Written in the Stars

by noblecrescent

The Silence is gone & newlyweds Avalon & the Doctor can finally see the world. The Ponds begin to travel less with them, though, making the Doctor sadly conclude it's their time to start moving on. But HIS Pond, his wife, is forever & together they will be...hopefully. A mysterious child follows them through space & time to change the world, even predicting EVERY Ponds' departure.

3. A Fixer and a Dreamer

Avalon, Lena, Amy, and Rory came to the horrifying conclusion they had been abducted by aliens, and the same ones they rather have preferred never to see again.

"Where the hell are we?" Avalon hissed as she looked through the porthole in the bright, white room they were all trapped in. Outside was space...and a whole fleet of Dalek spaceships. The last thing she remembered was walking out of her old earth home when she came across a stranger asking for directions...and then bam! she was there.

"Clearly, we're in outer-space," Amy came up beside her and stared out, probably the most displeased out of the entire group. She had just signed divorce papers with Rory and the last thing she wanted was to be in the same room with him. But, unfortunately, her hair and make-up girl had turned out to be a Dalek puppet of some sort and abducted her as well.

"A precise location would be nice, though," Lena Reynolds added in a terrified, meek voice. At the sound of her shivering, Avalon turned around and quickly took off her blue jacket to hand it over, "Thanks," Lena sheepishly said and put on the jacket over her formal dress. She'd been on New Earth, actually about to begin a date, when she'd met a strange woman just outside the restaurant she was to be having lunch in...and she'd gotten abducted.

"So how much trouble are we in?" Rory dared to ask in the end, from across the room as he preferred not to be close to Amy as well. He thought he'd seen the last of her after leaving her at work but no, he'd gotten abducted by his bus driver and was now in the same room as she was. Lovely.

The sound of the door opening made everyone turn around, "How much trouble, Mr Pond?" the Doctor followed in after a Dalek, "Out of ten? Eleven."

At the sight of her husband, Avalon came running for him, encasing him in a hug, "What the hell is going on!?"

The Doctor held her tight and tried his best not to seem as nervous as he actually was, not to mention hoping she wouldn't be crossed for having lied to her earlier in the day. He'd gotten a message from some woman, Darla, originating from Skaro and he certainly had no intention bringing Avalon there. So, he'd suggested she go to Earth and visit the Ponds whom they hadn't seen in quite a while. Apparently, his plan hadn't worked quite well.

The ceiling opened up and the floor started rising, shaking them all a bit. Atop waited for them an auditorium full of thousands of Daleks.

Yes, the plan had failed quite badly.

"Big brother, dare I ask where the hell we are?" Lena swallowed hard and instantly moved closer to him and Avalon, "Cos I got spaceship down, but, um..."

"It's the Parliament of the Daleks. Be brave, baby sister," he flashed her a small smile. He hadn't seen her in decades and now this was the way they would get to spend time together!?

"So what do we do?" Avalon whispered to him as she took Lena's hand to comfort her.

"Make them remember you," was his answer before moving to address the Daleks, "Well come on then. You've got me! What are you waiting for? At long last, it's Christmas!" he held out his arms to await the shots, "Here I am!" he shut his eyes.

"That's your plan?" he heard Avalon hiss behind him. She was close to murdering him instead of the Daleks.

"Save us," called the prime minister of the Daleks, making the travelers look at each other in awe, "You will save us."

The Doctor re-opened his eyes and dropped his arms, "I'll...what?"

"You will save the Daleks."

"Save the Daleks! Save the Daleks!" the rest of the Daleks chanted, "Save the Daleks! Save the Daleks! Save the Daleks! Save the Daleks!"

"Well, this is new," the Doctor said, stunned.

The others were equally stunned and frankly, confused. Were they dreaming? Was it some sort of trance that would later come back and bite them? It wouldn't be the first time.

The first words that came to Avalon's mind were: 'this is the last thing we needed.'

She had spent nearly all her time lately trying to help Amy and Rory work out their martial problems. Apparently, she wasn't even supposed to know about it! Amy had left a series of messages for the Doctor on the TARDIS phone only Avalon had taken them instead and learned everything. She was horrified, not to mentioned heartbroken, to hear her grandparents were divorcing.

How could they? Had she really been away that long?

Avalon took it upon herself to fix the problems without the Doctor. He'd done enough and this was her family, after all, it was up to her. They'd all helped her at one moment and she was quite grown up now, a changed woman in fact. She was more than capable of dealing with her family problems. But now, at the brink of the divorce...she was reconsidering her ideas.

"What's he doing?" Rory questioned them, more to Lena and Avalon, when the Doctor started pacing without saying anything to anybody.

Avalon sighed and rubbed the side of her head, "He's chosen the most defendable area in the room, counted all the Daleks, counted all the exits and now he's calculating the exact distance you and Amy are standing apart and starting to worry. Oh...and now Avalon's trouble," she crossed her arms and took the Doctor's sharp eyes and frown with as much strength as possible. She could only hold his look for so long, she knew she had to work on that.

"He's mad?" Lena raised an eyebrow.

"No, he's irritated I kept the divorce away from him..."

"We have arrived," Dalek Supreme announced and immediately everyone turned.

"Arrived where?" the Doctor demanded.

"Doctor..." the prime minister Dalek called.

The woman who had tricked the Doctor, Darla, stepped forwards to bring him to the Dalek, "The Prime Minister will speak with you now."

The Doctor walked for the Dalek but stopped and glanced at Darla, "Do you remember who you were, before they emptied you out and turned you into their puppet?"

