A/N: Hey guys! So thrilled that you liked the last chapter. I'm afraid to say that you might have to wait a bit for the actual proposal…I'm trying to make it a bit of a surprise…as in…you won't be expecting it when it happens! Be patient guys :D

As soon as they are engaged however, the underlying plot of this story will begin. And as you may have already guessed, it will be to do with the cracks in time. But I have my own twist on things. You'll see what I mean soon :)

I can't reply to anonymous reviews, but a huge thank you to 'mattsmithbigfan', Kara and Larsen! :) And I couldn't reply to because your messages are disabled, but thank you so much for your review! :)

The Doctor was a smart man, but when it came to human life, he didn't have a clue. He had no idea about Earth marriage, despite the amount of research he'd conducted about it. He had the ring, which the TARDIS had kindly given to him, but he had no idea how to propose to Amy.

Galifreyan engagements and marriages were done through a psychic link between two mates, but because Amy was human, a psychic link was out of the question. The only way that the Doctor could form a psychic link with her would be if she was pregnant, but neither of them had even thought that far ahead yet.

Besides, Amy would kill him if he proposed to her whilst he was roaming around in her mind. And she wouldn't be too pleased by a two-minute ceremony either, so proposing and marrying her Earth-style seemed to be the only option.

Three months later, the Doctor was no closer to figuring out a way to propose to her. Amy was oblivious to his internal dilemma, and the Doctor was glad about that.

So it seemed to be a blessing in disguise when the Doctor found himself being thrown out of the TARDIS one day, though he didn't think so at first. Being stranded on Planet Earth without his mate or ship wasn't the most ideal situation. But after a note from Amy, he found himself a place to stay, and his roommate Craig was a brilliant man. Though the Doctor saved his life and helped him start a relationship with his best friend, he believed that Craig had helped him even more than he'd helped him.

One night, when both of them were watching television together, Craig had noticed the Doctor's brooding face, and he turned the TV off. "So come on." Craig said, nudging the Doctor with his elbow. "Who is she?"

The Doctor, who had been thinking about Amy, of course, decided to play dumb. "I don't know who you're talking about." He replied, looking anywhere but at Craig.

Craig snorted. "Don't give me that. Your face says it all Doctor. You're missing someone."

The Doctor's lips rose up into a small smile. "Amy." He whispered, turning to face Craig.

"Who's that?" Craig asked, picking up his beer bottle. "Your girlfriend?"

The Doctor reached into the breast pocket of his tweed jacket. "She's so much more to me than that." He told him, before pulling out the ring box to show him.

Craig let out a low whistle. "You're ready to take the plunge mate? Good luck to you."

"I am." The Doctor admitted, tucking the ring box away. "But it's complicated."

"Complicated how?"

"Complicated because I don't know how to propose." The Doctor sighed, running his hand through his hair.

Craig looked at him doubtfully. "Haven't you watched any films with proposals in them? Or used the Internet to help you?"

"No." The Doctor replied gloomily, leaning back against the sofa. "I didn't think about using the Media."

"Aren't you glad you have me?" Craig laughed, standing up to approach the cabinet next to the television. "Thanks to Sophie, I have my fair share of chick-flicks, so I suggest you start watching them and make some notes!"

The Doctor didn't even have time to protest before Craig threw the 'Bridget Jones' DVD at him.

~I~

Amy had a much worse time apart from the Doctor. She didn't know how to work the TARDIS, so she had to be fully reliant on the Doctor, who could only talk to her through his earpiece. Amy didn't like that at all. She liked being independent.

Even though she was only separated from him for a short while, she was still overwhelmed with relief when she was finally reunited with the Doctor.

They'd barely had the reunion Amy wanted before the Doctor was running around the console again. "Back in time. You need to go to the paper shop and leave a note for me."

"Right little matchmaker, aren't you?" She commented, smiling at him fondly.

The Doctor looked up from the console momentarily. "Me? Never. Oh, rectifier's playing up again. Hold on. You write the note and I'll change the wheel."

"You got a pen?" She asked him, watching him head out of the TARDIS doors.

"Make sure it's a red pen!" He called back to her, before slamming the doors shut behind him.

Amy spotted his tweed jacket lying on one of the console chairs, and she reached into the breast pocket, searching for a pen. But her fingers enclosed around a small box instead.

