Cold Blood: Erased
The Doctor ran into the lab to see the other humans and Eldane gathered there. He spun around as soon as Angel was in and used the sonic to shut the doors and lock them, keeping the other warriors out should they catch up, "Elliot, you and your dad keep your eyes on that screen," the Doctor ordered, directing them to a monitor, "Let me know if we get company. Amy," he handed her the stopwatch, "Keep reminding me how much time I haven't got."
Mo and Elliot moved to watch the screen, as commanded, Mo putting his arm around his son as Elliot began to shift nervously at the sheer amount of soldiers after them.
"Ok, 12 minutes till drill impact," Amy glanced at the stopwatch.
Tony fell down heavily onto a chair, Nasreen beside him, "Tony are you alright?" Angel asked, moving over to his side and putting a hand on his shoulder, worried.
"Tony Mack," the Doctor called, walking over to him, "Sweaty forehead, dilated pupils, what're you hiding?"
Tony winced as he tugged his shirt open to show them the infection had spread completely across his chest.
"Tony!" Nasreen stared in horror at the green veins and, what seemed like, slime covering his chest, "What happened?!"
The Doctor frowned and scanned the area with the sonic, looking at the readings with an even deeper frown, making Angel look at Tony in worry, seeing the results in his mind and what that meant for the man and his family.
"Alaya's sting," Tony rasped, "She said there's no cure," he looked at the Doctor, panting, "I'm dying, aren't I?"
"You're not dying, you're mutating," the Doctor said, "How can I stop it?" he spun around, trying to find something useful.
"Doctor..." Angel began, holding her hand up a bit to try and say something.
But the Doctor spotted one of the examination boards in the back, "Decontamination program!" he cheered, grinning, "Might work, don't know. Eldane, can you run the program on Tony?"
"Doctor, shed load of those creatures coming our way!" Mo warned as Eldane nodded, "We're surrounded in here!"
Eldane moved to help Tony up, but Angel just put her hand on his shoulder and shook her head, "Let me," she whispered.
Eldane nodded and stepped back, turning to watch the Doctor mutter to himself, not noticing that Angel hadn't continued to help Tony up, just moved in front of the man to speak quietly to him, "So, question is, how we do stop the drill, given we can't get there in time? Plus also, how do we get out, given that we're surrounded?" his eyes widened and he spun around, snapping his fingers as he pointed at Nasreen, "Nasreen, how d'you feel about an energy pulse, channeled up through the tunnels to the base of the drill?"
"To blow up my life's work?" she frowned.
"Yes. Sorry. No nice way of putting that."
"Right, well," she cleared her throat, clearly not liking the plan, "You're going to have to do it before the drill hits the city, in..."
"11 minutes, 40 seconds..." Amy answered.
"Yes!" the Doctor cheered, "Squeaky bum time!
"Yes, but the explosion is going to cave in all the surrounding tunnels so we have to be on the surface by then," Nasreen reminded him.
"But we can't get past Restac's troops," Rory argued.
"I can help with that..." Eldane moved to the controls, no one really paying any attention when Tony nodded to something Angel had said and she placed her hands on his shoulders, "Toxic Fumigation, an emergency failsafe meant to protect my species from infection. A warning signal to occupy cryo-chambers. After that, citywide fumigation, by toxic gas. Then the city shuts down."
"You could end up killing your own people," Amy breathed.
"Only those foolish enough to follow Restac."
"Eldane, are you sure about this?" the Doctor asked him.
"My priority is my race's survival. The Earth isn't ready for us to return yet."
"No."
"10 minutes, Doctor," Amy reported, not seeing Rory frown, his gaze landing on Angel as the Time Lady tensed.
"But maybe it should be. So here's the deal. Everybody listening? Eldane, you activate shutdown...I'll amend the system, set your alarm for 1,000 years' time," Eldane went to do so, "1,000 years, to sort the planet out. To be ready. Pass it on. As legend, or prophesy, or religion, but somehow, make it known. Like Angel said, this planet is to be shared."
"Yeah," Elliot smiled, "I get you," he liked that girl, from what he'd heard of her and seen of her, she was very kind and protective, she'd helped the humans and Eldane negotiate and had protected his mother despite what she'd done, had forgiven the woman. He looked over and took his mother's hand, if an alien could forgive her, he could too.
"Nine minutes, seven seconds," Amy called.
The Doctor joined Eldane at the controls, "Yes, fluid controls, my favorite! Energy pulse timed, primed and set. Before we go, energy barricade, need to cancel it out, quickly," he flashed the sonic on the controls and the barricade came down.
