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The Doctor appeared to get over his initial surprise at Amy's appearance and now jumped on board with her plan to get Rory out of his funk. "See, Rory? You're not alone. You've got your lovely wife and you've got me. We'll help you get through anything."
"Amy." Rory finally gave her a pained glance. "Why are you here?"
"Did you listen to nothing I just said, stupid face? I love you."
A small smile crossed his expression at the nickname and some of the tension left his body as he realized that she was really here. But just as quickly, the happiness faded. He gave a weak gesture to the world around them. "I can't do this anymore. Everything's breaking up around me and I don't have the strength to put it all back together again."
"That's okay. You don't have to do this alone. You have me. I can help you...let me help you."
Rory continued to stare at her. "It's not that easy. Not this time."
"Since when has anything we've been through been easy? You waited 2,000 years for me, I tore time apart for you, we have a daughter older than we are, and the only reason we've made it this far is because we have each other. So don't give up on me now, because that's not what we do."
"And what if I'm tired, Amy?" Rory's face took on an unfamiliar expression for her. Harsh and irritated and so very, very tired. "What if I don't want to try to get out of here? It takes far too much time and effort to put myself together again after I've been shattered and I just...I don't want to this time, okay?"
"Rory." She got up from her position at his feet and came in to settle at his side. Now that she was pressed against him, she could feel him trembling. She put her head on his shoulder and took one of his hands in both of hers. "Rory, I know I'm not the best listener, nor have I been the best wife."
She silenced his protests by giving him a quick peck on the lips. "Don't argue, it's true and I know it better than anyone. That's why we're here right now. You've always tried to hide what was bothering you because you didn't want to worry me or bother me or whatever. And I don't blame you for that because I never gave you the impression that it was alright for you to be weak with me."
She paused to make sure she had his full attention. Those weary blue eyes were locked on hers. She put a hand on his cheek. "But it is, Rory, it is alright for you to be weak with me. I know we can't all be strong all of the time, but for some reason, you think you have to be. But Rory, I'm not in love with your strength, I'm in love with you - with all your weaknesses, with all your strengths, with all your wholeness, with all your brokenness. I love all that makes you unique. And when you hide away one part from me, you're hiding yourself from me. So don't think for one second that just because you can't pull yourself together on your own that I love you any less, but at least give me the chance to help you as you have so often helped me."
Rory stared at her, not saying anything. But that broken, devastated look was gone. In its place was that spark she remembered, the one he always got before he -
His lips met hers.
The kiss was desperate and tasted of grit and pain, but it was filled with more love and passion than either of them had experienced in a long time.
When they finally pulled away from each other, the angry dust cloud, full of ghosts, had disappeared. The broken down city remained, but for once, they could see each other clearly. Amy and Rory smiled.
In their relief, they'd forgotten about the Doctor. When he leapt up in excitement, they both startled. "Oh yes! My fantastic Ponds, I knew you'd figure a way out!"
"A way out?" Rory ran a skeptical eyes over their surroundings. "I don't think we're out quite yet."
"Well, no, not technically, but I think I can handle the rest from here. As long as we're not leaving all those ghosts running around in your head, then we'll be able to help you."
Amy watched her husband stare at all of the crumbling pillars again and saw his face get a little discouraged. "How am I possibly going to be able to repair all of this?"
"You won't have to, necessarily." She brought his hands to her lips and kissed the rough knuckles gently. "I imagine you'll still have many thoughts pushing through your subconscious when you wake."
"But Amy and I can help you with that," the Doctor finished for her. "You don't have to worry about dealing with this all on your own. You have people you can share it with. You'd be amazed at how much talking about things helps to ease the pain. Why do you think I travel with people?"
Rory gave him a wan smile. "And I suppose the fact that they're usually beautiful young girls helps things too."
That earned him an indignant punch to the arm from Amy.
"Ow! Hey! I didn't say I would do that. I've already got my beautiful girl."
"Right, well, this beautiful girl would like to get out of here now." She shot a reprimanding look at the Doctor.
He grinned at her. "Close your eyes."
They both obeyed. The sound of the sonic screwdriver greeted their ears and suddenly they were all jerking awake in the hospital room.
The first thing out of Rory's mouth was, "Get off me, Doctor."
"Well, I would, but I'm stuck between you and your wife."
"Is that a metaphor?"
"Oh shut up, you two, give me time to move," Amy groused as she swung her legs off of the bed.
Martha, Jack, and Mickey rushed over to them, all talking at once.
"It worked!"
"What happened?"
"Are you alright?"
"Let me check you over for any injuries."
"Don't crowd them!"
"Hey, hey, HEY!" The Doctor's shout finally got everyone to quiet down. "Everyone calm down! We'll answer your questions as soon as we have room to breathe."
Amy helped him off the bed and turned her attentions to Rory, who was growing paler as the pain of his injuries kicked in. She helped settle him back against the pillows. "It's alright, Rory, just breathe. You're going to be okay."
Martha shoved her way forward through everyone else when she saw her patient struggling. "Are you in pain? I can give you some mild painkillers if you need them."
Rory shot a quizzical look at Amy.
"This is Martha. She's a doctor, she's been the one treating you."
"I think I'm alright for now, Martha. I'm a nurse myself, I think I can handle a little pain before I resort to meds." He took in the rest of the room. Not to be rude, but who are all of these people?"
"They used to travel with the Doctor, they helped us rescue you. This is Martha's husband, Mickey, and this is -"
"Captain Jack Harkness." Jack strode forward with a winning smile, only to be stopped by the Doctor.
"No, Jack."
"I was just saying hello."
Rory squinted at him. "I remember you...you were back at the place with Ava. Thank you...for rescuing me."
"You're welcome and if -"
The Doctor shot him another warning glance.
"Calm down, Doctor. I was going to say that if you ever need my help again, don't hesitate to ask. I've already given my number to your wife."
"Have you now?" Rory looked suspiciously between the two of them., but he had no opportunity to further question the man as the burn on his side suddenly flared to life. His head hit the mattress as he sucked in a sharp breath instead of screaming like he so desperately wanted to.
"Rory!" Amy darted to him.
"Alright, alright, everybody, give him some space to breathe." Martha shoved everyone away from the bed except for Amy as she made her way to the IV bag. A few seconds later, she injected a syringe into the bag and almost immediately the lines on Rory's face began to relax. "Is that better?"
"Yeah," he panted. "Do you know what they did to me? That burn?"
"It's a virus of some sort, but the Doctor got you the cure for it." Martha held up the packet of blue gel. "I'm guessing now would be a good time to reapply this."
"Yeah. Will it fade?" Rory directed his question to the Doctor.
"Yes. It'll take time, but we caught it before it could do any damage and it should fade in a few days."
"Good."
Amy smiled as her exhausted husband closed his eyes. She pressed a light kiss to his forehead. "That's the last time I let you wander off on your own."
"Never again," he agreed.