"My memories are only re-activated if they are required to facilitate deep cover or disguise," she answered emotionless.

"You had a daughter," the Doctor reminded, hoping to stir up some of the human feelings.

Unfortunately, there was none to have, "I know. I've read my file." She motioned for him to continue.

The Doctor finally made his way to the prime minister Dalek, "Well?" he raised an eyebrow.

"What do you know of the Dalek Asylum?"

"According to legend, you have a dumping ground. A planet where you lock up all the Daleks that go wrong. The battle-scarred, the insane. The ones even you can't control," the Doctor turned away from the Dalek and scoffed, "Which never made any sense to me..."

"Why not?"

"Because you'd just kill them."

"It is offensive to us to extinguish such divine hatred."

The Doctor turned around in irritation, "Offensive?"

"Does it surprise you to know the Daleks have a concept of beauty?"

A deep glare settled into the Doctor's eyes as he leaned closer to the Dalek, "I thought you'd run out of ways to make me sick, but hello again. You think hatred is beautiful?" He scoffed at the idea and walked away from it.

"Perhaps that is why we have never been able to kill you," the Dalek remarked and froze the Doctor in his spot.

The floor underneath the TARDIS travelers shook as it opened to reveal a clear view of a planet underneath the ship. They all peered down to get a look while the Doctor rejoined them along with Darla.

"The Asylum. It occupies the entire planet," she began, "Right to the core."

"How many Daleks are in there?" he asked her without sparing her a glance.

"A count has not been made. Millions, certainly."

"Are they all still alive?" Lena tilted her head as she stared at the planet, "Or, hopefully, dead..."

"It has to be assumed," Darla looked at Lena slightly, "The Asylum is fully automated—supervision is not required."

"And how'd that work out for you?" Avalon raised an eyebrow.

"Avalon," Lena tugged on her sister's arm to make her stop angering the already angry Daleks.

"It's a fair question," Amy defended Avalon with a smirk.

"Oh, so now you agree with me?" Avalon shot a look at Amy. Without answering, Amy looked to the side and remained quiet.

The Doctor watched the interchange with even more concern. He did not like it when his Ponds weren't getting along and what he just saw was an even rarer form of anger from Avalon.

Darla cleared her throat and garnered their attention with, "This signal is being received from the very heart of the Asylum."

The song 'Habernera' rang throughout the entire room, making the Daleks squirm and protest, "What is the noise? Explain! Explain!"

"It's me," the Doctor exclaimed as he got into a pretend act of playing the triangle.

"Sorry what?!" Rory looked at him like he'd finally lost it. It had been so long since they'd seen the Doctor that Rory actually forgot what the alien was like. Avalon had been the only ones to make rounds to Earth and New Earth.

"It's me. Playing the triangle," the Doctor motioned but when he saw the look on Avalon's face he quickly dropped the act and got to business, "OK, I got buried in the mix."

"You don't say?" Avalon shook her head, "Is that Carmen?"

"Yes, and someone's transmitting this," the Doctor pulled out the sonic to use on the transmitter, "Have you considered tracking back the signal and talking to them?"

"You're asking the Daleks," Avalon moved to his side and gave him a look, "You're a bit off today."

"Well that could be partly because of the thing my wife—" the Doctor tapped her nose, "—didn't tell me about...concerning our friends..."

Avalon looked to the side and fiddled with one of her ginger locks, "So that Carmen..."

"Mhm," the Doctor sighed and returned to the transmitter. He genuinely was upset that Avalon had kept something that important away from him. Now things started making more sense. It would explain the many times Avalon had returned to the TARDIS looking ready to burst into tears. Every time he asked her what was wrong she would never say...and now he understood.

After the Doctor finished fixing up the transmitter he spoke into it, "Hello? Hello, Carmen? Hello?"

"Hello?" They all heard a woman's voice respond.

"Come in, come in, come in, Carmen," the Doctor continued, although he was frankly surprised he was actually getting a coherent response that didn't sound very dalek-y.

"I'm pretty sure she's not actually Carmen," Avalon whispered to him like it was a big secret.

"Hello, yes, yes, sorry, do you read me?!" the woman from the other line exclaimed.

"Yes, reading you loud and clear," the Doctor leaned on the transmitter, "Identify yourself and report your status."

"Hello! Are you real? Are you actually, properly real?"

"Okay he just answered you, dear," Avalon spoke into the transmitter, "We're all real, you know."

"Okay, then," the woman said, sounding a bit annoyed, "I'm Oswin Oswald, Junior Entertainment Manager, Starship Alaska. Current status - crashed and shipwrecked somewhere... not nice. Been here a year, rest of the crew missing. Provisions good, but keen to move on."

"A year?" the Doctor made a face, already that sounding wrong, "Are you okay? Are you...under attack?"

"Some local life-forms, I've been keeping them out."

"How do you keep out daleks?" Avalon asked, "Do you...you know they're Daleks, right?"

"I know a Dalek when I hear one, thank you very much," the woman snapped.

Avalon raised an eyebrow, already disliking the woman on the other side, "Listen—"

But the Doctor cut in before anything harsh could be said, "What have been doing, on your own, against the Daleks for a year?!"

"Making soufflés," the woman informed.

"You make soufflés?" Avalon paused, a tug of her lips forming a small smile. "Alright, maybe I like you a little bit more now. Soufflés against the Daleks is a new one."

"Where do you get the milk?" the Doctor inquired as the thought struck him.

