A/N: Just want to start by saying, (based on some PMs, reviews, tumblrs) that I know that the pregnancy has readers divided between quitting reading this story and desperately wanting to know what happens lol. I won't fault anyone who stops reading a story because they don't like it. In all honesty, I would rather people read what they enjoy and have a good time even if it's not this story, I don't want to torture anyone lol :) All I can say is that pretty much every thing/twist/foreshadowing I do has a lot of thought behind it and is always part of a bigger picture. I know Evy had a boy, Proffy might have twins, (I doubt any other future TLs will have kids though lol), but just to reassure you, this won't be a domestic-Doctor story. Far from it. For many reasons we won't see till we get there beyond the fact that I can't see him being domestic at all, and that's if there's even a baby }:) This will also not focus entirely on the child or become all about the baby, yes, there may be times where it's a focus and will have a hand in Angel's actions and thoughts, I think any girl (or even guy) can understand that being pregnant makes you take more things into consideration. But we don't even know if it'll survive, so it'll be more a small subplot for however long we have till the baby either arrives or is lost :(
The pregnancy was not a desperate attempt to gain more of anything because I think the story is doing fairly well on its own already and I never feel like I need to do something drastic for the sole reason of trying to win more favor, what I do I do because it's where the plot/characters/story takes me. To me, I really am just happy to write and to write DW to get my ideas out of my head and having anyone read or follow the story is an added and very amazing bonus :) If you like the story, that's great :) If not, that's fine too :) All I can ask is that you all trust me and see where it goes :) This story has been written out since 2012 too so I really couldn't have thought 'my story is sucking by this point, let's make Angel pregnant and drum up readers,' unless I was psychic...but I'm not Angel lol :) And even then I feel the story is doing pretty ok so the Angel-pregnancy thing wasn't a bid of desperation, because I'm not desperate, I am literally thrilled if I get even 1 review :) It might help though to try and not compare the stories but to treat them as 3 separate series (that just happen to be penned by the same author), it might help overcome any 'another TL pregnant?' feelings by looking at this story just for this story and how the pregnancy would affect Angel's journey. Because, really, they are 3 separate series and this is just where the characters/plot are taking this one :)
~8~
Amy's Choice: Where. Is. She?
Birds were chirping on a bright and sunny day, just outside a small two story stone cottage where Amy stood in her small kitchen, mixing something in a bowl, heavily pregnant and looking near ready to pop. She smiled absently as she mixed the concoction before her, having had a craving for pancakes earlier and decided to make some, despite the fact it was nearly 4 in the afternoon.
Suddenly, though, she gasped and set the bowl down, one hand braced on the countertop, the other coming to hold her stomach as it twisted painfully, "RORY!" she screamed.
~8~
Rory, now sporting long hair in a ponytail, rode a bicycle with a basket in the front into the yard of the cottage, having made his rounds as a doctor and was now heading home to be with his lovely wife. He tried to cut back his hours as much as he could, just so he could get home earlier to her, be with her. She was nearly ready to give birth and he did NOT want to miss it. He'd promised Angel he'd call her the moment Amy went into labor...though if he had to guess, he felt it might be more like them watching a movie and Angel running in with the Doctor, shouting about how they needed to get Amy to the hospital right at that moment...and then Amy's contractions would start. He smiled fondly at the thought of his pilot, the psychic, oh he called her up every day asking if she had any feelings about it, just so he could maybe take a day off and be there right from the start for Amy's labor. He really just couldn't wait to be a dad!
"Rory, it's starting!" he heard Amy scream from inside the house just as he pulled up to it.
His eyes widened and he immediately dropped the bike to the ground, running inside, rushing to her side where she sat on the floor, eating batter from the bowl, "Ah. Ok," he admitted he panicked a bit, "Ok..."
"False alarm," Amy shrugged, running her finger along the spoon she'd been mixing with, eating the batter off it.
"What?" he blinked.
"False alarm."
"What?"
"Well, I don't know what it feels like. I've never had a baby before," she fed him some batter.
"Mmm!" he started to smile, leaning in to give her a kiss...
When Amy's eyes widened, hearing a familiar wheezing outside and grabbed Rory's arm instead, using him as leverage to get up off the floor, "No."
"I know, leaf blowers," Rory shook his head, "Use a rake!"
Amy just put the bowl on the table, "No, it's…" they both looked out the window to see the TARDIS materialize outside in their garden, "I knew. I just knew!"
They ran for the door, well...Rory ran, Amy...waddled.
~8~
The TARDIS landed in the middle of Amy's flowerbed, which was really saying something as the small flower bed was literally just a few inches bigger than the base of the TARDIS. If Rory hadn't known any better, he'd have thought Angel had piloted it, for such a perfect fit...but then again, Angel would be considerate enough not to land in the flowerbed at all and crush the poor plants.
The doors popped open and the Doctor stuck his head out to see where he was, stepping out and knocking a stone from the small retaining wall over as he did so, "Rory!" he called, spotting the man as he ran outside.
"Doctor," Rory greeted him.
"I've crushed your flowers."
"Oh, Amy will kill you," he laughed, "Don't need to be Angel to know that...where is she?" he frowned, trying to look past the Doctor, wondering why Angel wasn't coming out to hug him. She'd given him so many hugs over the years that it didn't seem right to see the blue box and then not get a hug...or end up tackled to the ground as Angel threw herself into his arms for a bear hug. She claimed he gave the best human hugs ever. Which he took to be quite the compliment.
"Where's Amy?" the Doctor wondered similar thoughts.
"She'll need a bit longer."
"Whenever you're ready, Amy!" the Doctor yelled as Amy stepped out, his eyes widening at the sight of her pregnant self, "Oh, wahey! Wahey. You've swallowed a planet!" he rested a hand on her stomach.
"I'm pregnant," she smiled.
"You're huge."
"Yeah, I'm pregnant."
"Look at you. When worlds collide."
"Doctor, I'm pregnant."
"Oh, look at you both. Five years later and you haven't changed a bit," he hugged her, "Apart from age and size."
"Good to see you, Doctor," Amy shook her head.
There was a slight pause before he asked, "Are you pregnant?"
Amy shook her head at him.
Rory just frowned more, " Doctor, where's Angel?"