"Fumigation pre-launching," Eldane reported.
"There's not much time for us to get from here to the surface, Doctor!" Rory glancing at the stopwatch.
"Ah ha, super-squeaky bum time!" the Doctor grinned, "Get ready to run for your lives. Now..."
"But the decontamination program on your friend hasn't started yet," Eldane called.
They all looked over at Tony, unable to see him as Angel stood before him, her hands on his shoulders, a soft golden swirl around her.
"What's she doing to him!?" Ambrose gasped, about to go forward and stop the woman when the Doctor held her back.
A moment later the swirl faded and Angel stepped to the side, Tony's chest healed and healthy again, Ambrose running to her father's side to see for herself. The Doctor walked over to Angel as she leaned against a pillar to catch her breath, Rory rushing over to check on her. She gave them a weary smile, she'd used a lot of energy today.
"I'm fine," Angel whispered.
Rory just shook his head at her, glancing back at Tony who seemed much healthier, and to her as she brushed a piece of hair behind her ears...and his eyes widened, "Angel what happened?!" he reached out and took her hand, gently, examining the circle of bluish-greenish-brown around her wrist, seeing the same bruising on her other hand.
"I was clamped to an examination board," she murmured, pulling her hand back to rub it with her other hand.
The Doctor frowned and took her hand as well, looking at it, trying not to touch them too firmly and cause her pain, "Why didn't you say anything?" given all the running and moving, her hands had to hurt by now.
"Other things were more important," she remarked quietly.
The Doctor blinked and looked at her, a frown on his face...a...niggling of...something...at the corner of his mind, before he blinked again and shook his head, looking at her wrist before letting go of it slowly, "We'll get you checked up in the med-bay after this is over," he pointed a warning finger at her.
Angel nodded sadly as he turned around to continue his work. There was a time he would have used his regeneration energy to heal that, to heal those little bruises. He'd healed cuts and scrapes and other bruises of hers in the past with it, but...it seemed this him...didn't think it was worth wasting the energy. She rubbed her wrist once more, it made sense though, in a way. It was why she hadn't tried to heal herself with the Vortex, she had wanted to save her energy incase someone else needed her help. Like Tony, that had taken more out of her than she thought it would.
"Don't worry," Rory whispered, putting an arm around her shoulders, "I'll get you all fixed up in no time," he nudged her, "I'm a nurse."
She smiled at him, "Thanks Rory," she nudged him back, "What would I do without you?"
She stiffened suddenly at that, a bolt of fear flying through her at the words...she shook her head, no, no, that wasn't going to happen. Nothing was going to happen to Rory, nothing at all, she'd make sure of it, she swore it. Rory was going to be just fine. He would be. He had to be.
"Oh dad you're ok," Ambrose breathed, in shock at seeing his chest normal once more, hugging him, "You're healed!"
"Granddad!" Elliot ran forward and hugged him too.
"Eight minutes, 10 seconds," Amy reported.
"I'm so sorry dad," Ambrose's eyes filled with tears, she couldn't help but blame all this on herself. If Angel hadn't been able to help him…he'd likely have been trapped down there.
"I don't blame you Ambrose," he whispered, reaching out to hug her as well, before giving Elliot a little squeeze, "I love you, boy."
"This was my fault…"
"Um guys…" the Doctor cut in, having finished setting the controls only moments ago, "Maybe we could do this on the surface?"
Tony nodded and stood as Eldane activated the fumigation, "Toxic fumigation initiated."
~8~
"Return to cryo-chambers," the order came over the speakers.
Restac glared as the soldiers headed back to their chambers, ignoring her commands to remain where they were, "No!"
"Toxic fumigation initiated."
"No!"
"Return to cryo-chambers."
"This is not the order!" she shouted at the soldiers, but they just stepped into their chambers, the glass sliding down before them, leaving her alone.
~8~
"Toxic fumigation initiated…"
"They're going!" Amy smiled, seeing the soldiers retreating on the screen, "We're clear!"
"Ok," the Doctor clapped, "Everyone follow Nasreen. Look for a blue box. Get ready to run," he used the sonic on the door and it slid open, he turned to Eldane, "I'm sorry."
"I thought for a moment, our race, and the humans..." Eldane began.
"Yeah. Me too."
"There's always hope for the future," Angel reminded them both, making Elliot smile and nod, the future did seem infinitely brighter, one day there would be Lizard men on the surface!
"Doctor!" Amy yelled, "Angel! We've got less than six minutes."
