Disclaimer: I do not own 'Doctor Who' or any of the characters in it. All rights belong to the BBC, though I would love to own it myself. Sigh.
A/N: Long chapter ahead, so brace yourself for it! ;D
Amy, the Doctor, Samantha and Ronald were halfway to the base when Amy realised that they were missing the other member of their group. She came to a standstill, nearly causing the Doctor to crash into her.
"We forgot Chris!" She gasped, turning back. "We have to go and get him!"
Samantha and Ronald exchanged horrified glances, and the Doctor clapped his hand to his forehead. "I left him on the ground!" He realised in horror. "This is all my—"
"Hey guys! Thanks for waiting for me!" They heard Chris yell from the distance, and they all breathed a sigh of relief. "Talk about rude!"
"Sorry Chris," Ronald apologised as he waited for his friend to catch up with them. "All we could think about was getting the hell out of there. Are you okay?"
"Never better!" Chris replied cheerfully. "Here Doc, I have something for you." He told him as he reached into his sleeve and withdrew the Doctor's sonic screwdriver.
The Doctor's antagonism towards Chris was long forgotten once he saw that he'd saved his screwdriver. "You're my hero!" He cried happily, giving him a fierce hug.
Chris grinned and patted the Doctor on the back. "If you say so."
The Doctor pulled back to give him a stern look. "I hope you didn't risk your life trying to get this for me." He said, waving the screwdriver under Chris's nose.
"I wouldn't say that." Chris chuckled. "But I think I've saved everyone's life from staying down there a little longer."
The Doctor was the only one who realised that there was an underlying meaning in Chris's words, but before he could question him, Amy appeared at his side. "Doctor, you can thank him later, but I want to get to the base and change out of this suit!" She complained, tugging at the material.
"Your wish is my command." The Doctor replied with a mock bow, and Amy laughed before pulling him forward.
The Doctor cast one more glance at Chris over his shoulder, before turning his head and running along with Amy.
~I~
Once they were back at the base, they changed out of their space suits, and Samantha made everyone a cup of tea, though the Doctor just asked for a cup of hot water.
"Aren't you going to have anything with that?" Amy asked him in disbelief, eyeing his drink choice warily.
The Doctor snapped his fingers. "Oh yes! I forgot to get custard creams!" He realised, reaching forward to take some from the tray of biscuits. "Thanks for reminding me Pond."
Amy just shook her head at him and helped herself to a chocolate digestive. She was surprised that they still made them in the future, but she wasn't complaining.
After everyone had fed and drank reasonably well, the Doctor brought up the situation with the Cryotonicslam.
"You're going to have to leave." He told the remaining three of the research team. "It's illegal to excavate the ground here when there's an alien inhabiting the area."
Samantha and Ronald nodded, though both were sad to leave. The Doctor sympathised with them, but he couldn't do anything about the situation. He'd get himself killed if he tried to move the alien himself, and it was completely unsafe for them to work where an alien of that mass resided.
"I can't believe all of our hard work has been for nothing." Ronald sighed gloomily, and Samantha touched his arm sympathetically.
"It wasn't for nothing!" Amy exclaimed, leaning forward in her seat. "You're alive, and you still have a family waiting for you to return home to them."
Ronald smiled at that, and nodded. "You're right. I still have my family."
Chris, who had been silent ever since they'd returned, leaned back in his chair and smirked. "You can all go home, but I'm going to stay here."
"Chris, I can't let you stay here." The Doctor told him gravely. "If I have to force you to leave, I will."
"You? No offence, but I'm a lot bigger than you." Chris laughed mockingly. "Scrawny vs Brawn, I wonder who will win!"
"I wouldn't underestimate the Doctor if I were you." Amy said quietly.
"Thank you Pond." The Doctor said, nodding in agreement with what she'd said about him. "Glad to see your commitment."
Amy snorted and shoved his arm. "Shut up. You know how committed I am."
The two locked eyes then, and the Doctor recognised the love and affection in her eyes for him, as they reflected his own feelings for her.
A loud explosion interrupted their moment, and they were thrown to the floor.
"Amy? Samantha? Ron? Are you okay?" The Doctor asked worriedly, seeing them on the floor beside him. Amy sat up slowly and gave him a thumbs-up sign, and Sam and Ronald mimicked her.
The Doctor rose to his feet, helping Amy up with him, and frowned in confusion when he saw Chris still sitting in his chair. "Why didn't you fall to the floor along with the rest of us?"
Chris smiled smugly at him. "Well, if you're expecting an explosion, you know when to brace yourself, don't you?"
Realisation dawned on the Doctor. "You didn't." He whispered.
"I did."
At his words, the Doctor snapped, and he threw himself at Chris, knocking him onto the floor.
Chris was strong, but he was no match for the wrath of a Time Lord.
"Why?" The Doctor roared in his face, pinning him to the ground. "Why did you do it?"
Amy rushed forward to calm the Doctor down, but he ignored her pleas to get off of him.