He'd really missed his Pilot over the years, they'd gotten very close during their travels. Angel had been there for him through so much, defended him against the Doctor's teasings, been lovely as a bridesmaid during his and Amy's wedding, helped talk to Amy about settling down when he'd confided he wanted to start a family, and just...always been there for him. Even after they'd stayed on Earth, Angel always seemed to know when he needed someone to talk to and would call to check in. And she'd even visit at times! Oh those were lovely. They'd relied on each other so much in that old box and he hadn't actually seen her since before Amy had gotten pregnant so...he was really looking forward to seeing her again.
So where was she?
The Doctor looked back over his shoulder, as if surprised Angel wasn't right behind him for a moment, "Oh, she's around," he turned back to them, "She's visiting our friend Jack and his team Torchwood."
Amy nodded and turned to go back inside for her coat, wanting to get out of the house and show the Doctor their village. The Doctor clapped Rory on the shoulder and followed after her.
Rory though frowned, something about that...wasn't right. Angel wouldn't miss this opportunity to see them. And, with a time machine, the Doctor could have picked her up when she was finished and come there. He looked back at the TARDIS, feeling...something was off. He was suspicious that Angel might have rubbed off on him, or at least made him more confident in his instincts. But something here didn't fit. Something was wrong. Angel should be there, so why wasn't she? He'd caught that little glimpse of the Doctor's reaction, the man seemed genuinely surprised Angel wasn't there, till he...sort of remembered where she was.
But that didn't change the fact that Angel should be there.
"Rory come on!" Amy called as she waddle-jogged out of the house, dragging the Doctor along behind her, eager to stretch her legs.
Rory shook his head and turned to follow after his pregnant wife.
~8~
The trio was walking down a village lane while the Doctor looked around, "Ah, Leadworth. Vibrant as ever."
"It's Upper Leadworth, actually," Rory smiled, "We've gone slightly up market."
"Where is everyone?" he turned to his left where...no one was there, and blinked, turning back to Amy and Rory, "Where is everyone?"
He'd forgotten there, just for a moment, that Angel was visiting Jack. It felt...weird. He had to admit, it really did, that Angel wasn't there with him. It had been him and her for a while as Amy and Rory settled down. Perhaps he'd finally given her that earache he'd worried about. She'd just...asked him if she might stop in and see Jack for a short while, something about Gray visiting Torchwood and wanting to be with her brothers. He knew how important the men were to Angel and so he'd dropped her off in the Plass and went about tinkering with the TARDIS. He wanted to try his hand at fixing something, impress Angel when she returned...
No, he stopped a moment, that wasn't the reason. He wasn't trying to impress her. No, why would he? No, no, he just...wanted to see if he could fix the TARDIS. He'd been testing out the control and, the next thing he knew, he was in front of Amy and Rory's yard. He supposed he was just so used to Angel being there to fix it for him and join him wherever he went that, to not have her there...it hadn't really sunk in yet.
"This is busy," Amy said as she glanced back at the only other two people turning off the lane behind them, "Ok, it's quiet, but it's really restful and healthy. Loads of people here live well into their 90s."
"Well, don't let that get you down."
"It's not getting me down."
"I wanted to see how you were," the Doctor sat on the center of a bench by a wall, "I don't just abandon people when they leave the TARDIS. This Time Lord's for life. You don't get rid of the Doctor so easily."
"You ended up here on accident didn't you?" Rory smiled a bit.
"How did you know?" the Doctor looked up at him.
"I'm psychic," he joked, "No, Angel I can believe popping in."
The Doctor smiled at that, thinking on her. She did pop in a lot on her 'family' didn't she? Just last week she went to see Martha and Mickey, the week before, tea with Sarah Jane, and now visiting Jack, and he knew she had plans with Donna to nab a bit of lunch in a few days, well a few days for Donna. His smile started to fade a bit...she was...always asking him if she might go see them. He never could bring himself to go, it hurt him to look back on all those people he'd had to leave behind, all the people who kept growing older and decaying while he stayed as he was, but that didn't stop her. It...it almost seemed like she was trying to get away from him. It was like every other adventure they had she'd want to see her family. It was starting to worry him because she was gone longer and longer each time, like she was...weaning him off her.
Not that there was anything to be weaned off of. No. Of course not. Not really. No.
But he did miss her when she wasn't there. He was a bit afraid that he'd done something to upset her and this was her way of telling him she wanted to leave, but that she was just too kind to actually do it. He swallowed hard at that thought, his hearts starting to race and tug at imagining Angel leaving him.
"Yeah, bit of a mistake," he mumbled, if just to get his mind away from that topic and back to the Ponds, "I didn't have Angel to double check my work. But look, what a result. Look at this...bench," he patted it, "What a nice bench. What will they think of next?" Amy and Rory sat down on either side of him, the three of them sitting there, a bit bored, "So...what do you do around here to stave off the, you know..."
"Boredom?" Amy glanced at him.
"Self harm."
"We relax..." Rory said as the Doctor mouthed 'relax,' "We live, we listen to the birds."
"Yeah, see, birds," Amy nodded, hearing a small chirping birdsong, "Those are nice."
"We didn't get time to listen to birdsong back in the TARDIS days."
"Well of course not," the Doctor laughed, "The TARDIS would have a fit if birds started nesting in her rafters!" he winced though as the birdsong became louder, making him rub his head, "Oh, blimey. My head's a bit, oh..." he held his head in his hand and sat back up, "No, you're right, there wasn't a lot of time for birdsong back in the good..." he began to drift off, "Old...days…"
And then the three of them drifted off to sleep.
~8~
"Doctor wake up!"
The Doctor jerked awake at the sound of someone shouting at him, to find himself lying on the floor of the TARDIS. He looked around, half expecting Angel to be there as the voice that had shouted was most certainly hers...but...she wasn't there. He shook his head, she's was visiting Jack wasn't she? No…that had been in the dream, right now she was somewhere in the TARDIS, probably in her room sleeping or something. She seemed tired lately, not that he blamed her. Their last few adventures had been a mess of running and rain and sweltering forests and being chased by aliens...he was even tired. And he hoped she wasn't getting ill. He winced at the thought of her standing out in that storm in Venice with Rory and Amy, hoping she hadn't caught a cold. She seemed slightly more pale than normal and, once or twice, he swore he saw her turn a bit green when he was cooking.
Which was understandable, Amy had spit out his last culinary attempt.
