Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who in any way shape or form. All rights belong to the BBC

A/N: Well, here's the next chapter guys. I highly recommend a box of tissues while reading this because I know that I sure needed them while writing. I hope you all enjoy and I promise I'll try to update as often as I can now that I'm done with classes for the summer! :) Feel free to review or ask me any questions!

Claire's Outfit: claires_outfit_chapters_22-23/set?id=93140177&lid=3219209

Tears streamed down my face as my broken wrists hung uselessly at my sides. The pain was unbearable. I looked up at River through my blurred vision. "He's going to find out eventually." I managed to say through the pain.

"I know he is, just pretend nothing's wrong for as long as possible, you saw how he was carrying on." She said looking to me in pity.

I nodded as she wiped my tears away with a handkerchief. "Come on, the Doctor needs us." She picked up her transmitter and began typing something on it as she made her way down the hall.

I followed River, trying my best to act like I wasn't in excruciating pain. It was easier said than done. We approached the main entrance where the Doctor and Amy were waiting.

"So, is this what's going to happen? We just keep chasing him and they keep pulling him further back?" Amy asked.

"He isn't back in time." River read from the transmitter as we entered the room. I did my best to hide behind her and pretend I was ok. "I'm reading a displacement, but there are no temporal markers. He's been moved in space, not in time, and it's not that far from here by the looks of it." She looked up at the Doctor triumphantly.

The Doctor stared at me, dumbfounded. "You got out." A small smile tugged at his lips as he stared at me in relief. My blood ran cold. How can I lie to him? He's so hopeful! The pain in my wrists equally matched the pain I felt in my heart as I dreaded him finding out the truth.

I managed a weak smile in response, not being able to open my mouth without crying in pain.

"So where is he?" Amy asked before the Doctor could ask me any more questions.

River took her time reading the transmitter as the Doctor paced about the room in impatience.

"Come on, come on, where is he?" He cried impatiently.

"If it was that easy, I'd get you to do it." River snapped.

The Doctor frowned at her before turning to me. My heart picked up the pace as he slowly walked up to me. "How did you get your wrists out without breaking them?" He asked in disbelief.

I couldn't answer. I just stared up at him nervously. My mouth opened several times to answer, but no words came out.

"You asked, I did." River answered for me. Luckily the Doctor seemed satisfied with that answer. His beautiful face grinned madly as he pressed a kiss to my forehead. He pulled away quickly before doing one of his weird dances around the room. "You just changed the future!" He laughed.

"Will you shut up, I'm working." River groaned.

"Ah, she's good, have you noticed? The both of you are really, really good." The happier and more hopeful he got the more my heart broke. I have to tell him. I can't let this go on any longer.

"Doctor..." I started.

"Ah, wherever it is, it's within a few blocks. There's a car out front. Shall we steal it?" River asked.

"Show me!" The Doctor said quickly.

I didn't even have time react. With the blink of an eye the Doctor grabbed for my right hand and attempted to drag me along with him. Immediately a sharp pain shot up my wrist causing me to cry out. The Doctor dropped my hand and stared at me in shock. Tears prickled at my eyes as he stared at me, his eyes filled with pain and disappointment. Oh, God, he hates me now.

The Doctor bit his bottom lip before turning to Amy. "Okay, when all those numbers on both units go to zero, that's when we've got a lock, okay? It's how we find Rory." He said handing the transmitter to Amy.

"Got it." She answered.

The Doctor guided me towards the staircase and sat me down gently. I stared at the floor in shame, finding myself unable to look him in the eye. "Why did you lie to me?" He asked sadly.

I chewed on my lower lip and stared at my broken hands that were placed on my lap. A small shiver ran throughout my body as the Doctor lightly trailed his index finger along my jawline before gently tilting my head up to look at him.

"River, told me it was the best way. I'm so sorry, I didn't want to hurt you." I choked on the sob that threatened to escape as hot tears prickled at my eyes.

The Doctor glanced at River who stood beside Amy, helping her read the transmitter. "River lies, its what she does." He turned his grey-green gaze back to me. "But you, Claire… you're so much better than that.

I closed my eyes and let the tears fall. "I'm sorry."

I jolted slightly when a pair of soft lips kissed the stray tears away. Shyly my eyes fluttered open and only to see the Doctor's lips so close to me. If it wasn't for the pain in my wrists I probably would've been soaring at the new affection I was receiving.

"It must hurt." He stated gently placing his hands on my broken ones.

"Yes, a lot."

"I think you need to see a doctor." He whispered into my ear, his hot breath tickling it lightly.