"This conversation is irrelevant," Dalek supreme interrupted and made the Doctor turn around.

"I don't think it is," Avalon smirked, "Cos if that Souffle Girl came into the planet along with some team, that means your little Daleks can come out."

"The Asylum must be cleansed," Dalek Supreme resolved.

"Then why is it still here?" the Doctor gestured out to the window, "You've got enough firepower on this ship, to blast it out of the sky."

"The Asylum force-field is impenetrable," Darla explained.

"Then turn it off," Avalon said slowly.

"It can only be turned off from within the Asylum."

"A small task force could sneak through a force-field send in a couple of Daleks," the Doctor shared the idea but stopped when he realized the problem, "Oh, oh, that's good. That's brilliant! You're all too scared to go down there! Not one of you will go! So tell me, what do the Daleks do when they're too scared?"

"The Predator of the Daleks will be deployed," Dalek Supreme informed.

"You don't have a predator. And even if you did, why would they turn off a force-field for you?"

"Because you will have no other means of escape."

Darla cleared her throat and raised a finger for the Doctor, "May I clarify, the Predator is the Daleks' word for you."

"Me?" the Doctor headed back for her in confusion, "Me!?"

"You will need this," she motioned for two male-Daleks to come forth, carrying silver bands, "It will protect you from the Nano-cloud."

"The what?" the Doctor barely had time to register what was happening, "The nano-what?" The two male Dalek puppets dragged him by the arms back to the others.

"The gravity beam will convey you close to the source of the transmission. You must find a way to deactivate the force-field from there," Darla puppet followed after them.

The Doctor was horrified when the a bright beam of light rushed up through the clear floor, "You're going to fire me at a planet? That's your plan? I get fired at a planet and expected to fix it?"

"In fairness, that is slightly your M.O.," Rory pointed out.

"Don't be fair to the Daleks when they're firing me at a planet!" the Doctor snapped, "What do you want with them?!" He struggled even more against the Dalek puppets when he saw Avalon and the others being strapped bands on their wrists.

"It is known that the Doctor requires companions," Dalek Supreme said.

"Oh, that's just...good," Lena shivered as she stared at the light beam, "Who needs a date when you've got Daleks to deal with?"

"Date?" the Doctor caught that word in a snap and turned his head to look at Avalon, "What is she talking about, Ava?" The ginger put on a sheepish smile, "Ava!?" But Avalon didn't have to answer as the Doctor was pushed into the beam.

Following him, went Avalon and the rest.

~ 0 ~

Avalon had landed flat on her back on a snow covered planet. She was just coming around when she heard a squeaking noise by her. She turned her head and found a periscope a couple inches from her, swiveling around, "Go away!" She waved it off with shut eyes.

"You're kinda rude, do you know that?" the woman they had spoken to earlier asked, "And grumpy...very grumpy."

Avalon sat up and rubbed her face, "Listen, Soufflé Girl, my family is falling apart...so I'm upset, alright?" She turned her head to look at the periscope again, "My grandparents are divorcing and now my husband knows that I kept it from him. You try being dandy with all that."

"...I'm sorry," the woman sounded honest in her words.

"Yeah," Avalon looked down, "So am I."

"Now, when you say 'husband' do you mean the one with sort of floppy hair?"

"Yeah, why, have you seen him!?" Avalon turned and neared the periscope.

"Couple feet..." the periscope suddenly went underground and disappeared.

"Hey! Come back!" Avalon shouted to the ground.

The periscope appeared several feet away from her, turned to the left, "...that way!" the woman finished.

Avalon scrambled up to her feet and as she could ran in the direction Soufflé Girl had pointed to.

As Soufflé Girl had said, the Doctor had landed not very far from Avalon, "Doctor? Doctor!" Avalon called as she neared him. She dropped to her knees beside him and shook him, "Hey! Wake up!"

The Doctor started waking up as of it were a request and dazedly chuckled, "Hey..."

"Hey, wake up already," Avalon leaned closer, "I need your help..."

"Yeah you do," the Doctor agreed, now more alert, "Why didn't you tell me about Amy and Rory?"

"Uh..." Avalon leaned away, conscious now that he wouldn't stop asking those questions until she have him a proper answer.

"Avalon?" the Doctor sat upright.

"Um..." the ginger looked around the area, "...Soufflé Girl? Want to make an entrance now?" she called nervously.

"What? No," the Doctor frowned at the attitude of distraction, "Ava, you can't run away from this."

"You ran away from your own death," Avalon crossed her arms and huffed, "Don't see why I can't. Soufflé Girl!"

The periscope appeared near them and Soufflé Girl made an entrance, "Okay, I would like to remind everybody that I do in fact have an actual name: Oswin. Also, I don't like being brought into couple problems. Not my thing."

"How are you doing that?" the Doctor momentarily left the subject of the Ponds alone. He leaned to the periscope and tapped the glass, "This is Dalek technology."

"Well it's very easy to hack," Oswin informed like it was no big deal.

"I don't think it is," Avalon remarked, "Where exactly are you, anyways?"

"Ship broke up when it hit. Somewhere underground, I think," Oswin said, "You coming to get me?"

"Well someone's so sure of herself," Avalon mumbled but wasn't heard due to the loud call Amy did from a distance.

"Doctor!" Amy was shouting, "Avalon!"

"Hey!" the Doctor exclaimed as the connection with Oswin started faltering, "Oi! Soufflé girl! Come back."