But at least he knew she was in the TARDIS. He smiled at that, she was in the TARDIS and with him, not with Jack, not on Earth while he was wandering off somewhere. Most important rule, not to wander off, he found it applied to Angel as well, he never felt...quite right...wandering away from her. There was always a niggling in his mind that told him to stay with her. And he knew it wasn't just her abilities, knowing they'd help him keep everyone safe and warn him of dangers, but just...things went better when Angel was around.
She was like a...good luck charm...
~oOo~
Jack cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders before they stepped out of the alley, walking along the main street, trying to get their bearings, "Still, at least we made it. Earth, 21st century by the looks of it. Ha ha, talk about lucky."
"That wasn't luck, that was me and Angel," he said.
Angel frowned and looked up at him, "Me? What did I do?"
He leaned in, rubbing his nose against hers lightly, "You were there."
"My good luck charm."
"She better not be helping you get THAT lucky Doc," Jack warned with a smirk. He may not want to KNOW about them dancing, but he sure as hell didn't have a problem teasing them about it.
"Jack!" he cried, flushing.
~oOo~
He winced, abruptly jerking up, "What? No, yes, sorry, what?" Amy and Rory walked down the stairs and met him by the console as he picked himself up, both of them looking a bit confused as well, "Oh, you're ok. Oh, thank God. I had a terrible nightmare about you two. That was scary. Don't ask, you don't want to know. You're safe now," he hugged Amy.
"Oh, ok," Amy hugged him back, shooting Rory a confused look over the man's shoulder.
"That's what counts. Blimey, never dropped off like that before. Well, never, really. I'm getting on a bit, you see. Don't let the cool gear fool you. Now, what's wrong with the console?" he examined it to see a red flashing light, "Red flashing lights...I bet they mean something," he spun around, as though expecting Angel to walk in with the answer, "Angel?!" he called, dashing to the stairs and shouting down the halls, knowing the TARDIS would rework the halls so that her room would be closer, let her hear him, "Could you come to the console room please?" he whirled around and dashed back to it, leaning over to look at the red flashing lights up close.
"Doctor, I also had a kind of dream thing," Rory admitted, making the Time Lord stiffen.
"Yeah, so did I," Amy nodded.
"Not a nightmare, though, just...we were married."
"Yeah, in a little village…"
The Doctor stood and looked at them, surprised and a bit concerned.
"A sweet little village, and you were pregnant."
"Yeah, I was huge. I was a boat!"
The Doctor walked up behind Rory and tugged his hoodie, looking for the ponytail.
"So you had the same dream, then? Exactly the same dream?"
"Are you calling me a boat?"
"And Doctor, you were visiting," Rory looked at him, avoiding answering the question, "But Angel was with that Jack bloke. Who's he by the way?"
"Her older brother," he murmured, "One of them anyway," before he opened Amy's jacket, looking for her pregnant belly.
"Yeah, yeah," Amy nodded, recalling that moment too, "You came to our cottage without her."
"How can we have the same dream?" Rory shook his head, "It doesn't make sense."
"And you had a nightmare about us. What happened to us in the nightmare?"
"It was similar, in some aspects," the Doctor said.
"Which aspects?" Rory asked.
"Well, all of them."
"You had the same dream?" Amy frowned.
"Basically."
"You said it was a nightmare," Rory pointed out.
"Did I say nightmare? No. More of a really good...mare. Look, it doesn't matter. We all had some kind of psychic episode. We probably jumped a time track," he waved them off, moving to look at the monitor, trying to find Angel in the TARDIS scanner, wanting to know exactly where she was so he could go get her for a little help, who better to ask about a psychic episode than a psychic? "Forget it, we're back to reality now."
But he tensed before he could reach the monitor, hearing the birdsong begin again.
"Doctor, if we're back to reality how come I can still hear birds?" Amy breathed.
"Yeah, the same birds," Rory agreed, "The same ones we heard in the…"
~8~
They woke up on the bench, Rory and the Doctor's heads together, "…dream," Rory pulled away from the Doctor in embarrassment, "Oh. Sorry. Nodded off, stupid. God, I must be overdoing it. I was dreaming we were back on the TARDIS, but..." he frowned as the Doctor got up, "Angel wasn't there..." he looked at Amy, "You had the same dream, didn't you?"
"Back in the TARDIS," Amy nodded, "Weren't we just saying the same thing?"
"But we thought this was the dream."
The Doctor picked up a small stone from the path and examined it, tossing it back down onto the ground.
Amy stood up, "I think so. Why do dreams fade so quickly?"
Rory made his way over to the Doctor, "Doctor, what is going on?"
"Is this because of you? Is this some Time Lord thing because you've shown up again?"
"Listen to me," the Doctor turned to them, "Trust nothing. From now on, trust nothing you see, hear or feel."
"Why not?" Amy frowned.
"Because Angel isn't here to tell us what's real, or if we're even awake and I can't tell," the Doctor rubbed his head.
He was slowly starting to get the suspicion that this wasn't an ordinary dream, and if it wasn't an ordinary dream...then something else was going on. And with Angel not there...for some reason...his mind immediately went to whether or not she was ok, if something might have happened to her and that was why she wasn't there at the moment.
"But we're awake now," Rory shook his hea.
"You thought you were awake on the TARDIS too."
"But we're home," Amy gestured around.
"Yeah. You're home. You're also dreaming. Trouble is, Rory, Amy, which is which? Are we flashing forwards…or backwards? Hold on tight. This is going be a tricky...one..." he started blinking quickly, hearing the birdsong pick up, before the three of them fell to the ground...
He blinked blearily, trying to fight it...his vision growing hazy and blurred as sleep seized him. But...he almost swore, the last thing he saw before the blackness consumed him...was Angel kneeling over him, worry in her eyes...
~8~
Amy woke up on the jump seat with a gasp to see the Doctor stride over to a lever on the console, about to grab it...when the console sparked violently.
"Ow!" he winced, snapping his hand away, shaking it out, "Oi! I thought you forgave me for the mess!" he huffed at the rotor, moving to try and take the lever again, he gripped it this time, managing to pull it down only a bit...when blaring alarms went off.
"Doctor!" Amy shouted, putting her hands over her ears, Rory doing the same at the piercing noise, "Turn it off!"
"I'm trying!" he grumbled, pressing quite a few random buttons, only for half of them to spark against him, the lights starting to turn red, "Stop that!" he called to the TARDIS.