"Go!" the Doctor urged, "Go! I'm right behind you!"
The group ran out of the room, Nasreen leading the way as Rory and Mo helped Tony go, the man still a bit worn from enduring the poison, the Doctor and Angel behind them. They ran out onto a bridge as the alarms blared, the last of the soldiers entering their cryo-chambers.
~8~
"So, the Doctor sent our warriors back to their rest, an Angel's promise of future harmony with humans hanging in their dreams."
~8~
The fumes began to pump through the tunnels and the larger chambers behind them, the humans managing to keep ahead of it, "Immediate evacuation...toxic fumigation is about to commence."
Mo, Elliot, and Ambrose paused at the sight of a large cavern with flora all around and magma beneath them, but the group just pushed them on.
"Come on!" the Doctor yelled as they ran across the bridge and to the tunnel where the TARDIS was sitting, "No questions, just get in! And yes, I know it's big!"
Angel quickly pushed the door open, not willing to risk the Doctor fumbling for the keys, feeling like she NEEDED to get them all into the box as soon as she could, something was coming, something bad, "Ambrose, Elliot," she smiled at them, "The med-bay is up those stairs," she pointed, "Just ask the TARDIS for it and she'll bring the room right up."
"Come on!" the Doctor half-shoved them in as Angel turned to look at him, her eyes widening in alarm, "Five minutes and counting..."
"Doctor," Angel gasped, her gaze locked on something over his shoulder.
He spun around to see her staring at an enormous crack in the tunnel wall, the same crack from Amy's bedroom, "Not here," he mumbled, shocked, "Not now."
"It's getting wider," Angel grimaced, trying to look away as the queasy feeling started to rise in her, truly feeling like she was about to be sick all over the floor at the way her stomach was churning at it, only now she was afraid for the baby too. If this was how ill SHE felt around them...what could that mean for the baby?
Rory looked over at her, seeming to sense her unease, and put an arm around her to steady her, seeing her go three shades paler and start to look a bit green, she was even shaking under his arm.
"The crack on my bedroom wall," Amy shook her head.
"And the Byzantium," the Doctor agreed, walking forward and kneeling down before it.
"They're everywhere," Angel breathed, "Just...everywhere, the Starship UK, the War Rooms, scattered through the Universe," she swallowed, Rory hugging her closer, hearing a tremor in her voice,, "Rips in the continuum."
"Some sort of space-time cataclysm," the Doctor nodded, "An explosion, maybe. Big enough to put cracks in the Universe. But what?" he studied the crack.
Amy glanced at the stopwatch, "Four minutes 50...we have to go!"
"The angels laughed when I didn't know. Prisoner Zero knew, everybody knows, except me!"
Angel winced, she didn't want to know, she really, really didn't.
"Doctor, just leave it."
"Please," Angel begged, agreeing with Amy.
"But where there's an explosion," he pulled out a red hanky from inside his pocket, "There's shrapnel!" he leaned over the crack.
"Doctor, you can't put your hand in there!" Rory warned, taking a step away from Angel, about to stop him.
"Does logic ever stop him?" Angel remarked, keeping back against the TARDIS, unable to bear getting any closer to the crack, she was starting to feel dizzy now, lightheaded.
The Doctor just grinned at them before reaching into the crack with the hanky, crying out in pain as the light got brighter. Angel grabbed Rory's hand as he stepped back at the flare, all of them watching nervously, not knowing what to do, "I've got something!" he shouted.
"What is it?" Amy breathed.
He fell to the ground, clutching the item wrapped in the hanky, an item sizzling with heat and energy, "I don't know."
"Doctor!" Angel gasped as a dying Restac crawled into the tunnel.
The Doctor jumped up off the ground to face her.
"She was there, when the gas started..." Amy frowned, "She must've been poisoned."
"You!" Restac glared.
"Ok, get in the TARDIS," the Doctor turned to them, "The lot of you!" and reached into a jacket pocket to put the shrapnel away.
"You did this!" Restac snarled, lifting her gun.
Rory's eyes widened, seeing the Doctor distracted, seeing Restac's gun power up, and his mind flashing to only one thing...the Doctor was the father of Angel's child, "Doctor!"
And before anyone could even blink, before Angel could even move to stop him, Rory ran forward and pushed the Doctor out of the way, getting shot instead.
"No!" Angel gasped, rushing to him, ignoring the crack, ignoring her churning stomach, needing to help her companion.
"Rory!" Amy screamed, falling to her knees beside him as he groaned in pain on the ground just as Restac died.
