A/N: Two more sad/fluffy-ish chapters. Stay with me folks. The depressing chapters will be over soon, and then we'll move forward into Amy and the Doctor's life. And that's a promise.

I won't be able to update for a couple of days…I turn 18 on Friday and I plan to be drunk the whole weekend! ;D

The Doctor rocked Amy back and forth until her tears eventually slowed. And even when she had stopped crying, she still clung to him. The Doctor was the only family she had now.

The Doctor realised that as well, and he vowed to himself that he'd never leave her again. After what she'd been through in the last few months, he knew that anything could shatter her.

She was more vulnerable than she'd like to admit.

The Doctor only hoped that she'd be able to recover from her Aunt's death.

Suddenly there was a knock on the TARDIS door, breaking them both from their thoughts.

"Who's that?" Amy asked hoarsely. "Are we still on Earth?"

"We're a couple of miles away from Leadworth." The Doctor replied, moving her carefully from his lap to stand up.

She looked up at him frantically, needing him, and he whispered, "Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere. I'm just going to see who it is."

He kissed her tenderly, and Amy gave him a small smile as he pulled away.

It took all of his strength to turn his back on her and walk down to the door. After looking back at Amy to ensure that she was going to stay in the chair and not try to get back to the hospital, he unlocked the door with his screwdriver and opened it to see Rory waiting outside.

"Hi." He greeted quietly, slipping inside.

"Hey Rory. Are you okay?" The Doctor asked him, shutting the doors behind him.

Rory sighed. "I think so. At least Sharon's not in pain anymore."

"She was too young to die." Amy whispered from behind them, and both men turned to look at her. Her eyes were brimming with tears again.

"I know." Rory agreed softly. "The other Doctors had to drag me away in the end, because I kept trying to revive her. I just couldn't accept that she was dead."

Amy's response caused Rory to think that perhaps that had been the wrong thing to say to her, for she clapped her hand over her mouth and bolted up the stairs.

The Doctor watched her go sadly, before turning to Rory. "I'm sorry for your loss." He told him, resting his hand on his shoulder.

Rory sighed again. "I'm sorry too." He muttered gloomily. "But I'm more worried about Amy than myself. After what she's been through recently…" He paused when he saw the Doctor's face crumple. "Not that I'm blaming you or anything." He added hastily.

The Doctor sat down on the steps and shook his head. "Rory, you're right to blame me. I will never forgive myself for what I did to her."

"I think that you should." Rory said firmly, and the Doctor looked up at him in surprise. "I'm serious. You can't feel sorry for yourself whilst Amy is grieving. It's not right, and you need to be there for her. Especially on Thursday, the day of Sharon's funeral."

The Doctor managed a small smile. "You're right Rory. I'm sorry."

Rory held up his hand. "Don't apologise Doctor. Just look after Amy while I'm gone."

"Gone?" The Doctor echoed. "Aren't you staying with us anymore?"

"No. Leadworth is where I should be, and I need to take care of Sharon's funeral arrangements. I don't think Amy can handle sorting out everything."

"Should we stay there with you?" The Doctor asked him. "I don't mind staying on Earth for the next couple of weeks."

"No. Amy only needs you at the moment." Rory told him. "Take her to the planet of happiness or something."

The Doctor gave him a wry smile. "I would if it existed."

Rory smiled back, before glancing at the stairs. "Do you mind if I say goodbye to Amy before I leave?" He asked nervously.

"Rory, you don't even need to ask! Of course you can!" The Doctor replied. "The TARDIS will take you to her."

Understanding that Rory wanted some privacy with Amy, the Doctor remained in the console room whilst Rory headed up the stairs to find her.

After Rory left, the Doctor rose from the stairs and went to stand beside the console. "How are we going to make Amy happy again?" He wondered to his ship.

The TARDIS sighed, and the Doctor let out a groan. "I guess you're as clueless as I am." He remarked glumly.

~I~

It didn't take Rory very long to find Amy; the TARDIS had led him straight to the Doctor's bedroom.

He knocked, and without waiting for a reply, he opened the door and stepped in. He found Amy curled up in the Doctor's bed, and he immediately headed over to her, tripping over the Doctor's clutter as he went.

Amy raised her head to see who was walking over, and Rory didn't miss the way she glanced behind him to see if the Doctor had walked in as well.

"Hi." Rory said awkwardly, crouching down beside the bed. "You alright?"

Amy frowned at him. "Yeah, I'm great. Life's a ball right now."

Rory sighed at his own stupidity. "Sorry. Stupid question." He muttered.

