CHAPTER 10
I do not own Doctor Who, and I am making no profit off of this.
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Amy heard crying coming from Julia's room on the TARDIS, and she knocked on the door in concern. Julia still hadn't gotten over calling Amy Mum, and thanks to all of the craziness with Trenzalore and the Silence Amy hadn't really had a chance to talk about it with her yet. She was going to do that now and put an end to this because it was breaking her hearts to hear Julia crying like that. After a few minutes, Julia opened the door; and Amy could see that her eyes were red and swollen from having cried so much.
"Julia, we need to talk, honey," Amy said.
"I know what you're going to say. You're going to tell me that my Mum wouldn't be mad at me, and that I shouldn't be upset. I know that. I know Mum would forgive me," Julia said.
"Why do you keep crying then?" Amy asked.
"You don't understand. If I start calling you Mum, then that means that she's never coming back. That means that she's really gone," Julia said in an emotional voice.
Amy put her arms around her to comfort her as she said, "I told you before that you don't have to call me that. I'm okay with it."
"You're my mother now. I feel like I'm insulting you by not saying it. It feels wrong," Julia said.
"I told you that it's fine, Julia. Stop making yourself so upset about it. She wouldn't want that and neither do I," Amy said.
"I don't want her to be gone," Julia said in a low, mournful voice.
Amy had an idea that she hoped would work and help Julia to move on. It was a gift that she could give her that would last her for the rest of her life.
"Julia, I can make it so that you can see her again whenever you want. It will almost be like she's back even though she'll still be gone," Amy said.
"What do you mean?" Julia asked.
"Can I go inside of your mind? There's something that I want to do. Is that okay?" Amy asked.
"Yeah. It's alright," Julia said without hesitation because she trusted Amy completely.
Amy placed her hands on the sides of Julia's head, and then she slowly sifted through Julia's mind until she found all of her memories of her parents.
After she had finished what she had set out to do, she said to Julia, "Close your eyes."
Julia did so and gasped as she was suddenly back with her parents once again. There they were as if they had never left. It was just like she was standing beside them again while they talked with each other about where the family was going on vacation in the summer. At first, she almost thought that the last few months had been just a bad dream and that she had just woken up to find her parents talking in front of her bed like they sometimes did. Then she saw Amy beside her, and she knew that these were her memories. Somehow Amy had made her memories become real.
"I need to explain what I've done. I've fixed it so that when you close your eyes and you really want to see them again that you can remember your parents in full lifelike detail from now on. Every memory that you have of them can be brought back just like this, and you can experience them all over again just like you've gone back in time. That way they're not completely gone. It's like a part of them is still here with you," Amy said.
"Thank you. Thank you so much. This helps. It helps a lot. Now I can be with them again whenever I want," Julia said with happy tears in her eyes for once.
Julia opened her eyes now and hugged Amy tightly as she said, "Thank you . . . Mum."
Now it was Amy's turn to cry as she had wanted to hear Julia call her that for so long now. She had understood why she hadn't, but it had still started to hurt her as she became closer to Julia. She knew that must be one of the reasons that Julia had been so upset. Julia had picked up on how much it bothered Amy despite her frequent denials of it.
Selene watched her two sisters finally completely bonding at last as mother and daughter from the doorway and smiled. She was glad that Julia was finally starting to move on. She had been so worried about her until now.
"I'm fine, Selene," Julia said as she spotted her.
"Since when do you call me that?" Selene said in surprise.
"Since I've started moving on. I might still call you Francine from time to time though when I forget," Julia said.
"You don't have to call me Selene if you don't want to," Selene reassured her.
"I do want to. It's time that I stopped living in the past. Selene is your real name not Francine," Julia said.
"You do know that you're still my sister even if we're not related by blood, right?" Selene asked.
"Yeah, I know. Thanks for saying it again anyway though," Julia said with a warm smile.
"I just needed you to know that. Don't think that I'm going soft though. I'm still just a tough as ever. I'll still pound you if you step out of line," Selene said with a grin.
"Believe me, I won't dare. I don't want to face your wrath. You might hug me to death," Julia said as she giggled.
"I've gone too far. She's not afraid of me anymore. How can I be a proper big sister when I can't have her cower before me in fear?" Selene joked.
"I never had you cowering before me," Amy said.
"Really? You were always threatening to slap me all of the time. What do you call that?" Selene asked.
"I call it aggravation. You used to get on my nerves. A lot! Especially when you were younger," Amy said.
"Really? Tell me more," Julia said eagerly.
"Shut up, Jules!" Selene said as she pretended to be angry.
Amy smiled as she hugged Julia to her tightly in appreciation over the fact that she was happy again. She hoped that she would stay that way now.
"Oh, Julia?" Amy asked.