Avalon stood up and caught the nearly falling Amy, "What's wrong?" Avalon asked then noticed a young man following after Amy.

"Where's Rory?" the Doctor had noticed the new friend as well, "And Lena?"

"There were other beams," the man, Harvey, pointed to a spot near a small hill, "There, over there," without words, the trio ran for the direction, leaving Harvey to follow, "Are you the rescue team?!"

~ 0 ~

The group reached a round hole in the middle of the ground where apparently the two beams of Rory and Lena had been seen.

"Lena!" Avalon dropped to her knees and called for her sister, "LENA!"

Amy did the same only she called for her ex-husband-to-be, "Rory?! RORY!"

"Now what?" Avalon, distressed, looked back at the Doctor, "She's finally getting better and now she's stuck in some hole—"

The Doctor put his hands on her head and tried calming her, "Shhh, it's okay," he assured, "We're going to find her and Rory, you'll see."

"There's some rope back with my crew," Harvey spoke up and made everyone look up, "We could go get it..."

Amy was the first to agree and stood up, "Okay, but let's hurry," and she motioned for Harvey to lead the way.

Avalon couldn't help smirk as Amy hurriedly followed Harvey, "For 'not caring anymore' that's the opposite," she said to the Doctor, momentarily forgetting that there was still a discussion pending between them.

"There's still a chance, then," the Doctor agreed, taking her hand as they went to follow.

They followed Harvey to his hatch where his crew members were still in. He was explaining to the trio what had happened to the team after their first trip to the stars, "We came down two days ago. There is 12 other escape pods. I don't know what happened to them," he bent down and began opening the lid of the hatch.

Amy wiped some of the snow covering it with her shoe and saw 'Alaska' scrawled at the center, "Alaska?" she glanced at the Doctor and Avalon, "That's the same ship as Soufflé Girl."

"Apparently her name's Oswin," Avalon shrugged. "Wants us to use it or something..."

"And she's been here a year," the Doctor remembered with some suspicion.

"Do you think that's important?" Avalon stepped closer to the Doctor and spoke in a hushed tone as Harvey began going down the ladder of the hatch.

"Let's find out," the Doctor took a breath as he went next to climb down.

As the travelers climbed down, Harvey went to go look for the rope he had promised them, "We should have some climbing rope long enough for that hole."

"Won't you introduce us to your crew?" the Doctor curiously eyed the motionless crew members that sat in rows with controls in front of them.

"Ah yeah, sorry. Guys, this is the Doctor, Avalon, and Amy," Harvey introduced while he rummaged through the locker. The Doctor gave a salute but no greet nor response was shown. That, Harvey noticed and made him stop and look back, "Guys?"

Avalon decided to walk behind the last row in front of them and happened to touch someone's shoulder...making his body shake and reveal a mummified corpse, "Oh!" she jumped back in horror.

The Doctor quickly pulled out the sonic to use on the corpses while yanking Avalon away from them, "They're dead. All of them."

"I think we noticed!" Avalon shot him a look of sarcasm.

"I meant to say they've been dead for a very long time," the Doctor mended his error for her. He'd learned right away that instead of arguing with her sarcasm/sass it was just best to not make...well...stupid remarks like those.

"But that's not possible," Harvey looked at his crew, "I just spoke them. Two hours ago, we were doing engine repairs!"

"You're sure about that, are you?" the Doctor challenged as he pulled the hood off another dead member, "Cos I'd say they've all been dead for a very long time."

"But...but they can't have been..."

"Well, they didn't get in that state in two hours," Amy shrugged and made sure to stay back from the dead corpses.

A change took place in Harvey's expressions, "Off course! Stupid me."

"Of course what?" Avalon raised an eyebrow, disliking the near smirk that was on his face.

"I died outside and the cold preserved my body," he announced and made everyone freeze, "I forgot about dying." A big Dalek eyestalk broke out through his forehead and started coming for the travelers.

"Amy! The door!" the Doctor nodded to a nearby door which Amy hurriedly went to get it open. On a chance, the Doctor grabbed Harvey by the arms and pushed him into the door and locked it shut.

"I don't understand, how did that happen?" Avalon blinked, completely lost.

"Because he wasn't wearing one of these," the Doctor held his wrist to her to show her the band strapped to it, "Oh-hoho! That's clever! The nano-cloud. Micro-organisms that automatically process any organic matter, living or dead, into a Dalek puppet. Anything attacks this place, it automatically becomes part of the on-site security."

"Living or dead?" Avalon stiffened and slowly turned her head to look at the dead corpses.

"These wrist-bands protect us," the Doctor gestured to her band, "The only thing stopping us going exactly..."

"Fairy-tale man, shut up!" Avalon rose her voice to a shout and sighed, "Did you just hear yourself?"

"No, what?"

"Living or dead," Amy shook her head, why was he so clueless?

"Yes," the Doctor nodded, "Exactly, living, or, or..." and then he understood.

"Doctor," Avalon pointed to the corpse that was now boasting a Dalek eyestalk on its forehead, the others following, "Do something!"

The Doctor nodded quickly and started climbing over the seats to clear the way for the two gingers, "C'mon!" he called and so Avalon broke into a run with Amy.

However, on the way there, one of the corpses had managed to get ahold of Amy's arm, "Ah!" she tried fighting them off.

"Get the hell off my grandmother!" Avalon kicked the corpse away from Amy then pulled her inside the cockpit where the Doctor quickly locked it.

The three leaned on the shut door and tried regaining their breath after all that. Amy had to smile in the end as she thought back to it, "Is it bad that I've really missed this?" She looked at the other two.