Amy glanced behind him again. "Where's the Doctor?"

"In the console room." Rory replied. "I only came up here to say goodbye."

Amy blinked at him, shocked. "You're leaving?" She whispered sadly, sitting up in the bed.

Rory rose as well and sat down beside her. "Leadworth's my home, not the TARDIS." He told her, taking her hand. "The trip with you both was fun, but it's not the life I could lead for very long. Besides, three's a crowd right?"

Amy's gaze fell to their entwined hands, before she glanced back at Rory's face. Then her eyes widened in realisation. "Do you have someone back in Leadworth, Rory Williams?" She hissed, her face brightening with excitement.

Rory was relieved to see her relatively happy, but that wasn't going to stop him from lying. "I don't know what you're talking about." He replied, carefully averting her gaze.

Amy squeezed his hand tightly, smiling. "Do you have a girlfriend mister?"

Rory remained silent.

"You do have a girlfriend! Rory Williams has a girlfriend!" Amy sang, nudging him.

Finally, Rory relented. "I do have a girlfriend." He admitted.

Amy's smile became a beam. "So, what's she like? Blonde? Brunette?" She paused and raised her eyebrow at him. "Or is she a redhead like me?"

"She's blonde, petite, and two years younger than me." Rory said, grinning as he pictured his girlfriend in his head.

"Intriguing." Amy commented, still smiling. "What's her name? Do I know her?"

"Her name's Hannah. And no, you don't know her. She's only been in Leadworth a couple of weeks. She's an intern at the Hospital." Rory explained to her.

"I love her already!" Amy exclaimed. "When do I get to meet her? Soon, I hope!"

"You'll meet her on Thursday." Rory replied, his smile fading as he realised what day that would be.

"Why Thursday?"

Rory looked at her hesitantly. "Thursday is the day of Sharon's funeral." He told her gently.

Amy's good mood faded immediately. "Oh." She mumbled, releasing Rory's hand to rest her head in her hands.

Rory slipped his arm around her shoulders, and drew her into his side. "Amy, I'm sorry." He whispered, kissing the top of her head.

"Don't be sorry. I'm fine, really. You worry too much Williams." Amy replied, shrugging off his arm and poking his side. "You act just like a brother sometimes."

Rory's smile returned, and he nudged her with his arm. "Well, I love you like a sister, so I think the term 'brother' sort of fits."

"I love you too, big brother." Amy chuckled, nudging him back.

After Rory had jostled her again, he caught sight of the Doctor standing in the bedroom doorway, watching them with a small smile on his face.

"I better go." Rory said, and Amy sighed.

"I'll miss you." She mumbled, throwing her arms around him. "Thank you for always being there for me."

"You don't need to thank me." Rory replied affectionately, hugging her back just as tightly. "I'll miss you too."

Amy pulled back first. "Hey, could you get the Doctor before you leave?" She asked him.

Rory chuckled quietly. "No need. He's already here." He nodded to the doorway, and Amy followed his gaze.

When she saw the Doctor waiting by the door, her face lit up, and Rory had never seen her smile so brightly.

Knowing that was his cue to leave, he rose from the bed and walked over to the doorway. "Take care of her Doctor." He murmured, patting his shoulder.

The Doctor tore his eyes away from Amy and smiled at him. "I will. It's been a pleasure travelling with you Rory."

"Thank you, I had a great time." Rory replied, grinning as he recalled their adventure with the Bizzicles. "I'll see you both on Thursday."

As soon as Rory shut the door behind him, the Doctor walked over to Amy and perched beside her. He studied her smiling face curiously, before his own smile appeared at her current contentment.

After a few minutes of serene silence, Amy spoke. "I'm sorry for taking out my feelings on you earlier. I shouldn't have hit you like that." She whispered, pressing her hand against his cheek. "It wasn't right."

"You're forgiven. The bruises will heal over soon." The Doctor replied softly, placing his hands over hers.

"I guess people react to grief in different ways." Amy murmured, and the Doctor took both of her hands in his.

"Amy, I know that the next few days are going to be hard, but I'm here for you. If you need me, I'll be there. But if you don't, feel free to banish me to another room in the TARDIS. There's a prison cell around here somewhere."

Amy laughed despite herself, and she lay back on the bed, pulling the Doctor down with her. "A prison cell? Really?"

"The TARDIS locked me in it once. Her idea of a joke, you see. Especially because I'd left my screwdriver in another room." The Doctor told her, smiling at the memory.

"How did you get out?" Amy asked him, snuggling up against him to rest her head on his chest.