"Because I wasn't going to throw away what I'd worked for because of an alien!" Chris yelled back.
"No! You did it because you were selfish!" The Doctor hollered. "All you care about is your Knighthood!"
"That alien killed my friends!" Chris shouted. "I wasn't going to let it live whilst the rest of us lost everything!"
"You tried to kill the last of a rare species!" The Time Lord cried, his eyes blazing with hurt and fury. "Do you know what that means?"
Suddenly his grip on Chris loosened, weakened by the realisation that an alien, the last of it's kind, was dead.
He couldn't help but fear that it was a foreshadowing event.
Maybe he was next.
Chris shoved the Doctor away from him, and he fell backwards, though he was numb to the fall. Amy flew to his side and helped him sit up, and it was her comforting words that brought him back to the present.
"It's okay Doctor." She murmured reassuringly, over and over again as she rocked him back and forth.
"I don't see what the big deal is! That alien was a murderer!" Chris spat. "And now we can continue our work in peace. Right?"
But Ronald and Samantha shook their heads and backed away from him. "Chris, what you did was unbelievable!" Ronald hissed. "How could you do something like that?"
Chris blinked, stunned. "What?"
"Chris, I am demoting you from this team." Samantha told him coldly. "You can travel back to England with us, but when we return, you are not to work in our department ever again."
"But I did it for you!" Chris yelled in frustration.
"No." Ronald said quietly, glaring at him. "You did it for yourself."
Chris began to edge away, glaring hatefully at them. "Fine! I'll complete this mission by myself! Maybe then I'll—"
But a loud, pained screech interrupted him. The cry blared around the room, causing everyone to clamp their hands over their ears and shut their eyes.
"What is that Doctor?" Amy yelled over the sound.
"It's me!" He yelled back, and Amy opened her eyes to see him pointing his screwdriver towards the ceiling.
"Turn it off!" Chris screamed.
"This is what you have done!" The Doctor roared back. "This is an innocent alien being blown apart! How does this sound of pain make you feel?"
"Just turn it off!" Chris cried, sinking to the floor. "The sound is killing me!"
The Doctor shook his head and pressed a switch on the screwdriver, making the sound louder.
All of a sudden, there was another loud explosion, and everyone fell to the floor again. The Doctor released the button on the screwdriver, stopping the scream from echoing around the room.
Instead, the only sound was a loud rumbling, causing the room to shake.
"What's going on?" Amy yelled over the noise.
"Chris didn't kill the alien!" The Doctor realised, jumping to his feet. "But now it's injured and angry, so I think we have about ten minutes before this volcano erupts and kills all of us!"
"But there's no lava!" Samantha cried.
"But there's artificial lava!" Ronald gasped in realisation. "And that can still erupt and drown us all!"
The Doctor helped Amy to her feet, and they sprinted towards the exit of the base. "Come with us!" He yelled back to them. "You'll never make it out of the base in your space ship. The lava will consume you!"
Ronald and Samantha nodded and ran towards them, but Chris remained where he was. "Is this my punishment?" He laughed bitterly. "You're going to leave me here to die?"
The Doctor turned slowly, and there was no mistaking the hatred in his eyes. But there was also something else there: compassion. "I may be many things, but I'm not a killer." He told him. "Come on!"
He charged out of the base, gripping Amy's hand tightly as they hurried to the stairs.
"Doctor, the TARDIS is quite close to the lava!" Amy realised as they descended.
"Which is why we need to get there now!" He yelled, his sprint increasing, causing Amy to run faster too.
She quickly looked back, and saw Chris, Samantha and Ronald a good distance behind them.
Amy had absolute faith in the Doctor, and she knew that he could get all of them out of the volcano alive, despite the distance between them and the other three. He would always protect her and other humans.
Suddenly, something wrapped around her waist and pulled her over the edge. With a scream, Amy realised it was one of the Cryotonicslam's legs.
"Amy!" The Doctor cried, gripping both of her hands and trying to pull her back.
"Doctor, it's got me!" She screamed, as the alien tried to pull her down into the lava.
"I won't let it take you!" He shouted, yanking her forward. "But I need my screwdriver!"
"Get it then!" She yelled, trying her hardest not to panic when she felt her body go horizontal in the air.
"I can't without letting go of one of your hands!" He replied frantically.
"Let me go then!" She cried, already tugging her hands out of his.
But his grip tightened. "I have lost too many people that I've cared about. I'm not losing you too. I can't!" He cried, tears blurring his vision.
Amy felt herself tearing up at the thought of losing the Doctor forever, before the pincer on the alien's leg pressed into her skin, leaving her gasping in pain.
"Amy!" The Doctor screamed, knowing he couldn't pull her without the alien piercing her skin.
"This is it, isn't it?" She realised quietly, watching the lava rise beneath her. "I'm going to die!"
"No! No!" The Doctor cried desperately. "If you go, I go!"
Amy found the strength to sigh. "Doctor, you need to save these people! Just leave me!" But as she said the words, she felt a tear trickle down her cheek.