"Yes," Avalon instantly said like she was crazy.

"Good," Amy made a face at her.

"Don't fight, please," the Doctor sighed, "Ponds should not fight within each other."

"They do when she divorces her granddaughter's grandfather," Avalon declared and leaned off the door to move to the other end, which was only a couple feet away.

"Avalon, I already told you—"

"No, no," Avalon cut Amy off as she turned around, "You haven't told me anything. You haven't given me one reason why you're even divorcing and I know it's you who wants this."

"I'm sorry," Amy tried to reach for her but Avalon pressed herself against the wall to get away from her.

"If you were really sorry you'd actually tell me what's going on," Avalon bitterly said as she looked to the side.

"You wouldn't understand," Amy said but Avalon could see that was a lie, a straight ole lie which actually...concerned her.

"You're lying straight to my face," Avalon sighed, "Is this what it's come to? My grandmother lying to me again?"

"Ava, why don't we focus on getting out of here first, hm?" the Doctor offered as he reached for her hand but her moved her arms behind her back, making him sigh, "Look, I will gladly help you fix things with your grandparents but we really need to focus on surviving first."

"No, hold on," came Oswin's voice through the speakers inside the room, "Grandparents? Divorce? You're all the same age!"

Avalon rolled her eyes, "I'm 57 years old but thank you for the compliment, Souffle Girl."

"Oswin," the woman corrected, "And, give me a break, won't you? I've been down here with no TV or books for a year. All this sounds like a soap opera to me."

"Well, if you must know, Oswin," Avalon rolled her eyes, still admittedly amused by Oswin's attitude, "They had a daughter who went to the future and had me there. Bad things happened and my mother sent me back in time to be raised with my uncle and my cousins...along with my grandparents and future mother as children."

"Wow...completely a soap opera," Oswin concluded with a chuckle.

"And lucky me I'm the protagonist," Avalon said with a sour smile.

"You should sell that—I'd buy it!"

"I think it's the one story I wouldn't write," Avalon admitted, not that it was a secret for both the Doctor and Amy.

"Shame, I'd be a fan," Oswin said with a dramatic sigh to follow. "But, moving on, I've been scanning! You're on another of the escape pods from the Alaska, right? Same ship I was on."

"How can she hack into everything?" Amy asked the Doctor, curiously, "Didn't she like crash her ship or something?"

"It's a long story," Oswin cut in, "Is there a word for total screaming genius that sounds modest and a tiny bit sexy?"

"Doctor," the Time Lord took that one for himself, "You call me the Doctor."

"I hope that's not flirting," Avalon looked up at him with sharp eyes, "You're not flirting with the unknown woman, are you? You're not...are you?"

The Doctor shook his head, "Course not, just showing off for you love." And he finally managed to get her to smile after that.

"Ugh, sappy stuff," came the mock gags of Oswin, "Anyways, check the floor. I'm picking up a breach at floor level, there could be a way out. See you later!"

The Doctor did as Oswin said and cleared the center of the room to find a hatch, "Looks like it's been used already," he noted, "And they tried to block it off behind them."

"Well I can't imagine why," Avalon remarked and stepped closer to him.

"The lower part of the pod is buried, so this must go straight down into the Asylum."

"Where Rory is?" Amy asked immediately.

"I-I just don't understand you," Avalon sighed and looked at her grandmother.

"Just because we're divorcing doesn't mean I stopped caring for his safety," Amy tried to make it look casual as she shrugged.

"See, I don't know that because I don't know you anymore," Avalon pointed.

"It's me," Amy gestured to herself.

"No, because that Amy I knew promised me, along with Rory, River and even this idiot," Avalon gestured to the Doctor who gave an 'oi' of complaint, "That there would never be secrets between us again. You promised me that on Christmas. And you broke it."

Amy closed her eyes with enough pain to last for a lifetime. She had promised Avalon that, along with the others, and now she was breaking it...and hurting Avalon. She couldn't bear to do that to her granddaughter again. "I can't have kids," she whispered the painful words that felt more pricks.

Avalon slowly looked down at the Doctor who was equally stunned, "What?" Avalon asked.

Amy sighed, "I can't have kids, okay? The Silence, they...they did something, what ever they did...it left me like...this," she gestured to herself with so much disdain that it truly concerned Avalon and the Doctor, "I can't have kids and you know that's all Rory's ever wanted. You're right, I haven't stopped caring, I'm choosing to give him up."

"No, no, but that's...Amy, forgive me, but...that's completely stupid," Avalon declared, "You think that just because of that Rory's going to stop loving you?"

"Maybe not now but what happens when we're old...and alone?" Amy raised an eyebrow, "Think about it, the strongest thing between two married people is a child. A child who represents just how much they love each other, who reminds them of everything they have. You don't know it yet but having a baby is..."

"Indescribable," the Doctor finished and made both gingers look at him, "You can't possibly describe that feeling. Wonderful, amazing, those words wouldn't live up to the actual meaning," he smiled softly as his mind wandered back to the days in which his children had been born.

"Now you see?" Amy looked to Avalon with teary eyes, "I can't take that away from Rory."

"But you're not even giving him the chance to make that decision for himself," Avalon said, "That's not being very fair. You should talk to him and discuss this and then both of you can make a final decision. But you know what I think?" Amy made a gesture for her to go on and say it. "Rory's not going to stop loving you because of this. And you know what? There are so many ways you can have children. Adoption? Accidental adoption?" Avalon pointed between herself and the Doctor, referencing their space tree child.

