation, red herrings, malice, and I could have done without the limerick, but he was always very keen to make us choose between dream and reality."
"What are you doing?" Amy scrambled to her feet.
"But…the Dream Lord conceded," Rory looked around, seeing no sign of him, "This isn't the dream!"
"Yes, it is!" Evy replied.
"Stop!" Amy shouted.
"Stars burning cold," the Doctor muttered, shaking his head, "Do me a favor! The Dream Lord has no power over the real world."
"There was only a choice between two dreams," Evy explained, not willing to bring up the third world, as far as she was concerned, it hadn't involved the others, it wasn't meant to be involved in the choice.
"How do you know that?" Amy frowned.
"Because we know who he is," the Doctor said as he and Evy flipped a lever…the TARDIS exploded…
~8~
The Doctor was leaning against the console, holding out his hand for him and Evy to look at something as Amy and Rory came down the steps.
"Any questions?" the Doctor asked.
"What happened?" Rory looked at Evy, "In Mason? Why were you there?"
Evy sighed, "A long time ago I ingested some human medicine that messed up my system…alien biology and all. When the doctors at the hospitals tried to treat it, it just made it worse. I could always hear the Doctor in my mind and the medicine made it impossible to block him out so I started speaking whatever he was saying or doing to relieve the tension in my mind. The doctors thought I was a personality case, sent me off to Mason."
"And the crying?" Amy asked, not wanting to think about the screaming, the pain that had been in Evy's eyes. It was terrible, and she was sure it would be something that would haunt her forever. She never wanted to see Evy like that again.
"A friend of ours had an alternate reality built around her," the Doctor said, knowing how much Evy wouldn't want to talk about it, "In that world, I died before I could meet Evy…and the Link…" he took a breath, ready to explain more about their connection, how deep it went, "When one of us dies, it causes excruciating pain for the other until we find away to…basically end our lives. The Dream Lord tapped into her psyche and trapped her in that experience."
Amy swallowed hard, looking away from Evy and over at the Doctor's hand, "What's that?" she peered at six tiny glittering bits lying there. Now she knew, she never had a chance with the Doctor, and...suprisingly...she didn't feel bitter or angry or even hurt at that. Not anymore. Not after what she'd lost, what she'd gotten back.
"Specks of psychic pollen from the candle meadows of Karass don Slava," Evy smiled, thankful for the change of topic.
"Must have been hanging around for ages," the Doctor concluded, "Fell in the time rotor, heated up and induced a dream state for all of us."
Evy reached out and he gently deposited the specks in her hand. She turned and walked over to the door of the TARDIS, blowing the pollen out into space.
"So that was the Dream Lord then, those little specks?" Rory frowned.
"No, no," the Doctor shook his head as Evy walked back over to him, "No. Sorry, wasn't it obvious? The Dream Lord was me. Psychic pollen, it's a mind parasite. It feeds on everything dark in you. Gives it a voice, turns it against you. I'm 907. It had a lot to go on."
"Why didn't it feed on Evy? Isn't she as old as you?"
"First off Rory," Evy cut in, "Never talk about a girl's age."
He nodded, smiling apologetically.
The Doctor smiled as well, pulling Evy back to rest against him, her back to him, resting his chin on her head, "Evy always just finds a way to make things right…find the good in the bad," he looked down at her, "She's like my own personal moon, lighting up the darkness."
She smiled softly at his play on her name.
"And why didn't it feed on us, too?" Amy asked, looking at her and Rory.
"Darkness in you pair?" he laughed.
"It would've starved to death in an instant," Evy told them.
"We choose our friends with great care. Otherwise Evy's stuck with only my company, and you know how that works out."
"Earache."
"But those things he said about you," Amy frowned, sadness in her eyes, "You don't think any of that's true?"
The Doctor didn't answer.
Evy turned in his arms and looked up at him, "Sometimes he does…but that's why he has me to remind him he's wrong…which I'm about to do, right now," she looked at him seriously, "First off, I love your tawdry quirks, they make me smile and they make me laugh, and I know how much you love it when I do both of those," she smiled as well for good measure, earning a small one from him, "Secondly, both the TARDIS and I will kill you if you dare call her a madcap vehicle again. She is astounding and amazing and the fact that she bounded to you as her pilot can only emphasize how wonderful you are," the TARDIS gave a gently hum as though agreeing, "Thirdly, I rather enjoy your cockamamie hair. Its long enough that I can run my fingers though it and play with it and the color…it reminds me of your last eyes," she fiddled with the hair at the nape of his neck, "Forth, your coat suits you and the bow-tie rather becomes you," she slid her arms down and gave his bow-tie a little tug, straightening it, "Fifth…I actually think he was right about this…" the Doctor frowned, "Purple would be a lovely color for K9, we should call Sarah Jane up and ask her to paint him for us," the Doctor let out a hearty laugh at that, "And finally…the only way I could ever look at you is like I am, right now," he looked at her, feeling his breath catch in his throat at the look of pure love, happiness, and pride shining through her eyes as she smiled softly at him.
He gave her a quick kiss, "I've never been happier to be proven wrong."
Evy nodded, pleased, before turning to Amy, seeing something dawning on Rory's face, "Amy, I think Rory might have a question for you…"
The Doctor grinned and spun the girl to face her fiancé, "And seeing as the answer is about to change his life, we think you should give him your full attention."
Evy gave her a little shove towards Rory as she and the Doctor stepped back to watch.
"Yeah," he nodded, "Actually, yeah."
"There it is!" the Doctor grinned.