Stunned, she pulled her hand out and stared down at the ring box she had grabbed.

It couldn't be what she thought it was…could it?

Taking a deep breath, she prised the box open and she let out a small gasp at the engagement ring resting inside.

The ring was beautiful. It was a silver band with a white diamond, and a small ring of sapphires surrounded it, cut to look like a flower.

With trembling fingers, Amy withdrew the ring and slipped it onto her ring finger.

It was a perfect fit.

She lifted her hand up slowly, admiring the ring. It was elegant, and so her.

Suddenly, she heard the Doctor knocking on the TARDIS doors, and she removed the ring hastily.

After ensuring the ring box was back in the Doctor's pocket where she found it, she walked over to the TARDIS doors and opened them.

"Sorry about that. Locked myself out." The Doctor said, shaking his head as he stepped back into his ship. "Forgot that I left my keys in my jacket. Have you written the note yet?""

Amy blinked, suddenly remembering that she was supposed to be writing a note for him. "Oh right, sorry! Slipped my mind. I'll do it now."

As she began to scribble a note for him, the Doctor watched her curiously, noticing that she looked a lot happier than a few minutes before.

Putting it down to being reunited safely, the Doctor turned away and pulled the green lever on the console down, leaving their adventure behind.

~I~

Amy didn't forget about the ring that the Doctor was carrying around with him. How could she, knowing that he was going to propose to her?

Of course she already knew her answer, but as time went on, she began to grow worried. Three weeks had passed since the Doctor's stay with Craig, but there had been no proposal. Not even a hint of one.

Amy had no idea why it was taking the Doctor so long to ask her to marry him. She'd say yes whatever, no matter their location.

The Doctor interrupted her thoughts then, and he waved his hand in front of her face. "Hey Amy, I have a question for you."

Amy began to feel hopeful. "What is it?" She asked, attempting to keep her eagerness out of her voice.

"How do you feel about visiting a seaside resort?"

"Brilliant. I'll get my bikini." She replied, turning away from him to hide her disappointment.

"You won't need one." The Doctor called after her as she began to ascend up the console room stairs. "It'll be cold."

"Fine. I'll just change into a skirt then." Amy called back, disappearing from the Doctor's sight.

The Doctor turned his attention to the console once she'd gone, and carefully piloted the TARDIS to the destination that he wanted to go to. Amy was certainly in for a surprise.

A couple of minutes later, Amy was dressed, and the two of them approached the TARDIS doors.

The Doctor threw them open eagerly, and stepped out into the cold air, tweed jacket billowing in the wind. Amy hovered tentatively in the doorway, eyeing the huge waves and the stormy sky.

"Come on Pond! Get a good lungful of that fresh sea air!" The Doctor yelled over the roaring wind.

"You'll get a great lungful of sea water if you're not careful." Amy called back, folding her arms across her chest. "When you said that it would be cold, you didn't mention that there'd be tidal waves and a storm!"

"Sorry, I'll be clearer next time." The Doctor apologised, twirling around to face her. "Are you coming out here or not?"

"After I've changed. A mini skirt isn't really suitable in this climate." Amy replied, heading back into the TARDIS.

The Doctor sighed. "Hurry up!" He yelled to her, stepping towards the surf.

It took him a couple of minutes to stumble towards the sea, the wind being too powerful to walk through, but finally, he arrived at the water.

As the tide rushed in, he crouched down, allowing his boots to be covered in seawater. "Hmm. This isn't right." He muttered, dipping his finger in the water. He stuck his finger in his mouth, and then gagged. "Definitely not right!" He spluttered, wiping his hand on his jacket.

"That is absolutely disgusting!" He heard Amy yell from behind him, and he stood up to watch her struggle towards him. "You don't know what's in that water!"

The Doctor grinned at her. "Oh, don't I? Amy, I can identify everything with taste. And let me tell you, this water isn't normal sea water."

"I could have told you that. It looks all oily looking." Amy remarked as she stopped beside him.

"It hasn't got any oil in it. It's much worse than that." The Doctor told her, backing away from the water.

"I don't even want to know." Amy grumbled, following him back up the beach. "Anyway, why are we even here?"

The Doctor shot her an offended look. "Don't you want to be here?"