"Rory, can you hear me?" Angel asked as she fell on the other side of him, across from Amy, grabbing the boy's hand, the Doctor using the sonic on him, "Rory why did you do that?!"
He winced in pain as he rolled his head to look at her, "I had to," he glanced at the Doctor then at her and she realized. Even though the Doctor didn't know about the baby it didn't change the fact that it was his, that he was going to be a dad, he'd done it for her, "I'm sorry," he breathed, groaning again, the pain getting worse, he shook his head, looking at Amy, "I don't understand…"
"Shh, shh," Amy whispered, "Don't talk," she stroked his face, "Doctor, is he ok? Angel?" she looked at the girl, "Is he going to be ok? We have to get him into the TARDIS!"
"We were on the hill…"
"Angel can't you heal him! Like with Tony?!"
"I…Amy it's too late," Angel shook her head, tears in her eyes as she looked at the light falling out of the crack like tendrils, reaching for Rory, already upon him. Even if the tendrils hadn't reached him, she wasn't sure, she honestly wasn't. With all the energy she'd spent, she didn't think she'd manage to heal a wound as fatal as Rory's, "I'm so sorry Rory," the tears started to fall, "Please forgive me, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..."
"Not your fault," he whispered to her, weakly squeezing her hand, neither of them noticing the Doctor stiffen, feeling like the words were familiar, "I can't die here."
"Don't say that," Amy looked at him, in tears.
He looked up, forcing his eyes open to see Amy crying, but what's more, he saw Angel crying for him as well. He felt warm, very warm, to know Angel cared so much about him. He knew Amy did, Amy was marrying him, or would marry him, but...to know that Angel cared about him too, that was wonderful. But...he could see it in her eyes, she was blaming herself, and he didn't want that, "It'll be alright," he whispered, his hand lolling to the side as he tried to comfort her too.
He knew that he had been even more worried about her during this adventure than any other, so much so that, during a few brief times, Amy had taken a backseat so to speak. But...he'd just learned Angel was pregnant, it hadn't really had time to sink in properly with everything going on. That was all he could think of when he looked at her, when he thought about her, her pregnancy and how terrified she was. She'd been pulled into the earth while Amy had been safe with them, she'd been wandering the halls alone with Mo while Amy had had the Doctor and Nasreen, and she'd even freed herself to save Amy from the Silurian firing squad. She was always putting herself in danger, to protect Amy, to protect him, to protect the Doctor. And he'd promised to protect her and the baby...he supposed he wasn't all that much of a companion or even a nurse after all.
She squeezed his hand harder, seeming to sense where his mind was going, "It will be, I promise Rory."
He nodded, giving her a small smile before looking at Amy with all the love he could muster, wanting her to know how much he loved her, no matter what, she would be the most important woman in his life in the end, he wanted her to be the last thing he saw, "You're so beautiful..." he whispered to her, "I'm sorry..."
And then his head lulled to the side, Angel letting out a small sob at that, her expression falling.
"Doctor, help him!" Amy demanded.
But the Doctor had noticed what Angel had, the tendrils had already reached Rory's feet, were already swarming around him, it really was too late. He stood up, "Amy, move away from the light, if it touches you you'll be wiped from history. Amy, move away now."
"No! I am not leaving him! We have to help him!"
The Doctor gripped Amy gently by the shoulders, "The light's already around him, we can't help him."
"I am not leaving him!"
"Amy we have to," Angel gasped through her tears, knowing that Rory would want Amy safe, he'd want her to live, to get out of there, he wouldn't ever want to be responsible for her death, and that's what the Time Energy would do, kill her and erase her, and Rory would want Amy safe. She stood and grabbed Amy's arm, she could do this for Rory.
"No!" Amy twisted in their grips.
"Sorry!" the Doctor tugged her.
"Get off me!"
"Sorry!" he hauled her to her feet, Angel helping drag her back to the TARDIS.
"Get off me!" she struggled as Angel pushed the doors open for the Doctor to push her inside, "No!" she rushed back to the doors, trying to get out, "No! No!" but the Doctor soniced the lock, stopping her, she pounded on the door, "Let me out, please let me out...I need to get Rory!"
The Doctor walked determinedly to the console, Angel bracing herself against the wall, her hand on her stomach as she tried to gasp for breath, as devastated as Amy was.
Amy though, turned to follow the Doctor as tears streamed down her cheeks, only to see Rory on the monitor, "That light, if his body's absorbed I'll forget him. He'll never have existed. You can't let that happen," but the Doctor pulled a lever on the console, "What are you doing?! Doctor! No!"