"Yes, Mum?" Julia asked.
"Do you think that you could start calling Rory Dad now? I'll never hear the end of it if you don't. I'd really hate to have to hit him on such a happy occasion if he starts whining about it," Amy said with a huge smile.
"Sure, Mum. I was going to do it anyway. I like Rory. He's funny. Especially when he's afraid of you," Julia said with a chuckle.
"Rory's not afraid of me," Amy scoffed.
"Really? Then why does he sometimes apologize to you right after he says something that he knows might make you mad and then covers his face and shoulder?" Selene asked.
"That's called training. He knows what I expect of him," Amy said with an evil grin.
"Dance, monkey, dance!" Selene said as Julia burst out laughing.
"Stop it! It's not like that," Amy said.
"Yeah, sure. It was like that with Oisin too is all I know. You snapped your fingers, and he came running," Selene said.
"You're painting a really distorted picture of me, Selene. That's just not true, and you know it," Amy protested.
"It is though, Mum. Even I've noticed it," Julia said laughing.
"I can't believe that the two of you are already teaming up against me," Amy said as she groaned in frustration.
She wasn't as angry as she seemed though. She secretly loved their combined teasing of her because it was showing that Julia was okay now. She was laughing again, and that was what she really cared about at the moment.
Then she heard an alert sounding throughout the ship, and she raced to the Console Room. She knew that meant there was a ship in distress nearby.
"I didn't touch anything I swear," Amber said as soon as Amy entered the room.
"What did you touch?" Amy asked with a grin as she started to try to find the location of the ship giving the distress signal.
"I just touched the monitor I promise. I wanted to watch some television. I was afraid that maybe I had turned that alarm on by mistake. This ship is a lot different from your old one after all," Amber admitted.
"Are you still watching those same soap operas?" Amy asked in amusement.
"Don't start making fun of me for that again. At least I'm not as bad as you are. You're so addicted to Scottish culture that you started talking with a Scottish accent even though you're not even Scottish or human for that matter. I got this accent naturally unlike some people," Amber said.
"I did get it naturally. I turned myself into a baby again, and I was raised by a Scottish family," Amy said.
"Really? That must have sucked being a kid again. That means it's been over twenty years at least since you're seen me. Wow! I thought that not seeing you for six years was a long time. I'm surprised that you even still remember me after that long," Amber said in disbelief.
"It wasn't too bad being a kid again until someone had to crash land in my yard and then not come back. I had to spend the rest of my childhood convincing everyone that I wasn't crazy. That wasn't so great. As for you, I couldn't forget you even if I tried, Amber," Amy said with a warm smile at her.
"It's because I'm so sweet and lovable, right?" Amber joked.
"Something like that," Amy said with a chuckle.
"What's going on?" Rory asked as he finally came into the room.
"There's a ship in distress out there, and I just found them. The signal's coming from a ship in the 22nd century in a decaying orbit around Earth. I'd say that they've only got about thirty minutes left before they come crashing down. Nothing's ever easy," Amy explained.
"I guess that explains what the distress is all about then," Rory said.
"I'd say so. Let's go see who they are," Amy said as she put the ship's coordinates into the console.
The TARDIS materialized onboard the dying ship, and Amy came out first as she scanned the area with her sonic screwdriver. She managed to strengthen the power for life support with it which was close to failing as she searched for whoever had sent the signal out.
Her eyes widened in shock as she felt the presence of a familiar mind nearby. It couldn't be. What was he doing here? Then again if there's trouble anywhere in the area, he usually is right in the middle of it Amy thought to herself.
"What is it, Amy?" Rory asked.
"You'll see," Amy said with a smile all over her face.
"The Doctor's here, isn't he?" Rory said.
"Yep. How'd you know?" Amy asked.
"One, there's trouble and two, he's the only one who can put that kind of smile on your face. That's your Doctor smile right there," Rory said knowingly.
"I have a Doctor smile?" Amy asked in surprise.
"Yes, you do. I know all of your expressions by heart. I've memorized them. It makes it easier to tell when to stay away from you because you're in a bad mood and might hit me," Rory said.
"Don't you start with that too!" Amy said in irritation.
"I'm sorry for whatever it was I did," Rory said in fear.
"No, I'm the one who's sorry," Amy said as she kissed him after she realized that what Selene had said had a bit of truth to it.
"Who are you, and what have you done with Amy? Also, can I keep you?" Rory joked.
"Very funny," Amy said as she rolled her eyes at him and kissed him again.
"Who's there?" the frightened voice of a young woman said.
"Hi, my name's Amy. I've come to rescue you. I heard your signal," Amy said.
"Oh, thank you. Thank you! I was afraid that this was it. It's not just me here though. You've also got to rescue the Doctor. He's unconscious, and I can't wake him up," the woman said as she came out of the shadows.