"I know," Amy whispered. She didn't want to hear anything anymore. Of course she knew all that, she wasn't an idiot. But she knew Rory would always prefer having a baby that was actually his own.

Avalon was startled when a bang was hit on the other side of the door, "What's going on?"

The Doctor checked the screen beside the door which gave view into the other room where the undead corpses seemed to be banging something on the door, "What are they up to?" the Doctor frowned.

'More importantly, what is that?" Amy stepped beside him and pointed at the small object being held.

"One of these," the Doctor tensed as he clearly identified the wrist band on the screen.

"What?" Avalon squeezed in-between him and Amy to get a look, "But where did they get it from!?"

"Ah!" Amy yelped when she saw her bare wrist, "Me! They got it from me!"

"Oh, Amy," Avalon rubbed her face in frustration.

"Doctor? What's going to happen to me? Seriously, tell me, what?" Amy immediately wanted to know her fate.

The Doctor looked at her wrist and back at the screen, anger spurring inside as the undead taunted them with the wrist band.

~ 0 ~

Explaining to Amy what was going to happen...fourth time...was becoming tedious, as much as Avalon hated to admit. After the fifth time of explaining it, the Doctor led the two gingers down a darkish corridor where they hoped they would find Lena and Rory, and perhaps Oswin. They stumbled across a shut door that when opened revealed several Daleks inside, all thankfully inactive.

"Okay, no one opens this door," the Doctor pointed at Avalon and Amy.

"One order I don't mind following," Avalon nodded her head and started backing away from the door.

"Oswin?!" the Doctor started calling for the woman, "Oswin, can you hear me?!"

"Hello, the Chin! I have visual on you!" she cheerfully answered.

The Doctor made a face, "When did I become 'the Chin'?"

"You do own a mirror, right?"

"Oi, no one talks about my husband's chin like that but me," Avalon declared and had the Doctor nodding until he realized.

"Yeah—wait, what?" He blinked at her, not pleased with her 'defense', "Ava!"

"I love you but I'm not blind," Avalon innocently shrugged.

"Wha—hey!"

Avalon rolled her eyes and grabbed him by the lapels to give him a kiss she was sure would shut him up. It definitely worked. "So, Oswin," she turned when she afterwards, "You wouldn't happened to have found my sister and my grandfather?"

"As a matter of fact, I have," Oswin declared proudly, "There's a door to your left, open it. Going to send you a map to that screen. I've put them somewhere safe, I can get you to them"

"Thanks," Avalon managed to relax after hearing her sister was safe for the meantime.

"You are out of control today," the Doctor said to her right after they'd gotten the door opened.

Avalon put on a smirk as she cleared some of the lipstick that had smudged his lips, "I thought you liked when I didn't follow orders," she leaned up and whispered, "Makes me unpredictable, right?"

"Right," the Doctor swallowed hard with a light skip of his hearts. He leaned down to get a kiss from her but Avalon dodged his lips, "Ava," he made a face but tried again only to get the same results, "Ava!"

Avalon giggled and decided to end his attempts by turning for the screen Oswin had directed them to, "Oswin, how many Daleks directly ahead of us, right now?"

"10, 20, hard to say," she admitted, "Some of them are catatonic, but they do have firepower."

"So how do we get past them?" the Doctor asked, having given up trying to kiss Avalon. He'd get her later when she wasn't on guard. Those kisses were the best.

Avalon happened to turn her head and see Amy had left them! She was in the room they'd gone into that was full of Daleks, "Amy!" she shouted and startled the Doctor into looking over to the missing ginger.

He felt his hearts stop at the sight of her dangerously close to the Daleks and yet Amy didn't seem to mind, "Shhh. It's OK. It's just people in here. It's just people," she languidly looked at the pair as they rushed for her.

"Are you put of your mind!?" Avalon nearly shouted if her loudness wouldn't have activated the Daleks behind Amy.

"Amy. It's the nano-cloud," the Doctor tried to make her see, "It's altering your perception. Look again, look again—those aren't people."

"Amy, Amy, just listen!" Avalon pleaded, "They're bloody DALEKS! Look!"

Thankfully, Amy reacted after taking another look behind her. The Doctor held out a hand for her, urging her to return, "Come with me, take my hand. Run, run!"

Amy took the hand and together they ran back to where they'd came from. When they reached the pod ladder they saw the undead corpses were making their way down.

"They're coming down!" Amy cried and backed from the ladder.

"And there's a Dalek!" Avalon pointed at the advancing Dalek coming from the room Amy had been in.

The Doctor pushed Avalon and Amy into a side door, "Run!" the three hid there while the Dalek kept coming.

"Intruder! Intruder!" the Dalek fired its weapon but there was nothing that actually came out.

The Doctor poked his head from the room and had to smirk when he concluded, "It's damaged," he fully stepped out.

"OK, but what do we do?" Amy asked when she and Avalon came out.

"Identify me!" the Doctor leaned to the Dalek, "Access your files, who am I? Come on, who's your Daddy?"

"That better be the first and last time you use that word," Avalon warned with second hand embarrassment for him.

"You... are... the Predator," the Dalek answered with struggle.

"Access your standing orders concerning the Predator," the Doctor continued.

"The Predator must be destroyed."

"And how are you going to do that?! Dalek without a gun - you're a tricycle with a roof!" the Doctor taunted in success, "How are you going to destroy me?!"