Suddenly an unfamiliar warmth radiated from his hands and into mine. A light gasp escaped my lips as my wrists healed back to normal in the matter of seconds. The warmth slowly started to die and the Doctor removed his hands. He placed a light kiss on each of them before smiling up at me. "There all better."

"Why did you do that? You just wasted regeneration energy on me." I asked dumbfounded.

"Nothing is ever wasted on you. Besides, I couldn't stand to see you hurt another second." He wrapped his arms protectively around me and placed another soft kiss on my forehead. He ran his right hand from my arm to the crook of my neck sending shivers up and down my spine. His fingers entangled themselves in my hair as he held me protectively against his chest. The steady rhythm of his two hearts beat gently against my ear. "Promise, you'll never lie to me again." He whispered.

"Only if you stop lying to me." I blurted out. Regret washed over me immediately. Way to go, Claire. You made up, but then you had to go and ruin things all over again.

He paused for a moment before pulling away so he could face me. His huge hands rested heavily on my shoulders as he stared deeply into my eyes. "I only lie to protect you."

"Sound familiar." I answered never breaking contact.

The Doctor deflated under my gaze and immediately averted his eyes. "Sorry."

A small smile tugged at my lips. Doing the same as he did to me, I trailed my index finger along his jawline before pulling his chin up to face me. His smile soon matched mine before he pulled me back in for a bear hug.

"You're the only one who truly puts up with me." He mumbled into my shoulder.

I giggled lightly as I played with his floppy hair. "That's because I-"

A loud beep sounded throughout the room. "Got it!" Amy cried happily. "He's at a place called Winter Quay."

"The car, yes? Let's go." The Doctor said quickly jumping to his feet. He extended a hand towards me and helped me up. Once I was on my feet, he wrapped me in yet another protective embrace as we made our way for the car.

"Why would they send him here? Why not zap him back in time, like they normally do?" River asked as we reached our destination.

"We'll know that when we know what this place is." The Doctor answered.

"Winter Quay." Amy breathed out as we stepped out of the car.

The four of us sprinted for the building and quickly barged through the heavy wooden doors. We quickly jumped in the elevator and landed on the designated floor.

"Rory?" Amy called out as we stepped out of the elevator.

"He's close." River stated as we rushed down the hallway.

Amy ran ahead of us down the hall. The Doctor and I continued to follow River only to stop short when the lights suddenly flickered on and off.

"Doctor, look at this." River said gesturing to the smiling weeping angel blocking our path.

"Why is it smiling?" I asked nervously.

The Doctor examined the nameplate on the door. R. Williams He jolted and ran into the room. "Amy! Rory!" He shouted.

River and I exchanged worried looks before following him into the room.

"Get out of here! Don't look at anything. Don't touch-" The Doctor started.

"Who's that?" Amy asked just as River slammed the door behind us.

An old man who was lying on a bed pointed at us hopefully.

"Amy. Amy, please." He rasped. Amy slowly approached him tears prickling at the corners of her eyes. "Amy, please. Please." The man went into a coughing fit as Amy gently took his hand in hers.

The Doctor turned away from the scene. His lean form slumped heavily against the doorframe as he avoided watching the scene before him.

"Rory? He's you." Amy gasped turning to Rory who stumbled backwards slightly a look of bewilderment crossing his features.

"Amy…" The older Rory gasped before closing his eyes for the final time.

I turned to the Doctor in shock; tears were welling up in his eyes.

"Will someone please tell me what is going on?" Rory asked fear and confusion shining in his eyes.

The Doctor turned slowly to face him. "I'm sorry Rory, but you just died."

Rory gulped nervously before turning back to face Amy and the dead man in the bed. He held a hand up to his mouth in thought. I couldn't see his features from here, but I could tell he was crying. Amy slowly rose back to her feet and joined us.

"What is going on?" She demanded.

The Doctor closed his eyes tightly before opening them again. He walked past us to glance outside the window. "This place is policed by Angels. Every time you try to escape, you get zapped back in time."

"So this place belongs to the Angels? They built it?" Amy asked in confusion.

"Displacing someone back in time creates time energy, and that is what the Angels feed on. But normally, it's a one off, a hit and run." He turned back to face us a pained expression etched into his features. "If they could keep hold of their victims, feed off their time energy over and over again. This is a farm, a battery farm. How many Angels in New York?"

"It's like they've taken over every statue in the city." River informed.

The Doctor scratched his head. "The angels take Manhattan because they can, because they've never had a food source like this one. The city that never sleeps."

Loud footsteps thundered outside the window jolting us all out of our thoughts.

"What was that?" Rory asked warily.