She was a blonde in her early 20s and very shy from the way that she avoided eye contact with her if Amy wasn't mistaken. She led Amy and Rory to a control room filled with dead bodies which didn't surprise Amy in the slightest. It seemed that the Doctor was up to his hips in trouble as usual.
They saw the Doctor lying unconscious at the side of the room, and Amy ran over to him with her sonic. She scanned him and sighed in relief as she saw that his vital signs were strong. He was going to be alright. Then she noticed something else. Something that made her gasp in shock.
"What does it say? Is he going to be alright?" Rory asked.
"Yeah, he's fine. He's also not the Doctor. Well, he is but he isn't," Amy said.
"Okay. You're starting to talk just like him now because I'm just as confused as I am when he's around," Rory said.
"He's the Ganger Doctor, Rory. The one that the Flesh created from the Doctor. Remember?" Amy said.
"How do you know that?" Rory asked.
"My sonic has a setting to detect Gangers on it no matter how good they are. I put it there because I wanted to make sure that Kovarian never used them on us again. Thankfully, I don't have to worry about that anymore," Amy said.
"I thought that the Ganger Doctor died. The Doctor said that he would," Rory said.
"He should have. He should have been destroyed. I have no idea how he could still be alive," Amy said.
"Do you mean that you know him, and you thought that he was dead?" the blonde woman asked.
"Yes, I do. We were sure that he had died," Amy said.
"He didn't. I found him wandering around in the streets in a daze. He had no memory of how he got there. He said that he had been with two people who sound like you two and a twin brother but he couldn't remember ever having had a twin. He was very confused. I took him home to live with me, and he's been my roommate ever since. My name's Charlotte by the way. Charlotte Avery," the woman said.
"It's nice to meet you, Charlotte. He's been your roommate? He's been living with you all of this time? How do you still have a home left?" Amy asked in surprise.
"So you do know him! He did almost burn my apartment down a time or two, but it was by accident. He was trying to fix the wiring one time and then the toaster another time. He said that he was improving them," Charlotte said with a fond smile on her face.
"Rule number one about living with any version of the Doctor: Never, ever let him anywhere near your toaster or other household appliances if you value your continued existence," Amy said.
Charlotte and Amy both burst out laughing at once, and the Ganger Doctor woke up now to see them standing over him. He smiled as he recognized Amy and Rory immediately. Then he looked at Amy in shock as he realized something else.
"Cliodna?!" the Ganger Doctor said.
"Hello, Theta. Surprised?" Amy asked with a wry grin on her face.
"Completely. I never would have guessed it. I mean it never would have occurred to me in a million years to connect you to her. She was bossy, opinionated, yelled at me a lot, and she was always angry at me over the littlest things for which she tried to hit me. I can't believe I didn't see it sooner! Of course you were Cliodna. You're just like her or just like you or whatever. How could I have been so blind?" the Ganger Doctor said as he hit himself in the head.
"That's because you're so thick, Theta Sigma. You always have been," Amy said with a laugh.
"Am I the real Doctor?" the Ganger Doctor suddenly asked.
"No, I'm afraid not," Amy said sadly.
"I didn't think that I was. Something just didn't feel right, and my last memories were of the Gangers which didn't strike me as a good sign that I was the real Doctor either," the Ganger Doctor said.
"You are the real Doctor though in every way that matter. You taught me that," Amy said.
The Ganger Doctor smiled at her as he said, "I just remembered. We have to get off of this ship before it crashes into the Earth. I don't know how much time that we have left."
"About ten minutes I'd say. Come on. I'll take you and Charlotte out of here in my TARDIS," Amy said.
"You have a TARDIS now? Of course you do. Why not? Sorry, the old brain's still a bit fuzzy. It has been ever since Charlotte found me. I don't know what would have happened to me if it wasn't for her especially this time when the Vardans tried to invade Earth. That's who all the dead aliens were on the ship by the way. Charlotte and I were trapped on their ship after I drove them away, and we had to fight for our lives. Not many people would have gone along with me and helped me like that. She's been a very good friend to me," the Ganger Doctor said.
Amy had seen the look on Charlotte's face when she looked at him, and she knew that she was much more than just a friend to him. Theta of course in any incarnation was utterly clueless when someone liked him. It seemed that Charlotte was just like Arkytior all over again.
The four of them made it to the TARDIS just in time, and Amy dematerialized just as the ship started to fall out of orbit. She immediately left the room to make a private call on her cell phone.
The Ganger Doctor immediately knew that she was calling someone to come and see him. Who though? It must be someone besides the other Doctor, or she wouldn't have been so secretive about it.