"Doctor!" Amy ran over, trying to help, wanting the noise to stop, only for the TARDIS to let out the most angry grinding noise they'd heard from the old box yet as she reached another knob. She struggled to turn it, the grinding noise getting louder.
"Amy stop!" Rory rushed to her side, pulling her back, not needing to be a Time Lord or anything to know that the box was, for some reason, very very angry and not at all happy with Amy and the Doctor trying to, well, push her buttons.
"Come on!" the Doctor grunted, struggling to push a lever up that would cut off the terrible noise.
"Doctor just go find Angel!" Rory shouted, moving to try and help the Doctor, knowing that Angel would be the best person to try and calm down the epic tantrum that was being thrown. The man backed away, about to do just that...
When Rory pushed the lever up, perfectly easy, the alarms fading.
The Doctor blinked, staring at him, at how he'd been able to do that. That lever hadn't given for anything and there was Rory just...pushing it up, like it was easy.
"Um..." Rory pointed to the lever, "What just happened?"
"How did you do that?" Amy asked, him, walking over, before spinning to the Doctor, "How did he do that?"
The Doctor frowned and itched the side of his face, before tentatively reaching out and tapping a button...the console sparking in retaliation. He pouted, walking over to Amy and taking her hand, moving to put it on a knob, only for that to spark too. And then he eyed Rory, leaning in close, nearly nose-to-nose with him, squinting at him, before leaning back and grabbing Rory's hand, putting it on a switch...which did nothing. No spark, nothing at all.
"What does that mean?" Amy shook her head, crossing her arms and frowning at how the TARDIS had reacted to both her and the Doctor but not Rory.
"It seems Rory is the only one the TARDIS will let touch the controls without throwing a fit," the Doctor remarked.
Amy rolled her eyes, "Yeah, we got that, but why?"
They both looked at Rory as though he would know the answer when the Doctor clearly didn't, but he just shrugged, "Maybe she likes me?"
"It's a machine," Amy countered, "It's just a spaceship."
Rory frowned, he'd heard Angel call the box 'she' and 'girl' and, it seemed he'd picked it up as well, but he did get the sense that the ship was alive in some way. Angel had told him, when she talked about the War and the Daleks after Venice, about what she did on Gallifrey, the TARDISes she'd grown. He knew they were grown, he wasn't sure if Amy did. As a nurse, he always felt a profound sense of respect for life, and if a TARDIS could be grown and not built, well, it had to have some sense of life to it, didn't it?
They looked up as the TARDIS hummed gently, Rory getting the distinct impression that she was either agreeing with his words or his thoughts, either way, it meant he was right. Oh, that was a nice feeling.
"Yes, well," the Doctor muttered, "This is bad," he tried to turn one more knob, hoping that the hum might mean the old box had calmed down some...only for the grinding noise to start again in warning, "I don't like this!" he pointed his own warning finger at the rotor and kicked the base console, only serving to hurt his foot, "Argh! Never use force. You just embarrass yourself. Unless you're cross, in which case, always use force."
"Shall I run and get the manual?" Amy asked as the Doctor headed down stairs to look under the console.
"Angel threw it in a supernova."
"Angel threw the manual in a supernova?"
~oOo~
"YOU dress up and I'LL leave my hair down."
"I could have worn that suit you know," he nudged Angel lightly back, "But someone went and threw it in a supernova."
She poked him in the side, "YOU were the one who threw the manual into a supernova first," she reminded him, making him pout, "I was just following your example."
"The manual was wrong though," he insisted.
"My ancestors helped write the manual," she countered, "Are you saying I'M wrong about the TARDIS?"
He blinked, realizing he may have just fallen into a bit of a trap, before he leaned in and kissed her quickly, "I'm saying that I'd much rather learn it from YOU than some stuffy old book," he kissed her again, "Books are boring, YOU are the most interesting, divine specimen in the Universe," he grinned, kissing the back of her hand, feeling her hearts jump at his words, "I'd pay attention to everything you say."
~oOo~
"Why would Angel even need a manual for the TARDIS?" Rory poked another hole in his excuse.
"Oh alright, I threw it in a supernova," he grumbled, shaking his head.
"Why?" Amy nearly laughed.
"Because I disagreed with it. Stop talking to me when I'm cross!" he pointed at her.
"Ok, but whatever's wrong with the TARDIS, is that what caused us to dream about the future?" Rory asked, before blinking, "Has Angel ever dreamed about the future?"
"If we were dreaming of the future…" the Doctor headed back up the stairs, not answering Rory's question, though it did have a point to it. Angel would be able to help much more than him, she was brilliant with the TARDIS and, the box hadn't been cross with Angel last time it had been cross with him, perhaps she would be able to pilot it wherever they needed o go to get out of the time track or whatever it was that was causing whatever this was.
"Of course we were," Amy nodded, "We were in Leadworth."
"Upper Leadworth," Rory corrected, just as he had in the dream.
"Yeah, and we could still be in Upper Leadworth, dreaming of this," the Doctor argued, "Don't you get it?"
"No, ok, no, this is real," Amy said, "I'm definitely awake now."
"And you thought you were awake when you were all elephanty."
"Hey, pregnant!"
"And you could be giving birth right now. This could be the dream. I told you, trust nothing we see or hear or feel until Angel gets here, shouldn't be that long, she's probably sensed us stuck in whatever this is. But the point is, till then, look around you. Examine everything. Look for all the details that don't ring true," he moved to the console and moved the monitor around...only for the screen to go to static as soon as he began to type in the keyboard, "I'm just trying to find out where Angel is!" he grumbled at the TARDIS.
It was silent a moment longer before the screen flickered to life, "Thanks," he rolled his eyes, typing away on the scanner, looking for Angel. If anyone could tell them if they were dreaming the future or at least sense which was real it would be her.
"Ok, we're in a spaceship that's bigger on the inside than the outside," Rory started.
"With a bowtie-wearing alien," Amy nodded, "And a psychic in cowboy boots."
"So maybe 'what rings true' isn't so simple."
"Valid point," the Doctor murmured before his eyes widened at the reading being displayed about Angel's whereabouts.
And then the TARDIS's power cut off, sending the monitor black, leaving them in darkness, the only light coming from the dim glow of the rotor.
"Doctor," Amy breathed, "What happened?"
"Well…two things. Two bad, really quite very bad things...first is...Angel isn't reading on any of the scans. She's not onboard the TARDIS and she should be."