The Doctor glanced from the window to Rory. "I don't know, but I think they're coming for you." He answered grimly.

"What does that mean? What is going to happen to me? What is physically going to happen?"

The Doctor took a seat on the couch and rubbed his face with his hands. I warily took a seat beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. "The Angels will come for you. They'll cap you back in time to this very spot, thirty, forty years ago. And you'll live out the rest of your life in this room, until you die in that bed."

"And will Amy be there?"

"No." The Doctor answered automatically.

"How do you know that?" Amy challenged.

"Because he was so pleased to see you again."

Rory shrugged and nodded before clapping his hands together. "Okay. Well, they haven't taken me yet. What if I just run? What if I just get the hell out of here? Then that never happens."

"It's already happened. Rory, you just witnessed your own future." The Doctor answered raising his voice slightly.

"Doctor, he's right." River offered.

"No, he isn't."

"If Rory got out, it would create a paradox."

The heavy footsteps continued to thump outside.

"What is that?" Amy asked in annoyance.

"This is the Angel's food source. The paradox poisons the well. It could kill them all. This whole place would literally unhappen."

"It would be almost impossible." The Doctor growled slightly.

"Loving the almost." River grinned crossing her arms against her chest.

The Doctor stood up abruptly and held his arms out in frustration. "But to create a paradox like that takes almost unimaginable power. What have we got, eh? Tell me. Come on, what?"

"I could do it." I offered.

"No." The Doctor answered immediately.

I stood up from my seat and strolled up to him. "You told me I have powers. Powers that you still don't understand. I've made 2Demensional drawings come to life, hell I even created that invisibility shield around us that one time when Amy got married to King Henry."

"Yes, but Claire, you don't have any control over them. We don't even know why you have them in the first place."

"So, I could wing it. All of the times they surfaced, it was by chance."

The Doctor placed his hands on my shoulders. "I will not risk losing you." He leaned in and kissed my forehead. "Please, just listen to me." He pleaded.

I stared into his eyes before nodding slightly. "Fine."

"Thank you." He wrapped me in a quick hug.

The heavy footsteps from outside were getting louder and closer. The ground beneath our feet started to shake with each step.

"Whatever that thing is, it's getting closer." Rory stated.

"Rory, even if you got out, you'd have to keep running for the rest of your life. They would be chasing after you forever." The Doctor informed him.

"Well, then. Better get started." Amy threw open the door. "Husband. Run!"

The two of them quickly ran past the angels and out of sight.

The Doctor pulled out his sonic and grabbed my hand. The three of us made for the door just as two more angels appeared in the doorway. "River, I'm not sure this is going to work." The Doctor grumbled.

"Doctor, shut up." River and I said in unison.

The lights flickered again and an angel entered the room. We backed up immediately just as the lights went out again and two more angels entered the room. The lights continued to flicker on and off. The angels managed to form a circle around us. The Doctor tried to keep the light from going out by sonicking it.

"We can't keep doing this." He said.

"Any ideas?" River asked.

"Yeah, the usual. Run!" With that the Doctor dragged me with him out the door River following close behind. We managed to make it out into the hall only to see the angels on the stairs. "Okay! Fire escape."

"What the hell are you doing?" The Doctor screamed as we climbed up on to the rooftop. I gasped at the sight of Amy and Rory standing on the ledge ready to jump.

"Changing the future." Amy said not taking her eyes off Rory. She stroked his cheek lovingly as a smile lit up her face. "It's called marriage."

The two of them suddenly fell off the rooftop together.

"AMY!" The Doctor and I shouted at the same time. The both of us ran to the ledge.

"AMY!" The Doctor shouted again peering over the side.

I reached a hand out to him hot tears rolling down my face. "Doctor, she's-"

Balls of bright light suddenly started to decorate the air around us.

"Doctor!" River called. "What's happening?"

"The paradox. It's working! The paradox is working!"

Everything went white.

My eyes flashed open and came face to face with the Doctor's. I stared up at him in shock and confusion.

"Hello, Claire!" He cried joyously. I let him help me to my feet before being pulled into a warm hug.

"What on earth just happened?" I gasped hugging him back.

"Yeah, where are we?" Rory asked sitting up.

"Back where we started. You collapsed the timeline. The paradox worked. We all pinged back where we belong!" The Doctor answered turning to him and Amy.

"What in a graveyard?"

I examined our surroundings. Yup, definitely a graveyard. Something doesn't feel right.

"This happened the last time. Why always here?" Amy asked in confusion.