Angel quickly gathered herself and rushed over, pulling Amy back and just holding her as the ginger woman tried to hit whatever switches she could to try and stop him, and the TARDIS disappeared just as Rory's body was wrapped in the light.
Amy started to twist and turn in Angel's arms, trying to get out before she just sank to the ground in tears, taking Angel with her, the Time Lady hugging her tightly, tears in her own eyes, she could relate to not wanting to forget or be forgotten.
"No!" Amy weapt, "No! Doctor, we can't just leave him there! Angel please..."
"Keep him in your mind," Angel whispered, her one last hope to try and save some semblance of Rory, "Don't forget him Amy, don't let yourself forget him, if you do, then he'll be lost forever."
"On the Byzantium," Amy looked at her, desperate, "I still remembered the Weeping Angels because I am a time traveler, now you said," she looked at the Doctor with hope.
The Doctor shook his head, reaching forward to take her hand as he knelt before the girls on the floor, "They weren't part of your world. This is different...this is your own history changing."
"Don't tell me it's going to be ok! You have to make it ok!"
"It'll be hard, but it's not impossible," Angel told her, firmly believing that, needing to believe that, "You can do it, Amy."
"Tell us about Rory," the Doctor nodded, "Fantastic Rory, funny Rory, gorgeous Rory. Amy, listen to me. Do exactly as I say."
"Amy, please," Angel nearly begged, "Concentrate on Rory. You can do it. You can keep him alive."
"I can't," she shook her head.
"You can. You can do it. We can't help you unless you do. Come on. Please, we can still save his memory. Come on, Amy. Please…"
The Doctor glanced over at Angel, slightly shocked by her vehemence for Amy to remember Rory as Amy looked into the distance, remembering all her amazing times with Rory, all the adventures.
"Come on Amy, come on," Angel pleaded, squeezing her hand to keep her focused, "Amy, please. Don't let anything distract you. Remember Rory. Keep remembering Rory, he's only alive in your memory. You must keep hold of him. Don't let anything distract you. Rory still lives in your mind. Don't let him go."
But without the Pilots watching the TARDIS...she jolted upon landing, knocking them all completely over to the floor. The box containing Amy's engagement ring fell out in front of the Doctor as he stared at it.
"What were you saying?" Amy asked brightly, pushing herself up off the floor and looking at them as though there were nothing wrong.
The Doctor could only stare at her, sad, while Angel looked near tears, when Mo and Elliot came down the stairs with the others.
"I have seen some things today, but this is beyond mad," Mo remarked.
Amy checked the stopwatch, "Doctor! Five seconds till it all goes up!"
They ran outside to find themselves in the graveyard overlooking the drill site, Angel remaining on the floor of the TARDIS, alone, not wanting to watch as it exploded.
~8~
Elliot, Amy, and Mo were walking through the graveyard while Nasreen and Tony stood back at the edge of the churchyard, looking at the remains of the drill solemnly, Tony's arm around her as she stared in dismay at what was left of her life's work. The Doctor was standing in the doorway of the church by Ambrose, staring out into the distance where Angel was leaning against the TARDIS, a horrible sadness in her eyes. He could only imagine what she was feeling, having her companion die and be erased from time. He'd lost his companions before, some to other worlds and things, but at least he knew Rose was alive and living her life, Rory's life had just...ended, and not only that, never happened.
An entire life that never got lived.
"Angel could've let those things shoot me," Ambrose remarked, looking at the girl as well as she just stood there, not quite sure what she was upset about, but assuming it was just the adventure getting to her, "She saved me."
"An eye for an eye," the Doctor murmured, "It's never the way. Now you show your son how wrong you were. How there's another way. You make him the best of humanity...in the way you couldn't be," he looked at her with a gentle smile before walking over to Angel.
"Mum?" Elliot called, moving to his mother's side, taking her hand as he too looked out at Angel, the girl hadn't joined the rest of them and he felt...sad about that, "Do you think everything'll be ok, for the Silurians?"
Ambrose smiled at that and brushed a hand through his hair, her son was already a better human than she was just in being concerned for the species, "I think so."
"Do you think the Doctor and Angel will go visit them in 1,000 years?" he wondered, they'd explained the box could fly through time and space once they'd realized they were back on the surface of the Earth once more.
"They might," Ambrose shrugged.
"I hope they do," Elliot nodded, "I think they'll need Angel to help with things then like she did now."