"Where is she?" Rory spun to him.
"I don't know."
"How can you not know?!" Rory frowned, the Doctor had been the last person to see Angel before. He and Amy had gone to the kitchen for a late lunch and Angel was helping the Doctor work on fixing something on the console. The man was literally the last person to see her so how could he not know where she went?!
"What's the second thing?" Amy cut in, not wanting the boys to start arguing when there was still another 'very bad thing' to come.
"The TARDIS is dead," the Doctor stated, "We're in a dead time machine," the birdsong returned and the TARDIS grew darker, Rory went to Amy and took her in his arms, "Remember, this is real, but when we wake up in the other place, remember how real this feels."
"It is real," Amy stated even as she and Rory started to slump to the ground, "I know it's real."
"Doctor?"
The Doctor heard someone whispering, turning his head as he half fell onto the jump seat.
"Doctor?!"
"Angel?" he murmured...before falling to the ground, asleep.
~8~
The Doctor stood in the middle of the street as a group of schoolchildren walked by. Amy and Rory woke up on the bench, "Ok," Amy swallowed, "This is the real one, definitely this one," she patted her stomach, "It's all solid."
"It felt solid in the TARDIS too," the Doctor countered, growing more and more frustrated.
Finding out that Angel wasn't on the TARDIS when he thought she'd been was worrying him. He'd thought she was with Jack in this world but...what if she wasn't? What if she wasn't there? And if she wasn't there...where was she? He swallowed hard, resting a hand to the center of his chests as his hearts began to hammer away, his blood racing, though he felt cold at the thought of something having happened to Angel and that was why she wasn't there with them.
"You can't spot a dream while you're having it…unless your Angel…and she's not here right now," he waved his hands around in front of his face.
"What are you doing?" Rory frowned.
"Looking for motion blur, pixilation. It could be a computer simulation. I don't think so, though."
An old woman walked by, smiling at them, "Hello, doctor."
"Hi," the Doctor greeted.
"Hello," Rory smiled.
The woman paused to look back at the Doctor oddly before continuing on.
"You're a doctor?" the Doctor turned to Rory.
"Yeah. And unlike you, I've actually passed some exams," he smirked, recalling a story Angel had told him about the Doctor's piloting. Oh that was brilliant. The man couldn't even pilot his own transport! Oh the stories Angel had told him about the Doctor's past exploits...well, they had him in stitches. The man never seemed able to make the landing quite right could he? At least not when he didn't let Angel help or pilot herself.
"A doctor, not a nurse. Just like you've always dreamed. How interesting," he walked off.
"What is?"
"Your dream wife, your dream job, probably your dream baby. Maybe this is your dream."
"It's Amy's dream too. Isn't it, Amy?"
"Yes," Amy answered quickly, a bit too quickly but Rory didn't notice, "Course it is, yeah."
"But I don't think it's mine."
"Why not?" the Doctor eyed him.
Rory shrugged, "I'd want Angel here too."
The Doctor blinked at that, at yet another reminder that Angel wasn't, in fact, there with them, and turned, looking around, spotting an old building with old people looking out at them through the windows. But that wasn't what caught his eye and made him stiffen, staring right back.
Standing there, in the stairwell of the building, by the window, and looking right down at him with a small frown, was Angel.
He blinked and she was gone.
He shook his head and pointed at the building, "What's that?"
"Old people's home," Amy shrugged.
"You said everyone here lives to their 90s. There's something here that doesn't make sense…let's go and poke it with a stick!" he ran off, Rory following after him with a groan.
He almost felt responsible for the Time Lord in a way. Amy was pregnant, probably wouldn't be able to keep up with him as needed. Angel wasn't there. And so...it really fell to him to keep an eye on the Doctor. For Angel. He'd noticed she worried about the Doctor often. He saw her look at him, at times, with this worried look on her face, but that was just her, she worried about everyone didn't she? Well, he wouldn't let anything happen to the Doctor for her.
Amy put her hands on her back a moment, "Oh. Can we not do the running thing?" but they had already disappeared into the building. She sighed and made her way in after them, catching up with them as they entered the second floor lounge of the home, the residents relaxing around while an old woman was knitting on a sofa.
"Oh, hello, Dr. Williams!" a resident called.
The knitting woman looked up, "Hello, Rory love."
"Hello, Mrs. Poggit," Rory smiled, "How's your hip?"
"A bit stiff."
"Oh, easy, D-96 compound, plus..." the Doctor trailed off, "No, you don't have that yet, forget that."
"Who's your friend? A junior doctor?"
"Yes," Rory grinned.
"Can I borrow you?" Poggit looked at the Doctor, "You're the size of my grandson."
The Doctor knelt before her as she put a jumper over his head, "Slightly keen to move on. Freak psychic schism to sort out without the local psychic around to help, not an easy task," he leaned forward, forcing Poggit to sit back, "You're incredibly old, aren't you?"
The residents looked on, expressionless, as the birdsong began, the trio falling to the floor, asleep.
~8~
"Please be ok..."
The Doctor winced, hearing someone that sounded very much like Angel pleading beside him. He rolled onto his side but there was no one there. He frowned at that, that notion felt wrong...that there was no one at his side. He shook his head and sat up, seeing Amy and Rory waking from their positions leaning against the console.
"Ok, I hate this, Doctor," Amy said, "Stop it, because this is definitely real, it's definitely this one. I keep saying that, don't I?"
The Doctor ignored her, heading up to the upper level of the TARDIS, knowing better than to attempt tinkering with the console at the moment, he did NOT need any more burns on his hands thank you very much.
"It's bloody cold," Rory murmured, feeling a bit...relieved that Angel wasn't there to be put through this.
All this waking up and different worlds and the chill...he'd rather her not be there for something so odd, especially since they didn't know what was going on or how dangerous it would be. Sure, it would probably be easier if she was there, if she had been able to sense what was happening or if there was a danger coming but, in a way, it was safer that she wasn't. Angel had jokingly called him her younger brother, but he'd felt it. That tiny flash of protectiveness that he assumed siblings would feel for each other. He couldn't help but feel like...he wanted to protect her. For her claims of being the 'older sister' she was shorter than him, smaller than him, made him feel like she needed protecting. He noticed how dangerous things got around the Doctor, and how...oblivious he could sometimes be to that fact, he...he didn't want Angel to get hurt because of that.