Amy spread her arms out. "Of course not! When you said a seaside resort, I thought you meant somewhere like Hastings. Not a beach in the middle of a raging storm!"

"I like storms." The Doctor replied, shrugging his shoulders. "Besides, this will be a seaside resort…in two hundred years time."

"Fan-bloody-tastic." Amy said gloomily, kicking some rocks with her converse-clad feet. "Why can't you take me somewhere warm for a change?"

"Hey!" The Doctor looked indignant. "I took you to Hawaii in the 28th Century."

"We were stuck inside a Volcano." Amy reminded him. "Not exactly a relaxing break!"

"It was a fun trip though." The Doctor recalled fondly. "Except when you were nearly dragged away. That wasn't very amusing. Anyway, now I've brought you to a nice beach. A nice, dark beach."

"A nice, dark, stormy beach."

"It's not that bad." The Doctor protested. "Just look at the view!"

Amy followed his gaze back to the horizon, where a bolt of lighting had just hit the sea, sending the waves even higher. "Oh yes, what a view." She said dryly. "Lightning that's going to kill us."

"Stop being so negative." The Doctor criticised. "We're perfectly safe."

Suddenly, it began to rain, and they were both drenched with rainwater immediately.

"Oh yes!" Amy yelled over the wind. "Perfectly safe! And wet!"

The Doctor removed his bow tie and put it in his jacket pocket, not wanting to get it wet, and headed back for the TARDIS. Amy expected that they'd go inside and get dry, but the Doctor locked the door.

"What are you doing?" She demanded. "Open the door right now!"

"Amy, you didn't think I took you here just to admire the storm, did you?" He asked her, grabbing her hand and leading her further up the beach.

"As a matter of fact, yes!" She snapped, glaring at him as they stumbled towards the large boulders at the top of the beach.

Once they'd reached them, the Doctor climbed up onto the first one, almost slipping over. "Whoops! This is going to be tricky!" He called down to Amy.

"Oh bloody hell." Amy muttered, clambering onto the boulder beside him. "We're both going to break our necks!"

"Not if we do this slowly." The Doctor replied, stepping cautiously onto the next one.

"Why are we even climbing on these boulders anyway?" Amy shivered, refusing to move until she knew why they were risking their lives.

"To get off this beach! We need to get to the island village." The Doctor told her, on his hands and knees now to stop the wind from blowing him over.

Amy glanced nervously up at the stormy sky and then at the boulders. She didn't see herself climbing across them without injuring herself, so she scanned the beach for another way out.

When the next bolt of lightning streaked across the black sky, Amy spotted some stone steps leading off of the beach.

"Oh thank God!" She muttered, turning back to the Doctor. "I've found another way to get off this beach!" She yelled to him.

The Doctor, who was stuck in the middle of the boulders, glanced over his shoulder. "What did you say?" He yelled back.

Amy tried again. "I've found some stairs!"

The Doctor shook his head at her. "Can't hear a sausage!" He called. "Tell me when we're off of this beach."

Turning back around, he continued navigating his way across the boulders, slipping a couple of times. Amy watched him worriedly for a minute, before stepping off of the boulder and heading towards the stairs.

She climbed the stairs with ease and went to stand at the top of the boulders to watch the Doctor try to join her.

He didn't notice her until he'd nearly reached her, and when he saw Amy waiting for him, he gave a start and nearly toppled off of the boulders. "How did you get up there?" He bellowed over the noise of the storm.

"The stairs!" She yelled, shivering in her coat. "Now hurry up!"

"Why didn't you tell me there were stairs?" The Doctor cried as he reached the last boulder. "Honestly!"

Amy just sighed.

"Stand back Pond!" The Doctor warned, judging the distance between the boulder he was standing on and Amy. "I'm going to jump."

Amy backed away a couple of steps. "Be careful!" She told him anxiously. "I will be so mad if you hurt yourself!"

The Doctor rolled his eyes at her. "Have some faith, will you?"

Amy did have faith in him, but it didn't stop her from closing her eyes, unable to watch the Doctor make a risky leap.

Suddenly there was a loud thump next to her, and she opened her eyes to see the Doctor sprawled on the ground beside her.

"I told you to be careful!" She chastised, offering him her hands to help haul him to his feet.

The Doctor took her hands gratefully, and once he was standing, he grinned at her. "I'm fine! See? Fit as a fiddle."