"I'm not going to leave you." He hissed through gritted teeth.
"Amy!" They heard Chris cry, and the Doctor allowed himself to feel a small amount of relief when he saw him, despite how much he disliked him.
"Chris! I need you to reach into my breast pocket and take out my screwdriver!" The Doctor commanded. "It won't hurt the alien, but it may let Amy go!"
"Never mind that!" Chris bellowed, scooping up a large jagged rock and hurling it at the alien leg around Amy.
The Cryotonicslam released Amy then, howling in pain, and the Doctor nearly fell over the edge from the sudden force of Amy's weight.
But Chris wrapped his arms around the Doctor's waist and hurled them both backwards. The Doctor regained his balance, and together, they both lifted Amy up.
Amy managed to hook her shoes into the ridges of the rock, and she used her legs to support herself as they pulled her up.
Ronald and Samantha reached them then, and they helped as well, and finally, Amy was back on the rocky edge.
Once she was safe, the Doctor threw his arms around her and hugged her tightly. "Oh Amy!" He whispered, his tears trickling into her hair. "I thought that I'd lost you!"
"Never." She teased, though her voice was weak from her ordeal. That had to be her most terrifying experience so far.
"I love you." The Doctor cried, peppering her face with kisses. It was an action so unlike the Doctor, but Amy didn't mind.
"We have to keep moving! We have four minutes before this place erupts!" Samantha announced worriedly, and everyone immediately snapped back into action.
The TARDIS was only on the other side of the ridge, and the Doctor raced forward to unlock the door.
"Yes, it's bigger on the inside, but you all know that because you've seen my mind!" He muttered as he held the door open for everyone. "Amy, pull down the green lever!"
Amy rushed to the console and did what he said, sinking into one of the console chairs once she realised that they were all safe.
The Doctor bounded up to the console, and hit a few more switches. "We'll be in England in six minutes." He told them. "That'll give you enough time to get the minerals you need."
"What do you mean?" Ronald asked in confusion.
The Doctor smiled and pointed at the stairs. "Third corridor, second door on the left. A room I like to refer to as my prop room. You should find everything that you were trying to excavate in there."
Samantha's face lit up, and she threw her arms around the Doctor. "Thank you so much!" She cried happily, tears shining in her eyes.
Ronald hugged the Doctor as well before dashing up the stairs with Samantha.
Chris looked at the Doctor sheepishly. "I don't think I should find the minerals to get a Knighthood. I don't deserve it. I killed a rare alien, and I nearly got Amy killed."
The Doctor grinned, something that surprised both Amy and Chris. "Realising what you've done wrong is something to forgive." He told him. "Besides, the alien isn't dead. It can survive volcanic conditions. And you helped me save Amy. I can never repay you enough for that. So go! Go and collect your reward!"
Chris smiled, the first genuine smile Amy had ever seen him use. "Thank you." He told them sincerely. "I'm sorry for the way I acted when you both came to the base, and I'm sorry I acted out of selfishness."
The Doctor nodded and slapped his back heartily. "I know you are. You're a good man Chris."
"But not as good as you." He replied softly.
"Don't worry, no one can match the Doctor." Amy said fondly, beaming at him.
The Doctor grinned back at her, realising that when she smiled at him like that, he finally felt complete. The dull pang he'd felt over the past few years was gone.
Amy was the missing part that he'd always needed.
She was his life.
~I~
After they'd said their goodbyes to their new friends, with promises to reunite with them some day, Amy and the Doctor returned to the TARDIS, both silent as they thought about the events of the previous day.
The Doctor pressed a lever down on the console, taking the ship away from the Earth. Amy joined him, and rested her head against his shoulder. He kissed the top of her head lovingly, before turning around slightly to face her.
Amy raised her head, and felt herself frowning slightly at the Doctor's thoughtful expression. "What are you thinking about?" She asked him quietly, resting her hand against his face.
The Doctor leaned into her touch, and placed his hand over hers. "I nearly lost you today." He whispered brokenly, and Amy instinctively took a step closer to him.
"I'm here now." She murmured, resting her other hand on his shoulder. "I'm not going anywhere. You have me forever."
"Forever." The Doctor echoed, and he lowered his head to capture her lips with his.
What was intended to be a sweet kiss quickly turned into something more. The Doctor's hands travelled to Amy's hips, and he pulled her body flush against his.
Amy's hands slid into his hair, and she tugged at it, her movements become more desperate as the desire between them mounted.
They both had no idea what was happening, but they were suddenly overwhelmed by strong waves of desperation and passion. They couldn't stop kissing and holding each other.
And before either of them could stop it, the Doctor had scooped Amy into his arms and carried her up the console stairs to his bedroom.
I think the phrase; 'insert lemon here' is appropriate for the ending ;D
Sorry to be a tease, but this story will not become an 'M' fic. However, if you are looking for one, then check out my other DW fanfic, 'It's Always Been You', which is (and will be) full of lemony goodness, angst and romance!
Hayley x