"Does it matter? We got lucky. We could've blown New York off the planet. I can't ever take the TARDIS back there. The timelines are too scrambled. I could have lost you both." He pulled the two of them in for a hug. "Don't ever do that again."

"What did we do? We fixed it. We solved the problem." Rory asked in confusion.

"I was talking to myself." He kissed both of their foreheads causing the both of them to laugh. I joined in their giggles only to gasp in surprise when the Doctor suddenly lifted me off my feet and spun me around in a circle before pulling me close to him again. "After we get everything settled I want to show you something." He whispered in my ear.

"Ok, but don't forget we have a wedding to go to as well." I reminded him.

He pouted. "Oh right, the wedding. After we get the TARDIS fixed and after we go to your friend's wedding I have something I want to show you."

I smiled up at him. "Sounds good. What is it you want to show me?"

The Doctor bopped me flirtatiously on the nose with his index finger. "Now that is a secret." With that he bounded over to help River straighten out the TARDIS.

I turned to Amy and Rory. "Thank God, you two are okay."

Amy pulled the two of us in for a hug. "Oh Claire, I don't know what I would do without you!" Amy wined hugging me close.

"Errm, you girls are hurting me." Rory gasped.

"Oops, sorry, Rory." I laughed pulling away.

Amy then threw her arms around me again and laughed into my shoulder. "So, Mr. Doctor has something he wants to show you later." She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively as she pulled away.

I giggled. "Yeah, he says it's a secret."

"Well afterwards you better fill me in with every last detail. I made sure this romance would happen and I will see it through until the day he asks you to marry him. Oh, and when your belly is the size of a watermelon, you better make sure I'm that damn baby's godmother."

I laughed. "Amy, we've only had one date so far. Besides, you know how shy I am and how awkward he is when it comes to romance. If that even happens, it'll probably be years from now."

She glared playfully at me. "That's why I'll be there to keep things rolling."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever you say."

The Doctor

"It could do with a repaint." River said as I approached her.

"I've been busy." I answered coolly.

"Does the bulb on top need changing?"

"I just changed it." I argued.

"So Rory and Amy then."

"Yes. I know, I know."

"I'm just saying. They're going to get terribly bored hanging around here all day. Same with Claire."

I rolled my eyes at her as I wiped the soot off the TARDIS. "Oh look at you, you're going to need a major touch up." I said stroking the TARDIS. "I'll have Claire give you a repaint later, she enjoys that sort of thing."

"Still talking to her all the time then." River asked in amusement.

"Of course."

"So, I see you've finally found someone."

"What do you mean?" I asked even though I knew exactly what she was talking about.

"Claire, you love her, don't you."

I paused. My cheeks started to burn from embarrassment. "Err…"

River smirked. "I knew it."

"Can we not talk about this?" I wined.

"And why in the hell not?" She asked placing a hand on her hip.

Great, now she's getting all sassy. "Because it's weird discussing my love life with my ex-wife. That's all." I muttered.

River laughed whole-heartedly. "You never change."

"Doctor." Rory called as he, Amy and Claire came into view.

"Ha!" I cried happily throwing my arms in the air.

"Look, next time, could we just go to the pub?" He asked.

"I want to go to the pub right now. Are there video games there? I love video games."

Claire giggled. "Doctor, they don't have video games there. Besides, are you forgetting Molly's wedding?"

"Oh right! Molly's wedding. That's where we were originally going."

Claire, River and I piled into the TARDIS ready to drop River off wherever it was she wanted to go and then go to the wedding.

"DOCTOR!" Amy screamed.

My blood ran cold at the bone-curdling scream that escaped through my friend's mouth. The three of us bolted out of the TARDIS only to find a weeping angel pointing at us.

"Where the hell did that come from?" River gasped.

"It's a survivor. Very weak, but keep your eyes on it." I explained examining the readings I picked up from the sonic.

"Where's Rory?" Amy asked slowly.

I followed where the angel was pointing to, a gravestone read: In Loving Memory Rory Arthur Williams Aged 82. "I'm sorry. Amelia, I'm so, so sorry."

"No." Amy shook her head tears streaming down her face. "No, we can just go get him in the TARDIS. One more paradox."

"Would rip New York apart."

"No, that's not true. I don't believe you."

"Mother, it's true." River choked.

Amy took a few steps closer to the angel.

"Amy, what are you doing?" I warned.

"That gravestone, Rory's. There's room for one more name, isn't there?"

"What are you talking about? Back away from the angel. Come back to the TARDIS. We'll figure something out." I pleaded.

"The angel. Will it send me back to the same time? To him?"

"I don't know. Nobody knows."

"But it's my best shot, yeah?"