"Self-destruct initiated," the Dalek announced and in a snap the Doctor used the sonic on the creature underneath its top case.

"What the hell are you doing?" Avalon rushed up behind the Doctor, "Have you finally lost it!?"

It's going to blow itself up and us with it," the Doctor informed like it was nothing big, "Only weapon it's got left."

"Self-destruct cannot be countermanded," the Dalek remarked.

"I'm not looking for a countermand, dear," the Doctor let the Dalek's lid drop shut, "I'm looking for reverse."

The Doctor slid backwards to the room of Daleks, "For..wards, For..wards, For..wards, For..wards!" and it exploded, taking down the rest of the Daleks.

~ 0 ~

At the feel of the explosion, Lena jumped with a gasp and spun around, "What was that!? That was close, wasn't it?"

Even Rory was concerned with the proximity of the explosion, "Oswin?" he called as he took Lena's hand and rushed back to the Dalek room to fund bits and chunks of exploded Daleks all around, "What happened?! Who killed all the Daleks?"

"Who do you think?" the Doctor stepped in from the other side of the room carrying an unconscious Avalon in his arms. In protecting the still ditzy Amy, Avalon had taken a blow for her and was promptly knocked out.

"My sister!" Lena cried in horror and ran up to the Doctor, "Is she okay!? What happened!?"

"It's okay, it's okay," the Doctor hurried to go set Avalon down somewhere. Rory motioned for him to follow and so quickly re-entered the teleportation room. Avalon was laid down on the teleport where she slowly stirred to a slow awake.

"Is she going to be okay?" Lena asked feebly while Rory checked for Avalon's vitals.

Amt was returning to her normal self now that the hazing was gone. She moved to where Lena stood and leaned down closer to Avalon, "I am so sorry, Avalon," she whispered.

"She's going to be fine," Rory assured her from Avalon's other side.

"Really?" Amy looked at him urgently, desperately needing the assurance one more time.

The Doctor had silently motioned to Lena to step back with him. It seemed like it was the first conversation between Amy and Rory that was...well...civilized. He knew Avalon would bite his head off if he ruined the moment.

Of course, just because he knew not to ruin the moment it didn't mean Oswin knew it too. "Geez, who knew all it took was the granddaughter to get the relationship back in order," came her chirpy voice, yet full of observation.

Avalon had opened her eyes with a small smile as she glanced between Rory and Amy. At the sight, the two grandparents leaned closer to her to greet her softly, as was their usual custom when she awoke in the mornings.

"You're going to be okay," Rory whispered to her, "But you gotta stop hurting yourself, Ava."

"That's boring," Avalon joked quietly.

"Avalon, I'm sorry," Amy sighed, "If I hadn't gotten my bracelet stolen then none of this would've happened."

"You're what got stolen!?" Rory looked at her in terror, his eyes slowly drifting to her bare wrists.

"It was an accident!" the ginger cried, now even more shameful.

"Amy!"

"Rory!"

Avalon's smile had disappeared from her face and out came a long sigh, "Can we go back to me since it's apparently the only way to get you two not to argue?" she swung her legs to the side and with the help of the Doctor stood up.

"Do you know how you make someone into a Dalek?" Oswin intervened in the discussion, "Subtract love, add anger. Doesn't she seem a bit too angry to you?" All eyes fell on Amy.

"Well!" she huffed and turned away from the group, "Somebody's never been to Scotland."

"That's also cos I bet she's never gotten an unnecessary divorce," Avalon added and grimly looked at her grandparents. At that, even Rory had to look away from her face, too heartbroken to face her.

The Doctor could really do without another Pond argument and decided to focus on Oswin, the most suspicious thing in the room so far, "What about you though, Oswin?" he called to her, "How come you're OK? Why hasn't the nano-cloud converted you?"

"I mentioned the genius thing, yeah? I'm shielded in here," she reminded rather proudly.

"But how do you do that?" Lena confusedly asked, "Cos the Daleks said something—or was it that other woman?—you needed to be protected by the bands..."

"Trust me, I'm clever," Oswin assured and unknowingly raised the Doctor's suspicions.

"And kind of cocky," Avalon mumbled under her breath. She didn't miss the snort that came out of the Doctor. "Somebody has some audacity," she spat right back at him.

The Time Lord moved for the edge of the teleport to study its current condition, "Now this place - the Daleks said it was fully automated. But look at it, it's a wreck."

"Well, I've had nearly a year to mess with them and not a lot else to do," Oswin admitted with a resigned sigh.

"A junior entertainment manager, hiding out in a wrecked ship... hacking the security systems of the most advanced warrior race the universe has ever seen," the Doctor knew that couldn't be right, especially when you thought of one specific thing, "But you know what really gets me about you, Oswin? The soufflés!"

"Souffles?" Amy mouthed in confusion while looking at the others to see if they agreed. By the looks on their faces, it seemed like they did.

"Where do you get the milk for the soufflés?" the Doctor continued on without noticing the expressions of the others, "Seriously, is no one else wondering about that?"

"No. Frankly, no," Rory shook his head, "Twice."

"So, Doctor," Oswin spoke up, "I've been looking you and your friends up."

"Well that's not creepy," Avalon made a face and glanced around the room for any cameras that could give view to Oswin.

"Says the psychopath's daughter."

"HEY!" Avalon now angrily looked up, indignant that Oswin was bringing in River when she knew nothing about that situation. "You leave River out of this! Focus on getting us out here instead of sticking your nose in my family's lives."