He began to wonder if there were other Time Lords out there after all besides just the three of them that had survived the Time War. He was sure that he had felt others suddenly spring into existence not long after he was found by Charlotte, but he hadn't had a TARDIS to go find them in. It had been driving him crazy that there may be others like him that he would never meet.
Then all of his questions were answered as Rose appeared in a burst of golden light in the middle of the Console Room. He immediately sensed the truth about her and gasped.
"Arkytior. You were Arkytior. I really am blind," the Doctor said as he began to weep with joy.
"Hello, Theta. It's good to see you again," Rose said as the two of them embraced.
Charlotte meanwhile looked away as she cried for a different reason. Amy noticed this and whispered, "She's already married to the original Doctor. You're still free to go after him."
"How did you know?" Charlotte whispered back with a look of relief on her face.
"It's obvious to anybody but Theta," Amy whispered with a warm smile on her face.
"I'm going to take Theta to see my Doctor. I'm sure that they'll love seeing each other again," Rose said.
"Be careful, Rose. The two of them together will drive you nuts while they do annoying things like finishing each other's sentences," Amy said as she recalled how the two Doctors had acted when they got together before.
"I'm used to the Doctor's quirks by now so I'm sure that I can take it, even in stereo," Rose said.
Rose, I think that girl likes him. Take her too. Amy said in Rose's mind.
I'm way ahead of you. I already saw that lovesick look on her face. You know she reminds me of someone that I used to know, but I can't think of who that could be. Rose responded back.
Amy only laughed and said nothing. Sometimes Theta wasn't the only one who was completely oblivious. Rose was so similar to the Doctor that it was no wonder that she was so perfect for him even if she would never admit those similarities herself.
She smiled as Rose took the Ganger Doctor and Charlotte away with her to see the original Doctor. She was glad that the Ganger had been found and that he could be reunited with Rose at last even if he could never be with her himself.
She still wondered though how he survived. The Ganger hadn't even known himself, and neither had Charlotte. She wondered if they'd ever know.
As soon as the two Doctors were reunited back at the Doctor's TARDIS, Rose smiled at them. She remembered now when she had brought everyone back to life that the Daleks had killed back on Pete's World the day that her powers as the Bad Wolf had reemerged that the image of a man that she later recognized as the current incarnation of the Doctor had appeared in her mind. She now wondered if she had somehow brought the Ganger Doctor back to life when she did everyone else even across the Void between universes. If so, then she was glad. The universe could never have enough Doctors in it after all.
"Who would have thought that the Ganger Doctor would still be alive? Now that's just weird," Rory said.
"What would be weirder is if the Ganger me was still around. I'm glad that's not the case," Amy said with a shiver.
Rory quickly had a big smile appear on his face, and Amy punched him in the arm. He looked at her with a confused expression on his face as she laughed at him.
"Don't act all innocent. I know what you were thinking. You deserved a punch for that," Amy said.
"I was just thinking of how great it would be to have two versions of someone as sweet and kind as you are around. That's all," Rory said as he rubbed his shoulder.
"Sure, Rory! We have a link now. You can't keep anything secret from me anymore, especially your little fantasies. I'm not going to have to start calling you Captain Jack now, am I? That little daydream that you were having was one that was worthy of him," Amy said with a smile.
"I thought you weren't like that. I think Rory's sore arm tells us differently," Selene mocked her.
"Oh, shut up," Amy said with a grumble as Selene laughed at her.
"Why don't we go to Barcelona next?" Amber asked.
"You know that's a good idea. Rose is always raving about that place. I think I'll pay it a visit," Amy said as her spirits suddenly lightened.
"Oh, you'll love it, Cliodna, especially the mini-skirts. They have all kinds of them there. Some of them are so short I don't know how they even qualify as clothes," Amber said laughing.
Rory started to daydream again upon hearing this, and Amy said with a sigh, "Stop it, Captain Jack!"
Rory was beginning to wonder if he'd ever have a decent fantasy about Amy ever again with that link in effect.
Meanwhile somewhere on Earth back in the 22nd century, a red headed woman finally made it back to her home after having traveled for so long to get back there. She found no one that she knew at her old home in Leadworth. She had hoped against hope that maybe the Doctor might be waiting there for her somehow. She still couldn't understand what had happened to her or how she had gotten there. One minute she was on the TARDIS being told by the Doctor that she wasn't real and the next she was here on Earth with a golden glow surrounding her. She was beginning to wonder if she'd ever find Rory and the Doctor again.
The Ganger Amy Pond decided to keep searching until she found someone who could tell her just what was going on here. She would never give up until she got back to her husband. She would have Rory back in her arms again someday she promised herself that.
Next: The Ganger Amy returns. How will the original Amy and Rory react when they see her again? The Ganger isn't going to be too pleased to find the other Amy with Rory that's for sure.