"No!" The Doctor cried.

"Doctor, shut up." River snapped. "Yes. Yes, it is."

"Amy."

"Well then, I just have to blink, right?"

"NO!"

"It'll be fine. I know it will. I'll be with him, like I should be. Me and Rory together. Melody?" River walked up to Amy and kissed her mother's hand.

"Stop it! Just, just stop it." I cried. Claire entwined her fingers with mine in an attempt to comfort me. Tears rolled down her cheeks as we watched our dear friend say her goodbyes.

"You look after him and Claire, okay? You be a good girl, and you look after them." Amy cried to River. River pulled away and backed away slowly from her mother.

"Amy, you are creating a fixed time. I will never be able to see you again."

"Claire?" She let go of my hand and grasped Amy's firmly. "You make sure you live up to my promise okay? I want you two to be happy together. As I said I will see this till the end of my days." Claire wrapped her arms around her in a final hug.

"I promise." She sobbed before pulling away and running back to me.

"Amy, please." I continued to beg.

"I'll be fine. I'll be with him." She reassured me.

"Amy, please, just come back into the TARDIS. Come along, Pond, please."

"Raggedy man, goodbye." Amy sobbed turning to face me. In the blink of an eye she vanished. I glanced down at the headstone which soon added Amy's name right below Rory's.

"No!" I sobbed. Claire wrapped her arms around my waist and buried her face in my chest. My arms immediately surrounded her as I sobbed uncontrollably into her shoulder. The two of us clung to each other as if our lives depended on it as River guided us back into the TARDIS, leaving the dastardly angel in the dust.

Claire

River manned the TARDIS while the Doctor and I sat together on the steps. My head rested heavily on his shoulder as his arm draped lazily around my waist.

"River." The Doctor spoke up after what felt like hours of silence. "They were your parents. I'm sorry, I didn't think."

"It doesn't matter." She answered solemnly.

"Of course it matters."

"What matters is this. Doctor, don't travel alone. Make sure you keep Claire with you. If I find out that you abandoned her, I swear I will find you and I will whip your ass. You understand."

The Doctor pulled me closer to him, his grip growing slightly tighter.

"Okay, this book I've got to write. Melody Malone. I presume I send it to Amy to get it published?"

"Yes. Yes." The Doctor sighed.

"I'll tell her to write an afterword. For you. Maybe you'll listen to her." River said before disappearing out of the TARDIS.

The Doctor perked up suddenly.

"What is it?" I asked.

"The last page!" He jumped to his feet and started typing in coordinates.

Before I knew it the Doctor and I were running back to the picnic in New York City. Luckily we found the last page the Doctor had torn from the book still sitting in the picnic basket where he left it. The two of us found a bench where we sat together to read Amy's afterward.

'Afterword, by Amelia Williams. Hello, old friend. And here we are, you and me, on the last page. By the time you read these words, Rory and I will be long gone. So know that we lived well, and we were happy. And above all else, know that we will love you always. You and Claire. Sometimes I do worry about you, though. I think once we're gone, you won't be coming back for a while and you might want to shut yourself up. But you shouldn't be alone, you never should be. Don't be alone, Doctor. You have Claire there who loves you very much and will do anything to keep you as happy as you possibly can. Just please, please, don't shut her out. I worked too hard on making sure you two got together and I will not let my hard work go to waste. And do one more thing for me. There's a little girl waiting in a garden. She's going to wait a long while, so she's going to need a lot of hope. Go to her. Tell her a story. Tell her that if she's patient, the days are coming that she'll never forget. Tell her she'll go to sea and fight pirates. She'll fall in love with a man who'll wait two thousand years to keep her safe. Tell her she'll give hope to the greatest painter who ever lived and saved a star whale in outer space. Tell her this is the story of Amelia Pond and this is how it ends.'

I wiped my running nose as tears slipped from my eyes. The Doctor looked to me an unreadable expression written across his face. His tapered fingers reached out to me and gently wiped the tears running down my face. I managed a weak smile up at him. He rested his forehead against mine before sighing heavily. He pulled away and stood up extending a hand to me. "Well, let's not sit here and waste time any longer. I hate wasting time. Time is not the boss of you remember that, Claire." I took his hand and nodded.

Slowly the two of us walked back to the TARDIS as the wind blew the falling leaves around us.

A/N: The Girl Who Ran: Don't worry! I'm not going to end this story anytime soon. I still have a lot planned for the upcoming chapters :) I'm also thinking of doing small one shots including the Doctor and Claire. (maybe deleted scenes) I don't know yet, I'll have to think about it.