Angel was...kind. Really kind. She'd protected his mother even after she'd threatened the Silurians, she'd forgiven her, and even then had believed the humans were capable of magnificent feats. Even as a child, he could recognize she'd done incredible things for his family. She'd protected his mother, helped his father escape, healed his grandfather...he couldn't imagine what his family would be like if she hadn't been there to help them, to save them. He hoped, one day, he might make her proud.
~8~
"You alright?" the Doctor asked Angel quietly as he stepped beside her at the TARDIS, turning to lean on it as well, watching the humans.
"She forgot him," Angel whispered, tears still in her eyes as her arms crossed, "Just like that...she just...forgot him," she shook her head, glancing at him, "How could anyone forget someone that important to them?" if he could answer that, maybe she could work out why he'd forgotten her as well.
The Doctor could only shrug and they fell into silence, which was how Amy found them a few minutes later, "You're very quiet!" Amy smiled as she walked over to them before spotting herself in the future across the way, "Oh! Hey! Look!" she waved back at herself, "There I am again! Hello, me!"
Angel looked over to see it was just Amy there and closed her eyes, Rory should be there too.
Amy frowned a moment, the Doctor spotting it, "Are you ok?"
"I thought I saw someone else there for a second," Amy shook her head, "I need a holiday. Didn't we talk about Rio?"
Angel blinked and looked at Amy sharply. There was a vague look in the girl's eye like she truly believed someone else had been there. And then, a small spark of hope ignited in her hearts, if it was possible for Amy to even faintly be affected by the ghost of a memory of someone who had now never been born…maybe there was a chance that the Doctor would remember her someday while she was still there before him. She would have to watch Amy carefully, see just how much she might be able to recall, maybe there was a chance of getting Rory back too!
"You go in," the Doctor gestured at the door, "Just need Angel's help fixing this lock, keeps jamming," he unlocked the door for her.
"You boys and your locksmithery," Amy laughed, stepping into the box and shutting the doors behind her.
"What was it?" Angel asked, knowing he'd ushered her off so she wouldn't see what he was going to do next, that he wanted to look at the shrapnel.
~8~
"Now, as my people awaken from their 1,000 year sleep, ready to rise to the surface, my thoughts turn back to the Doctor and Angel, the losses they suffered then and the greater loses that were still to come."
~8~
The Doctor unwrapped the item from the hanky and his eyes widened, seeing something white with words on it.
Angel gently reached out and took it, turning to hold it up to the TARDIS instruction panel…
It was a match.
~8~
Later that night, Angel was lying on her bed, curled up in a ball, just staring at the back wall of her room, her eyes red and filled with tears that still fell though she wasn't openly crying any longer. Rory was gone. Rory, her companion, was gone.
Was there something wrong with her?
Why did she always lose her companions so soon after getting them?
The Doctor, even with his terrible luck, managed to keep them for months, years even, and she had lost Rory within only a few adventures, just like with Mickey, but Mickey was still alive.
Was this the Universe's way of just...torturing her? Punishing her for a crime she wasn't aware of? For being what she was? For being psychic? For messing with time? Saving all those other people that likely should have died? To have her lose everyone who was important to her?
First her mother and her family.
Then Doctor.
Now Rory.
Would...would the baby be next?
She closed her eyes tightly, biting back a sob, and rested a hand on her only just-swelling stomach, bowing her head as she panted, trying not to cry any more, trying not to upset herself or make herself sick or stress herself. It couldn't be good for the baby. And that killed her too. Rory had said he'd be there, had promised he'd make sure everything was ok and would be ok for her and the baby. He was really the only one she trusted with the secret, trusted to think calmly and rationally about it and to help her, to be there for her. She refused to disrupt the lives of her family, couldn't bear the thought of telling them what happened and have them hurt the Doctor when she wasn't even sure if was his fault, and she truly believed she wouldn't be able to survive telling the Doctor and have ask questions, as though he didn't know, somewhere in his mind, all that had happened.
But she was scared, what would she do now? Who could she turn to? Who would help her, help the baby? She couldn't lose it now, not now, not after losing Rory, after losing the Doctor...she had never thought much of motherhood, of having children, but now...this baby was the only thing she had left of the Doctor, of her Doctor, the one who Mated with her, the one who loved her.