"The heating's off," the Doctor replied.
"The heating's off?" he repeated, not having really been paying attention as his thoughts drifted to Angel.
"Yeah. Put on a jumper. That's what I always do."
"Yes, sorry about Mrs. Poggit. She's so lovely though."
"Oh, I wouldn't believe her nice old lady act if I were you."
"What do you mean, 'act?'" Amy asked.
"Everything's off, sensors, core power. We're drifting. The scanner's down so we can't even see out. We could be anywhere," he sighed, rubbing his forehead, "I wish I knew where Angel was, she'd sense something by now, point me in the right direction. She'd tell us what's going on."
"Yeah, and help with the TARDIS," Rory added.
He'd discovered rather quickly that Angel was the go-to-gal whenever a question about the TARDIS came up or a repair was needed. He'd stumbled in on her fixing the small explosion that the Doctor had made before Venice and they got to talking about it, about the Doctor's piloting, about everything TARDIS related. She'd even started showing him how the TARDIS worked, how to fix little things here and there. It was actually great fun, she really knew how to explain it in ways he could understand as opposed to the Doctor who tended to go off on a ramble of technobabble and lost tangents. He really appreciated the fact that Angel took the time to explain it to him. To be honest, it could get a bit overwhelming in the bigger-on-the-inside phone box, she really helped to acclimatize him to it, make him feel welcome and comfortable, and that meant the world to him. He found that he really enjoyed her company. It was great to bond, Pilot to companion. Secretly, he'd really sort of wanted a closeness like Amy and the Doctor seemed to have and, it seemed, he was well on his way to it. Angel was just great, she'd even started to tell him some stories about the adventures they'd gotten into before he and Amy arrived before he'd realized it had been quite a few hours since he'd gotten any sleep and headed of to bed with the promise to hear more about it later, a promise he was sure they'd both keep.
The Doctor headed back down to the console, "The only thing I know is that someone, something, is overriding my controls."
Just then a hologram of an older man appeared on the top of the steps. He was short with a receding hairline and a bit on the heavy side, dressed in a tweed jacket with a striped shirt and a large bowtie.
"Well, that took a while," the image walked down the steps, "Can't say I'm surprised though," he gave the Doctor a near sneering look, "You're quite the oblivious dunce aren't you? Honestly, I'd heard such good things," he rolled his eyes, giving the impression he was being sarcastic, "Last of the Time Lords, the Oncoming Storm, the Destroyer of Worlds. Him in the bowtie. But I supposed you're really nothing without the Angel there beside you aren't you? With the Last Time Lady, the Life Bringer, the Creator of Light. The angel among mortals? Now SHE'S someone to talk about," he smiled.
"How did you get into my TARDIS?" the Doctor's eyes narrowed, his hands clenching into fists at the look on the man's face as he spoke of Angel, something which seemed to amuse the man to no end, "What are you?"
"What shall we call me?" the man hummed, "Well, if you're the Time Lord, let's call me the Dream Lord."
"Nice look."
"This?" he grimaced at his outfit, "No, I'm not convinced. Bowties? Rather useless ties aren't they? I like regular ties, much more useful."
The Doctor took an item from his pocket and tossed it at the Dream Lord, the item passing through him, "Interesting."
"I'd love to be impressed, but Dream Lord, it's in the name, isn't it? Spooky, not quite there," he flickered and appeared behind them, "And yet, very much here. Really you should have worked that out. Angel would have, she would have sensed exactly what I was before I even appeared," he smiled, seeming almost...fond, "The psychic."
"I'll do the talking, thank you," the Doctor nearly snapped, "What have you done with Angel?"
The Dream Lord laughed, "Me? You think I've taken her somewhere? What am I, a thief?" he hummed, "Well I suppose not anymore am I?"
The Doctor's jaw tensed, "Where. Is. She?"
"Ohh," he smirked, chuckling darkly at the tone of the Doctor's voice, "Is that meant to frighten me?"
"Tell me what you've done with her!"
"I've done nothing," the man spat, glaring right back at the Doctor, none of his previous 'good nature' to be found, "Nothing at all. And maybe that's the problem isn't it?"
The Doctor tensed and shook his head, realizing he'd never get anything out of the man being angry, so he turned to Amy, though his eyes were still on the hologram, "Amy, want to take a guess at what that is?" he offered her the question, needing a distraction.
"Um," Amy blinked, startled by the sudden question, "Dream Lord. He creates dreams."
"Dreams, delusions, cheap tricks."
"And what about the gooseberry here, does he get a guess?" the Dream Lord asked, nodding at Rory.
"Listen, mate, if anyone's the gooseberry around here, it's the Doctor," Rory stated.
"There's a delusion I'm not responsible for," the Dream Lord smirked at Rory, though more of an impressed smirk than anything, that boy...he had spunk, he could see why Angel liked him.
"No, he is," Rory insisted, "Isn't he, Amy?"
"No arguments there mate," the Dream Lord nodded, glancing at the Doctor, "King of the Gooseberries him. Can't even see what's right in front of him," he shook his head, "Can't even see what's at risk."
The Doctor tensed, sensing a threat in the man's words, "What are you talking about?"
The Dream Lord's smirk grew dark, "Keep it up, Doctor, and you will lose the most important thing in your world forever."
A/N: I AM LOVING the Dream Lord. Seriously. The Doctor may have forgotten Angel but his subconscious is VERY much aware of what it is he has forgotten. I'm tingling to see how the Dream Lord reacts to the rest of this episode :) I can also say that there'll be more memory-flashes in this episode than the others, since it's mostly dreams I feel like more would sneak through :) Lol, did you like how the TARDIS only liked Rory in the dream world?
As for what's up with Angel...we have our very first Angel-lite episode. I feel like they did it in the show, why not try it here. I'll say now there's a reason why Angel isn't here. I think, if she was in a dream world of her own, we'd have seen it, so I think I can safely say she is not in any dream world at all. As for where she is, whether sleeping in the TARDIS as this happens like one Doctor thinks, or visiting Jack like the other dream-him believes, or something else we'll have to see. I also feel like the Doctor notices more about Angel when she's not there so the Dream Lord's words might have more of an impact.
