Amy remained quiet the entire trip back to Rose's flat. Sherlock and John stayed at that building waiting on the detective's brother so they could deal with the cleanup of Adam's body because, as John put it, they couldn't very well let someone with a futuristic implant wind up in the city morgue.
Adam seemed to be the furthest thing from the Doctor's mind. Amy watched him during the cab ride. He had that look, the lost in thought, but there was a plan forming sort of look. Back in that room he said all they could do was wait, but she knew better. He was going to do something and, most likely, that something would be very dangerous.
When they returned to the flat she sent Rory off to make tea while she followed the Doctor into the TARDIS. She closed the door and trailed him across the console room.
"So, we're just going to wait then?" she asked in her I know you're up to something voice.
"Wait? Of course I'm not going to sit around and wait, Pond. When have you ever known me to simply sit and wait?"
He reached the stairs that led under the floor of the control room, where he usually tinkered with things until the TARDIS became irritated enough to shock him.
"But that's what you told Sherlock and John," she said, following him down the stairs.
"That's just what I told them."
"So, you lied to them?" she asked, folding her arms.
He stopped at the bottom of the stairs and eyed her.
"I didn't lie."
"So, you really are going to wait?"
"No I…" She raised her brow. "I was trying to…" She caught his eye. "Fine. I lied. Happy, Pond?"
"I'm sure you had a good reason I just want to know what it is."
He turned around and walked over to the casing where, she assumed, the engine-y thing, at least that's what he'd call it, was located.
"Yes, exactly," he replied, taking out his sonic and pointing it at the casing he'd removed when they first got there.
"And that reason is?"
"This is something I've got to do on my own."
"Why?"
"Because I do."
"Why?"
He sighed, eyeing her.
"It's complicated."
"Complicated, how?"
"I…" he trailed off and then turned back to the casing, something he did when he was avoiding talking about whatever she wanted to know.
That's when it hit her. The reason. At least, what she thought was the reason, but she was fairly sure she was right.
"You know how to find her, don't you?"
He pulled the casing off, ignoring her.
"And you want to be the one to do it. To save her. On your own," she continued.
He reached his hand into the wires hanging inside the engine-y thing, still ignoring her, and pulled out that same crystal or one that looked like it. It was glowing a bit more than it had been.
"There you are," he said, as if he was talking to a baby.
"Doctor," she insisted, trying to get his attention.
Instead of answering her he blew on the crystal. It brightened…a lot.
"What did you do?" she asked, her previous question completely forgotten.
"Recharged it," he said.
Wait. Recharged it. So, they'd been there all that time, stuck there, and they really weren't stuck there?
"You could've done that the whole time?"
"Well, yes…technically."
"Technically? TECHNICALLY? I thought we might be stuck here for good and you could've fixed the TARDIS all this time?"
"We wouldn't have been stuck here for good. I told you she was charging."
"But you could've done that," she motioned to the crystal, "and she would've been fixed." Then she stopped, realizing that he hadn't done it so that meant there was a very good reason why he hadn't done it. "How, exactly, did you charge that crystal?"
"I might've…" the last bit was mumbled under his breath.
"Might've what?" she asked, folding her arms and eyeing him.
"Might've, you know…" another mumble and that look, the one that told her he'd definitely done something she'd think was stupid or dangerous or both, probably both.
"Doctor!"
"I…just…gave it ten years of my life," he replied and then quickly turned his attention to the engine-y thing as he replaced the crystal.
"Sorry…what?"
Ten years? He just lost ten years of his life to charge that crystal? Why the hell would he do that?
"It's fine, Pond. Really. Now, I've just got to…" he pulled out another crystal. "…do that four more times."
"Four? But you're going to lose fifty years of your life!"
She reached for his hand, but he ducked out of her way.
"I'm over a thousand years old, Pond. Fifty years is nothing."
He blew on the second crystal. She stepped toward him intent on stopping the idiot.
"It's fifty years!"
He stared her down and his face took on that look, not the scary one, but the one that told her he was going to do this and he wasn't going to allow her to stop him. She folded her arms giving him her I'm not at all happy with you look.
"The only way I'm going to find her is to charge up the TARDIS."
"But it's charging on its own."
"Not fast enough."
He blew on another crystal and then replaced it. She didn't like what he was doing. Wasn't at all happy about it, but she knew why he was doing it. With the TARDIS charged he could locate James and save Rose.
"There," he said, replacing the last one.
The lights brightened and the TARDIS noises she'd gotten so used to over the years, the ones that told her the TARDIS was working, returned.
"So, it's charged now."
"She needs a bit more time…to adjust, but I should be able to search for him soon. I just need to," he ran up the stairs and over to the console, "make a few adjustments."
She followed him.
"How long?"
"An hour maybe, maybe less," he replied offhandedly as he flipped a few levers and then pulled down the monitor, gazing at something. "If that tea's finished I could use a cup."
"Tea?"
"Free radicals. Tea's very good for that," he caught her eye, "Charging those crystals took a lot out of me."
Well, that made sense, although she was a bit skeptical about his motives, but he had just given fifty years of his life to charge those crystals so maybe he really did need…free radicals? Is that what he said?
"All right," she said, walking toward the door, "but if you take the TARDIS to go after her on your own I'll throw all your bowties out the next time we're in the time vortex."
He didn't look up from his examination of the console, but she knew he heard her. She stepped out, closing the door behind. He was up to something. She could feel it, but he wasn't going to tell her what it was.
Standard Disclaimer.
Thank you to all my brilliant readers!
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