"'Cos what I don't get is you blew up the TARDIS, that stopped that dream, the Doctor getting Evy out of Mason stopped the other, but what stopped the Leadworth dream?" Rory turned to Amy.
"We crashed the camper van," Amy said.
"Oh, right, I don't remember that bit."
"No, you weren't there, you were already..."
"Already what?"
"Dead," Amy flinched, "You died in that dream. Mrs. Poggit got you."
"Ok…" he nodded slowly, "But how did you know it was a dream? Before you crashed the van, how did you know you wouldn't just die?"
"I didn't," Amy said quietly.
"Oh!"
"Yeah."
"Oh…" he reached out and took her hand.
"Yeah, 'Oh,'" Amy looked down.
Rory lifted her chin and kissed her while the Doctor and Evy watched with a smile.
"So..." the Doctor asked as Evy applauded, "Well, then, where now? Or should we just pop down to the swimming pool for a few lengths?"
"I don't know," Rory grinned, happy, "Anywhere's good for me. I'm happy anywhere. It's up to Amy this time. Amy's choice."
Amy smiled, "Actually…Evy should pick."
"Me?" Evy asked.
"Yeah. But uh…not right now…all that dream business made me tired."
She yawned and Evy laughed, "You two go take a nap, we'll just fiddle around here."
Amy nodded before she and Rory walked off, hand-in-hand, back to their rooms.
The Doctor looked down at the console, only to see the Dream Lord smiling back up at him in the reflection. He swallowed hard and looked away.
Evy stepped up, taking his hand in her own. He smiled down at her before looking back at his reflection nervously, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw it was himself again.
"You knew," he said, "All along, that both realities were dreams, didn't you?"
"Ever since the Dream Lord mentioned both worlds," she nodded.
"Why didn't you say anything?"
She gave him a soft smile, "Because I know you, there are some things you like figuring out on your own. And I knew you'd figure it out."
"I'm sorry," he said quietly to her, unable to look at her out of shame.
"For what?" she frowned.
"Putting you in that nightmare. Not the Leadworth or the TARDIS one…the…the other one."
"I know why you did it Doctor. You don't need to apologize."
He looked at her sharply, "I put you through hell! How can you not hate me?"
She shook her head, taking him by the hand and pulling him away from the console. She led him through the TARDIS and into their room, wanting a bit of privacy. She turned around to face him, taking his hands in her own as she spoke to him, "All those nightmares, they were you, they were your deepest fear, that you don't deserve love. You forced Amy to pick someone else and you forced me to that cell where I couldn't feel you anymore. You were trying to scare me away. You were trying to push me away. You don't think you deserve my love after everything you've done, with Gallifrey, with Rose, with…Terrin."
He flinched, looking away, but Evy reached up and turned his head to face her, caressing his cheek, "But you forget Theta," she used his name, drawing his attention completely to her, "I know you. I've seen everything you've done. I've lived through everything you have with you. I've seen you at your best, and I've loved you at your worst. Nothing, and I mean nothing, would ever make me hate you," she stared at him, making him see the truth in her eyes, "I have always, and will always, love you."
He looked deeply into her eyes, seeing the truth there as he felt it through the Link, her overwhelming love for him, "I love you too Luna," he told her, stroking her cheek as well, "I will till the end of time and beyond."
She smirked, nodding, "Good," she pulled him into a hug, "Because I'm not going anywhere," she pulled away, her smirk turning into a sly grin, "…and speaking of not going anywhere…" she looked over her shoulder at the door and focused her powers, shutting and locking it. She'd been practicing. It seemed that ever since the strain she'd put on herself during the Midnight incident, small uses of her powers didn't seem to tax her as much.
She turned back to the Doctor, a meaningful look in her eyes as she slowly pushed him back towards their bed, proceeding to kiss him so deeply that his toes curled...
A/N: In my Academic Series, I had it that the Doctor and Professor would never do anything to put the other in true danger, not even in their dreams. Here though, this is a different Doctor. This is the one who lost Rose and didn't have a Time Lady there for him, one who just kept losing people, who suffered over what he'd done to his people. Here, his subconsious still can't believe he's found his Link and that she actually loves him. But, luckily for him, Evy's been in his head for centuries, she KNOWS him and how he thinks, she would see the true reason she'd been put in that world. And she definitely won't let him get away with thinking that he doesn't deserve love. Even though the episode was Amy's 'choice' I felt like the psychic pollen fed on everything dark, especially in the Doctor, so it would manifest his fears as well, taking away the one he loved and, essentially, hurting her as well. That's pretty dark stuff. On top of taking his own guilt and fears that he doesn't deserve love and twisting that as well.
And here, what really shocks the Doctor into realizing the worlds are dreams is not feeling Evy 'die' in Leadworth. I've given a taste of what it's like for a Time Lord when their Link dies, and he didn't feel it, because it wasn't real. I also made this episode not just an exploration of the Doctor's fears, but a resolution for Amy, the Doctor making her realize she doesn't love him, but Rory. She's finally gotten over it and her bout of jealousy with Evy, she's seen how deep the Link goes, she's seen the Doctor react to her in danger, she's had his subconsious basically spell it out to her. And now she knows, and she realizes what Evy was trying to show her, Rory. I took the 'feeding on everything dark in you' to mean that the Doctor was the one who made the worlds, but based on the people in them. The TARDIS for Amy, Leadworth for Rory, the Mason Institute for Evy.
Next chapter...the Time Lords remember San Helios. Amy's not the only one who gets taken. Ambrose may possibly think the Doctor is mad, more so than usual.