I'm also officially announcing that the Torchwood Crossover for Miracle Day will take place after Cold Blood :)
And...we officially have 2(!) submissions for the HOTS challenge! ^-^ I'm so excited! I'm going to be posting links on my tumblr, on my 'Challenges' page with links to each submission but I'll also post them here as well :)
Remembrance, by 10Blue10, (the fanfiction website) s/9524762/1/Remembrance
Mate, by CassiTTMMMCSSPJ, (the fanfiction website) s/9526576/1/Mate
Woo! :) I love them both ^-^
Some notes on reviews...
:) I love that, Oh My Chuck ;) I think everyone will definitely want to kill the Doctor if they find out what happens :)
Lol, we'll have to see what happens, though I do agree an Angel/Doctor baby would be very cute ^-^ I honestly don't know if I can say if I'm that evil or not, I didn't used to think I was, but I'm slowly starting to realize I might be more evil than I thought lol :) We'll have to see :)
Yup, that is the super secret she tells Rory that not even the Doctor knows...well...at least at that point :) I suppose it would depend on if the Doctor finds out, and if there's anything to find out at a later point }:) It just might be another reason River hates Angel, but it would depend on if she even knew about the pregnancy, so...if she doesn't know, just imagine what else might be coming for Angel that River would tell her to wear the bracelet for }:D Thanks, I'm glad you think Angel's not a Mary Sue or Bella Swan, and I'm very glad you like the story so far :)
I can say there will be a very cute, brother/sister bonding/comforting moment between Angel and Jack coming up ;) And I suppose it would depend on whether or not Jack finds out about the pregnancy, if there's even anything to find out by that point }:) But I could see him either freaking out that he's going to be an uncle, or furious with the Doctor, or...passing out. Lol, I would laugh so hard if she was like, 'Jack I'm pregnant.' And he just goes, 'Nope...' and pitches forward :) I can say there'll be a thing about phones in the last chapter of this episode :) I think Jack would be happy that there's another 'brother' around travelling with Angel to protect her while he's on Earth :) I think he also had a little time to get used to the idea of not being the only brother when Gray came along :)
Thanks! I'm glad you like the OCs :) Good spotting on the angst/10-fluff parallel ;) I definitely challenged myself to write River how she is here given how close and good she is with Evy/Proffy, just wanted to shake things up :) I'm sorry about the plagiarism too, but so far it's been resolved each time (I think it's mostly thanks to you amazing readers!). Lol, your OC sounds awesome :) I think a lot of people want to put River in her place in this story, just wait till the Doctor has his Oncoming Storm moment against her ;) No worries about rambling ;) That's a great theory on how the Doctor might remember, we'll have to see what might happen :)
I'm glad that, even though you didn't want Angel pregnant, you're still up to see how everything goes down :) I can say that there will be no future child popping up here, nope. It was explainable for LJ, being River's friend and how she pops up, but not gonna happen here, no worries :) But I won't say whether it's because it just won't happen or because there's no one to pop up }:)
I haven't seen much of the SJA, just the ones that crossed over with DW and one or two others. One day I'm going to try and sit down and watch them, maybe I'll be inspired to do more crossovers. Good thing the Doctor has a time machine, he can pop back into past episodes :) We'll have to see about that and Mickey though :)
No worries at all, I never dismiss any sort of review, not even flames :) I'm glad you're ok with the Angel name thing, I did a little digging and a few other stories actually had 'The Angel' as a TL too before I posted mine, (I think) one was even up before yours :) I know I tend to 'tell' instead of show, I think it's because some of the things I tell are mostly inner thoughts or something that happened off screen or in a different/not shown adventure, so there's really only telling available. You can think someone's sweet, but it doesn't mean you'll go up to them and hug them and say 'you're sweet,' but I'll keep that in mind :) I tried to make my OCs believable within the scope of the stories like...the Professor's 'superpowers' are because she had special training, and it wasn't just her but quite a few others, her dance background just gave her a slight edge. Evy's telekinesis was based on a belief that all Time Lords had the potential to one day evolve to the point of being able to use it, but earth medication altered her mind just enough to slightly access that, and not without consequence. And Angel, there's a connection between all her abilities, her visions and vortex powers and the TARDIS are all interconnected, which we probably won't see till the TARDIS herself can explain it in Series 6 :) I don't believe that the Time Ladies need something special to deserve the Doctor, nope, I believe that an OC has to be special to deserve the Doctor, which is why I don't think I could write a human OC in DW because Time Ladies are special enough. I didn't give my OCs any of their unique traits to make them more special to deserve him, I gave them that to add to their character's back story/past/struggles :) I think that's what's great about FF is that we all have different interpretations of how the Doctor would act when he's in love and in different situations given his relationship with the OC so it allows us freedom to explore different sides to him, whether it's flirty or forgetful or focused :) Lol, I've heard of the Universal test thing. I actually tried it out before I even wrote stories, but for the Doctor himself. He was a 50+ Mary Sue, so I figured, if HE could be that, then the test really doesn't count for anything. I think there are lots of ways to interpret/see a character as a Mary Sue and I just do my best to make them believable and realistic within the history I've set for them and their personalities. I think that's all any author can do is just try their best. But thank you for your review, I'll keep it in mind as I write. It's sort of too late to go back and rewrite all the stories, but I can keep it in mind going forward with other OCs.