She took a breath, "You are my sunshine," she sang softly, an old Earth song her mother used to sing to her when she had nightmares, her voice, unlike her mother's soft and calming tone, was a broken whisper, tears choking her as she shook, rubbing her stomach, "My...only sunshine," she inhaled, it was true, it was so true, the baby...the baby was all she had left, "You make me happy...when skies are...grey," she cut off, trying to catch her breath as she shuddered, "You'll never know dear," and closed her eyes tightly, "How much I love you," before opening them and looking at the ceiling, at the sky, the heavens, "Please don't take my sunshine away," she stared up, the tears in her eyes falling, "Please," she begged, "Please don't take my sunshine away."
That was what the baby was. The Doctor always said she was his guardian angel, his guiding light in the dark, his sun in the night...the baby was hers. The baby was her one ray of light in the bitter darkness that had seemed to become her life after the Doctor regenerated.
She sniffled, looking up again, praying to a deity she wasn't even sure she believed in anymore, and said the words that broke her hearts.
"I'll accept it," she began, "I'll accept the Doctor's forgotten me, I'll...I'll be ok, if he never remembers, but...just don't take the baby," she begged, "Please, I've already lost him, I can't lose the baby. Just...give me the baby and..." she swallowed, "And I'll give him up."
Never did she ever think she'd willingly give up the Doctor...but this...this was beyond the two of them. This baby, was her last link to him, to HER Doctor, to the man who loved her and who she loved even still, even as he dawned a new face and wore a ridiculous bowtie. She could NOT lose the baby, no matter what, no matter the cost, she just...couldn't. She'd lost too much already, her Mate, her companion, she couldn't lose the baby too.
Because it would break her entirely if she did.
"Please don't take my sunshine away," she pleaded, closing her eyes as she started to sob, "Please."
She could only pray that the Universe made such bargains.
A/N: ...I have no words :'(
No, actually I do...WHAT?! Angel's giving up the Doctor?! What? What! What?! O.O Poor her though :( I could see her needing the baby to make it now more than ever. I can say that this moment...it will come back and bite Angel in the worst way :'( But also...omg...what does this mean for the next time we see River?! :O I guess we'll have to wait and see }:)
One tiny bad thing about this last scene...it isn't even the most tragic/angsty/heartbreaking chapter to come }:D But there'll be more happy/strong Angel times to make up for that. And, this ending scene is probably the closest I will ever get to a song-fic-ish thing, I felt like Angel could relate to that tiny song :)
And next we have...Torchwood! AHHH! :) Jack! I think that's just what Angel needs, her older brother :) This'll be cutting it close for me, lol, I've only managed to rewrite up to the start of Episode 7 for Miracle day, so I've got 2 days to make it through 4 episodes :) But...there's a surprise I'm planning at the end that wasn't in the original for you all :)
Some notes on reviews...
Just wanted to start by saying thank you for the support :) The other author put a note up apologizing in which they admitted to having heavily based their first DW story (the removed one) on mine and promised to stop basing the rest of the current story on my chapters from here on out. Though that does make me concerned about the chapters that came before as now I'm interpreting that as all those chapters were based on my stories too :( The author spoke of how it was an editing mistake (though I honestly don't know how and it might just be me becoming jaded to all of this, but I've found I can't 100% believe other authors when something like this happens, maybe 99% eventually but there will always be a sliver of doubt) and how the accusation of plagiarism hurt them, to me it isn't an accusation, there is proof, not just in that story but in their Sherlock one as well (also added to that page on my tumblr) that small instances are coming from me. And it hurts the original author so much more to find out that stories are being based on theirs with no credit at all. I honestly believe, if the author knew going in (and they messaged me during the first story about it) that their story was going to be heavily inspired or based on mine, that even one single line at the start like 'this story was inspired (or whatever) by LizzeXX's -whatever- series,' would have prevented all this as similarities would be expected or at least understandable. Now, when I say basing a story on mine, I don't mean inspiration, I mean using the chapters in place of transcripts or even using the chapters as a guideline for how someone should act or what should happen. I have no problem with inspiration from a story as a whole, and using transcripts and the actual episodes as guidelines instead, that's what fanfiction is after all lol :) I don't know what will happen now, but I want to thank you all for the support :)
I like that their closeness doesn't bother Amy too :) I think she really can't talk, given her running off with the Doctor and trying to seduce him, she sees they're JUST friends and that it might be nice for Rory to get a bit more attention :)
I can never be sure either :( That's why I tend to try and be understanding of similarities and more forceful of literal copy/paste (or very heavy paraphrasing) as it's easier to prove plagiarism. The only time I get worked up over similar stories is when something of mine sneaks in, like Bonding or Linking (specifically called that with the same steps involved) or, like earlier, my OC. Whether it was an accident or not, the author did admit to basing their story on mine so seeing Angel appear makes me a bit more wary of it :( I do try to stick to copy/paste plagiarism as much as I can unless I get a number of people remarking on the same story, which did happen with that one as well.