"A companion of mine, Donna, found me locked up a couple of minutes later. After laughing at me for a good ten minutes, she retrieved my screwdriver and let me out." The Doctor stopped to sigh wistfully. "She was a funny character, Donna."

Amy closed her eyes. "Tell me about her." She said sleepily.

The Doctor smiled regretfully. "Maybe some other time. The memory of her is still fresh…it still hurts." He murmured, running his fingers through her hair tenderly.

Amy didn't know the Doctor's history with Donna, but somehow she understood. She opened her eyes and reached for the Doctor's other hand to lace her fingers through his.

"We've both had to suffer to get to where we are now." She mumbled, closing her eyes again.

The Doctor didn't have to say anything to that, knowing how right she was. But despite the suffering and torment he'd been through, he was finally happy, having allowed himself to fall in love with someone and be loved in return.

And there was no greater feeling than that.

~I~

The Doctor and Amy spent the next couple of days in the TARDIS; neither of them ready to venture outside just yet. The presence of death still lingered in the air, and despite Amy's best efforts to put her grief behind her, she found herself crying at least twice every day.

Sometimes the Doctor was there to wipe away her tears, other times he stayed away from her if she wanted to be alone.

So the Doctor was relieved when Amy bounded into the library three days after her Aunt's death, her face alight with excitement.

"Doctor, can we go somewhere?" She asked him, gazing at him earnestly.

The Doctor snapped his book shut and laid it aside. "Of course we can. Do you have a destination in mind?"

"The 1980's." Amy replied immediately, bouncing forward and grabbing his hands. "Or more specifically, 1987."

She yanked him out of the chair, and the Doctor laughed, elated that she was ready to leave the TARDIS. "1987. Magnificent year. Which event would you like to see? There are so many! Let's see…the 'Sunflower' Van Gogh painting is bought for $39.85 million, the first ever heart-lung transplant takes place, and a man stays in space for 326 days of that year. Oh, and we mustn't forget the great storm of Eng—"

"Actually, I was thinking of another event." Amy interrupted. "A personal event."

The Doctor's smile faded instantly. "Personal?" He repeated warily. He had been afraid of this.

"1987 was the year that my Aunt got married. I thought we could go and watch it." Amy said, her eyes dancing with enthusiasm. "We don't have to talk to her or anything. I just want to see her happy, for one last time."

"Amy, no." The Doctor told her firmly, placing his hands on her shoulders. "We can't visit places in your timeline."

"But I wasn't even born then!" Amy protested. "Please Doctor!"

"Absolutely not. It would be too upsetting for you, and your Aunt can't see her future niece in an intimate setting like that."

Sorrow flooded Amy's features, and she backed away from the Doctor. "I just wanted to say goodbye." She whispered dejectedly.

"You have the funeral to say goodbye." The Doctor said gently, and Amy glared at him.

Before the Doctor could apologise for his brazen remark, Amy had stormed out of the library, her footsteps echoing loudly down the corridor.

The Doctor quickly raced after her, intent on catching up with her to apologise, but he was bewildered to see that he was in a corridor with no doors.

"Oh, I see. She asked you to hide herself from me and you agreed." He muttered to the TARDIS, kicking the wall angrily.

She hissed at him, and then he found himself flying through the air, landing with a loud thump in one of the chairs in the console room. "Alright, alright! No need to get pushy!" He grumbled, straightening his bow tie.

~I~

The Doctor didn't see Amy for the rest of the day, though he spent a good amount of time trying to locate her.

He eventually realised that Amy would come to him when she was ready, so he decided to travel to the Planet of the Xenic Warriors, where they were holding their annual meteor shower festival.

He left the TARDIS floating in the air above the planet, and sat down in the doorway, his legs dangling over the edge as he watched the meteors shatter into fireworks above his head. But the beautiful sight couldn't bring him out of his bad mood.

He didn't hear Amy come up behind him due to the loud explosions, so he nearly fell out of the ship in surprise when he felt her sit beside him.

"Why didn't you tell me that you were watching a firework show?" She asked him, taking his hand.

The Doctor looked down at their entwined hands before giving her a wry smile. "I couldn't find you to tell you."

Amy blushed and turned her gaze to the sky. "Oh yeah. Sorry about that. And I'm sorry for storming off earlier. You were right...I should let the past go now."

"It's going to be hard, but I know you can do it Amy." The Doctor said softly, raising her hand to his lips and kissing each of her fingertips.

"I know I can. I have you." She whispered, and their lips met just as another set of fireworks exploded in the air above them.

I gave you a nice ending for all of the lovely reviews you left me :) Thank you! :D

Hayley x