I'm going to miss Matt too :( I don't remember the exact day no, I wouldn't even say it was the best day, just because it took me a couple episodes to work out what was happening and start to get into it, I started in Series 3 so I was a little confused as to what was going on lol :) I think Christmas will be a sad event for all of us, but you never know, you might end up loving 12 and then the 25th might become your favorite again :) I hope you end up loving it, I can promise no domestic-Doctor though, not overly so if the child even survives. I sort of hope I succeeded with LJ in balancing the adventure with the fact he was a father and had to take care of a baby, sort of like the most anti-domestic domestic Doctor I could manage :) It's definitely going to be about the amnesia and Angel trying to build herself back up from how it made her feel yup :)
Thanks! I try to portray the pregnancies differently due to different mind sets. Evy/Doctor were more of it being a happy accident that they went with and it was great. Proffy/Doctor want it, want it, want it, but it's NOT happening...and then it FINALLY does and they finally got what they've been trying centuries for. Angel...it's more of a cross between 'this could NOT have come at a worse time' and 'this is the last thing she has left of 10' so it'll be interesting to see her deal with it as long as it lasts :)
I can say there IS a moment where the Doctor gets jealous of the 'mystery man' but I won't say when ;)
I'm glad you like that she's pregnant :) In a way it's almost not soon enough. She's been pregnant since Waters of Mars/Children of Earth but didn't realize it :) I'll have more about how far along she is in Hungry Earth, but, I'd say by then she's about 9 months along out of a 36 month pregnancy, close to 1/3 of the way :) That's a great theory on how he remembers, we'll have to see though :) Lol, I feel the same about River and Rose. I can't stand Rose, River is ok but I think Moffat could have laid off writing her so much. I understand she was his creation, but there was a point where I felt like he only wrote episodes that had her in it, or at least a majority of them. I think he's gotten a tiny bit better at that though :)
Angel will confide in Rory quite a few things, yup :) Lol, as Rory said, he's very good with pregnancy, so I think he'd notice yup :) They'll definitely be very close and spend time together :)
Thanks, I'm glad you find the stories thrilling :) I've found myself doing that too but with writing the stories. I would finish one episode by 11 and go...I'll just write till 12...then I'd finish the episode and be like...oh wow, it's 2:30! :) Oh I had to give Rory more credit! I definitely don't think he got enough love in the show :) I'll do my best to keep it up, thanks! :)
Lol, I felt a bit sick to have to write him like that too, twisted up my stomach every time I had him turn away from her :( The Torchwood Crossover will officially be after Cold Blood :) I think she hasn't mentioned his true name because...she'd be heartsbroken if she said it and he couldn't say hers back :( That and the Doctor would probably invent all sorts of ridiculous reasons why she knew it, like she guessed it being psychic, or she heard River whisper it to him, or she...pulled a Clara and read it in a book lol :) I think she's more afraid it would just hurt too much to say it and have him react negatively to it :( Lol, good spotting! I did plan that yup, I tried to parallel some things from the course of their fluff-relationship through their angsty one :) I think it's more the Doctor couldn't break through her mental barriers and now he's got like mental barriers that are keeping him from reaching out to her mind. Like she can hear his thoughts, but there's something keeping him from hearing hers, first it was her mental blocks now he's blocking himself :)
I'm sorry you're unhappy with Angel being pregnant :( I can say this won't become more about the kids than the OC/Doctor, at least not at the moment. The future is unseen since we don't know if the baby will even make it. I understand if you don't want to read the story, I'll never fault anyone for stopping if they want to, it happens :) As for Evy/Proffy, all I can say is that they're three separate series and one shouldn't be compared to the other. Like, the Lunar Cycle/Academic Series really have nothing to do with Angel and her story, it might help to look at this story as just this story and not bring up the other OCs since they don't feature or factor into this series :) But whatever you do, read or don't read, that's perfectly fine :)
I'm glad you'll be carrying on reading even though she's pregnant, all I can say is there's always more to it with me ;) But I do love Rory and Angel, they're my BrOTP too :) I'm not sure if I'd do a non TL OC. Just because I tend to write OCs in when I feel that they would be a better match for the main character. I can't see a human being special enough for the Doctor in the way a Time Lady could be. As for males, I'll be having 2 male OCs, but Time Lords, the Captain (J from the Lunar Cycle) and the Sergeant (boy twin from the Academic Series...if nothing happens before he's born). So there's that. I'm not sure if I'd be able to add an OC who was just an average guy, mostly because I feel like I don't write them very well, but that's just my own personal shortcoming :) You never know though :)
Lol, if you think the pregnancy is the bigger twist...there're even BIGGER ones coming }:) I can understand the hesitancy with Angel being pregnant when the other TLs were too, but they're all three different series and I've found it easier to look at them just like that, three different series that don't feature/factor into the others :) If you look at it like that (like...imagining the three series written by three different authors) it's good and fitting for just this series, at least to me :) I also thought the timing would be good to complicate matters :) Lol nope, never attended that school :) I think that's an excellent theory :) We'll have to see what happens though :) Lol, no worries, I plan to keep writing as long as I can :)
I'm actually glad you didn't notice, I really wanted it to be a big surprise so that's great :) Oh there'll be quite a bit about the pregnancy that is told/not told and who to :) We'll have to wait and see when/if he remembers :) Oh I've got BIG plans for Rory, we'll see him grow much more in this story than in the show yup :)
Yup, it's 3 years to have a Time Baby in this story :) Which almost makes it worse because a lot can happen in three years }:) I liked that twist too, that it's 10's child and not 11's and the point where it comes in, with the baby being all she has left of 10 was a big part of it too :) I love Rory too :) I can say that one or two things will be resolved by the end of Cold Blood yup and even more in Torchwood :)
River may or may not try to harm the baby, we'll have to see }:) I'm not sure if she's quite that evil as to cause that, but then again, she might do something that inadvertently causes it. It could also be the cracks too, yup. If the Doctor is the one in the crack then the baby wouldn't exist :( We'll have to see :)
Lol, that's great :) I can say that the angst will be lightening up a little bit...till Cold Blood...but Rory always makes things better and this episode might be surprisingly angst free till possibly the very end :) If it helps :)
I think that song definitely fits to Angel :)
Angel will be telling Rory in only a few short chapters :) But I think it depends on whether Angel is still pregnant when he might possibly notice her :) It depends what happens to the baby in terms of whether he'll notice :)
I won't say when/if the Doctor remembers or how long it might possibly be :) I'm going to try and see how much suspense I can keep going :) But I do love the Rory/Angel friendship. There might not be many Thella moments in the next few episodes though, but there's a reason/twist behind why, but I can say we'll see a lot from the Doctor in them :) Yup, she's pregnant, and with 10(!)'s baby :) Awww :) We'll be seeing Jack in the TW crossover after Cold Blood, but we might get a hint of Jack in this episode ;) As for whether Angel will tell him, we'll have to wait and see. He'll be dealing with a lot with Miracle Day and Angel always tries not to burden people, but she'll be going through a lot at that point and might just tell him :) I'm glad you like the story so far! :)
Hi! I'm glad you liked the stories :) And thanks! I'm glad you're enjoying the new little twist :)
Lol, I'm glad it made your day (I hope you feel better from your knee injury though!) :) Great minds think alike, I can say a scene quite like the one you described is coming up, but I won't say what's the same/different or when :)
Nope, there won't be a Star Trek crossover in this story :) I do plan to do a Star Trek story, 2 of them, but it would be on the 2009 movie and the most recent one :)