I think it'll depend on whether or not the baby makes it in terms of how long the Doctor will be in the dark for. Especially now with Rory gone, I think Angel's hope that it'll survive is fading, as can be seen in the last scene :( I don't think she'd say anything till she was forced to (by size) if it makes it that long, because I think she's fully expecting to lose the baby, praying she won't, but able to see the reality in that it's a very BIG possibility :(
Lol, I like that title :) I'm glad you like the cliffhangers :) Many more to come, some though...I'm hoping you all scream when they happen }:)
I don't think I'll ever take the stories off FF, because, realistically, this would probably just happen in whatever site I move to, or might already be happening on other sites :( I haven't heard of that group, no, I'll check them out though, thanks! :)
I think there might be, teddy bears are just too cute :) And if we have an alien species that looks like a baked potato, there must be ones for teddy bears :)
Oh I can promise an upcoming TL will certainly be slapping Ambrose ;) There is a lot of sorrow isn't there? :( But...Jack! Yay! That'll definitely cheer Angel up and time with people who remember her might be just what she needs :)
I sometimes get annoyed with how often River popped up in Moffat episodes, at times it seemed like he only wrote episodes with her in them lol :) I can say I do have an Time Lady Fury moment in mind for Angel/River, but it'll be very far in the future, I mean possibly Series 8, it's one of those you need to have it at the right moment and it just hasn't come up yet :( We might see a slightly mean (not quite as psychotic) River in an upcoming TL story and I can't see any other TL but Angel being quite so nice to her about the attitude ;) I can also promise that the TW crossover should go much quicker. Having Torchwood there has cut out A LOT of the background story that doesn't revolve around them and with Angel there a lot of other scenes aren't needed too. I think I'm fitting about 3 episodes into 1 chapter and it's not even as long as the Children of Earth chapters (and they were only 2 episodes a chapter lol) :)
I think Rory, in this 2-parter especially, was definitely worrying about Angel more than Amy, yup :) I sort of take it as he's JUST found out she's pregnant and hasn't quite absorbed it yet, once it settles in he'll be back to his Amy-loving self but with protectiveness galore for Angel too :) Much more balanced :) I think it's the readers that help me put up with it. It keeps happening and everyone is always so amazing and supportive that it really is what keeps me going :)
I'm glad the transcripts were able to help :) I'd gotten a few PMs about it and thought I should just make them as available as possible. There's even a Sherlock site up too :) I didn't use it as, when I had started writing that series I couldn't find any, but Series 1 & 2 are up now for that :) I hope it doesn't happen again too :)
Lol, I could see Gabriel seeing Angel sad and trying to cheer her up :) Oh I could imagine the Doctor only hearing 'Trickster' and not Loki or Gabriel and flipping out lol :) That's a great idea :) We'll have to see what happens I might just do a SuperWhoLock for each Time Lady one day ;)
The Torchwood Crossover will be all the episodes of Miracle Day, about 3 episodes per chapter, 4 in one of them :) But I can say A LOT is being cut out because with Torchwood there and Angel there quite a few background scenes couldn't happen/wouldn't concern them and wouldn't be needed :)
That's great that the transcripts helped :) It can take me a while to do a chapter on a transcript too, sometimes 5-6 if I don't like the episode, mostly 2-3 though since I usually love every episode :) I love doing it too, seeing how the episode changes before you as you add an OC ^-^
I suppose it's good that they fixed it so quickly, I still can't understand how it even happened :( I checked the Sherlock story and the author messaged me about it as well, they claimed that they had never read my story, but, looking at it, I do find that hard to believe (as seen on my tumblr) especially because of all those similarities and little unique and odd things I had added that I'm honestly not sure would be written/introduced in the same way by 2 separate and different authors. But yup, she stays in Sherlock's room in mine since he 'prefers the sofa' lol :) I really don't know what to do about that story :( Lol, that's true, I've got way too many DW stories than are probably healthy :) I'm so sad to see Rory go too :( But at least we get Jack :) We have plenty of epic twists to come, but we had a sort of epic one too, Angel's giving up the Doctor?! What?! O.O I can say there's another twist in the very next chapter that will relate back to Amy's Choice ;) Awesome recs :) I'm severely wishing I had more time now even with it being summer, stupid job -shakes fist- Economy! Lol :) And thanks, -hugs back!- I'm definitely going to keep writing and just doing my best to keep going :)