Amy glanced back down at the beach, and when she caught sight of the TARDIS, she realised something. "Doctor, we could have just transported the TARDIS up here!" She hissed, smacking his arm. "Now, thanks to you, we're both soaked, cold, and I can feel a headache coming on."

"Ah, but by the time I'd have moved the TARDIS, it would be daytime." The Doctor told her, wringing water out of his shirt. "And we need to be out here in the dark."

Amy began to mimic the Doctor, and she wrung water out of her sodden ponytail. "Did it need to be stormy as well?" She muttered, glaring up at the thundery sky.

"Nope. The weather was an unforeseen circumstance." The Doctor replied, running his hand through his wet hair as he scanned the surroundings.

"You know, you never did answer my question." Amy commented. "What is this place, and why are we here?"

"Well, this island is the home to something a bit like the Loch Ness Monster, if it existed. There have been over fifty people that have gone missing here over the past year, and the locals are saying that they were sacrifices."

Amy snorted. "Sacrifices to this monster-like sea alien? Do they really believe that?"

The Doctor looked at her gravely. "Sometimes it's easier to look to legend than to confront the real truth. The people here like to think that this alien is their God. "

"And we're here to what? Rescue these sacrifices? Find this Sea Alien? Or just generally be nosy?"

"All of the above." The Doctor said happily. He offered her his hand, and Amy took it, entwining her fingers with his.

"So, I'm guessing we're on Earth then." She remarked as they began to walk towards the village.

"Close. It's a planet fairly similar to Earth in the Victorian Times. Everyone has Scottish accents."

"Scottish accents!" Amy exclaimed, smiling for the first time since they'd arrived.

The Doctor grinned as well. "I bet you feel right at home now."

Amy nodded up at the sky. "Well, this is a bit like Britain, isn't it? Permanently bad weather, rain that could drown anyone, and freezing nights. Lovely."

Laughing, they walked through an iron gate into the village.

~I~

The village was nothing like Amy had expected. She expected a lot of land and a couple of farmhouses, but the village was more like a small town.

Dark, wooden buildings loomed over them as they walked through the winding, cobbled roads, and Amy looked around them nervously.

The Doctor began to scan some of the buildings with his sonic screwdriver, but it was useless, as it didn't work on wood.

Amy gazed into some of the windows as they passed some of the buildings, and was surprised to see the locals with their faces pressed against the glass, watching them blankly.

"Doctor, why is everyone staring at us?" Amy whispered, tugging on his hand.

The Doctor looked into one of the windows and frowned. "No idea. Maybe they don't like tourists."

Amy snorted. "Tourists. Is that what we are?"

"Well, that's the nice term for nosy busybodies." The Doctor replied, stopping beside one of the buildings. He knocked on the front door, but nobody answered, even though there had been people standing in front of the window only moments before.

"Where did they go?" Amy wondered, peering into the window.

Before the Doctor could answer, one of the upstairs windows of the building was thrown open and a little girl poked her head out. "Mister! Ma'am! You have to get out of here now!" She yelled down to them.

"Why?" The Doctor questioned. "What's wrong?"

"The monster! It'll get you!" The little girl cried, panicked. "Get out! Before—"

"Mary! Get away from that window!" They heard a woman shout, and the little girl was pulled out of sight.

Amy and the Doctor exchanged bewildered glances. "What do we do now?" Amy asked him, shivering in her thin jacket. "Getting out sounds like a very good idea to me. It's wet, cold and there's a great big monster that wants to get us."

"We're not going anywhere." The Doctor told her, gazing around them. "We just need to find somewhere to stay, maybe—" But he broke off when the street was suddenly plunged into darkness.

All of the lanterns that lit the street had been put out, and there wasn't any light coming from any of the buildings.

"Why does it feel like we're suddenly in a ghost town?" Amy muttered, meeting the Doctor's gaze.

"It's like the locals don't want to be noticed." He commented quietly, using his screwdriver as a torch.

Realisation dawned on Amy. "Like they're hiding?"

"Exactly like they're hiding." The Doctor said grimly.

"But from what?"

Amy's question was answered with an almighty roar from behind them, and they spun around to see a huge, alien tentacle sliding down the street towards them.

All reviewers get a preview of the next chapter :)

Hayley x