"Ouch," Oswin felt the daggers from her spot, "Sorry," she honestly apologized.

Avalon rubbed her temples while silently trying to calm herself. Lately, she was under stress with her grandparents' divorce and the fact she didn't even tell River about it. The last thing she needed was for some stranger to label her about something horrendous.

The Doctor, noticing her expressions, walked to her and gently lowered her hands from her face, "It's okay," he whispered and kissed her forehead before wrapping his arms around her waist, "Alright then, here's the plan," he looked at the others.

"There's a plan?" Lena blinked, wondering if she'd missed that earlier.

"Yes, baby sister," the Doctor nodded, "In no particular order, we need to neutralize all the Daleks in this asylum, rescue Oswin from the wreckage, escape from this planet, and fix Rory and Amy's marriage..."

"OK, I'm counting three lost causes, anyone else?" Amy casually looked around the room as if her words were actually true.

The Doctor felt Avalon shake upon those words and couldn't help but shoot a little glare at Amy for being inconsiderate. "Oswin, there's a Dalek ship in orbit," he looked up as he spoke to the woman.

"Yeah, got it on the sensors."

"The Asylum has a force-field. The Daleks upstairs are waiting for me to turn it off. Soon as I do, they'll burn this world and us with it. So, Oswin, my question is this. How fast can you drop the force-field?"

"Pretty fast. But why would I?"

"Because this is a teleport, am I right, Oswin? "

"Yeah. Internal use only."

"I can boost the power, though," the Doctor informed, "Once the force-field is down, and we can use this to beam us right off this planet."

"But you said, when the force-field is down, the Daleks will blow us up," Rory pointed out, Lena nodding in agreement.

"We have to be quick," the Doctor shrugged.

"Where exactly would we beam up to?" Avalon looked up at him with concern as she already guessed the answer.

"The only place within range...the Dalek ship," the Doctor admitted quietly, but still enough to be heard by the others.

"Isn't that the place we'd be exterminated in?" Lena was seriously disliking that plan, her entire body visibly trembling from the idea of the thousands of Daleks surrounding them.

"This is the kind of escape plan where you survive four seconds longer, isn't it?" Amy shook her head with an annoyed sigh, yet not the least bit surprised.

"What's wrong with four seconds?" the Doctor raised an eyebrow, "May I remind you that I used the extra minutes staying alive to marry my Ava," he flashed a smile at Avalon who gave a small one in return, "Four seconds can do wonders. So, Oswin, how fast can you drop the force-field?"

"I can do it from here," she confidently replied, "As soon as you come and get me."

Avalon made a face, "Um, no, you come to us."

"There's enough power in that teleport for one go. Why would you wait for me?"

"Well Souffle Girl, I'm going to start with the fact that I'm nice..." Avalon swayed her head, "...bad attitude, but in general I can be nice. Maybe you and I can trade souffle recipes after this."

"Maybe...okay," Oswin decided to take a leap of faith, "Sending you a map so you can come get me."

The Doctor had to leave Avalon to boost the power of the teleport. In the meantime, Avalon went to, begrudgingly, check the screen Oswin was sending the map to.

"This place is crawling with Daleks," Lena complained with absolute terror.

"Yeah. Kind of why I'm anxious to leave," Oswin chuckled, "Come up and see me some time."

"No, thanks, I'm good right here," Lena nodded and crossed her arms.

"OK, soon as the force-field is down, the Daleks will attack," the Doctor rose to his feet and moved to the screen to check the map with Avalon, "If it gets too explodey-wodey in here, you go without me, OK?" he handed her the control for the teleport.

"And leave you to go on your own?" Avalon made a face, the absurdity of that idea making her roll her eyes, "You did enough of the leaving me for one lifetime," she walked over and handed the control to Rory.

"Ava," Rory was already displeased she was risking her life again...with Daleks.

"Don't 'Ava' me," she snapped at him, even surprising the Doctor with the tone she used, "You don't get to call me 'Ava' unless you stop divorcing."

"But—"

"No," Avalon stepped back, "Unless the words 'Amy and I are going to talk' is going to come out of your mouth, I don't want to hear it," she held a hand to stop him from talking, "C'mon," she looked at Amy next, "This may not be a big deal for you guys, but it monumentally big for me. I just got my family back...and now you want take it away from me without even trying to talk about it."

"Just because we're separating doesn't mean we stop being family," Amy tried to speak but even she was cut off.

"It is when the reason you're 'separating' is irrelevant," Avalon turned away and headed back to the Doctor who waited for her with open arms, "I'm tired," she confessed with tears in her eyes, "Nothing I do works..."

The Doctor hated seeing her like that, despised it completely. He looked back at the Ponds with a curious face, an idea popping into his head. With a kiss pressed on Avalon's forehead, he walked over to Amy, "Can you at least, just...talk?" he took her hands, "Please?"

Amy sighed heavily and looked to the side, "I...I can't...there's just no point—"

"Don't," he scolded her, "For that love you have for your granddaughter, just...give her that, please?" Amy shook her head, missing the Doctor's movements of hands around her wrists, "You know what Oswin said, they're subtracting love...don't let them do it."

"Alright, fine," Amy agreed for the sake of Avalon's well-being, "We can...talk." At those words, even Rory couldn't help the wide smile that broke throughout his face.

The Doctor smiled and gave her a hug, "Thank you," he returned back to Avalon afterwards hoping he'd managed to help in some way.

"My fairy-tale man," she whispered with a soft smile as she encased him in a hug. What couldn't he do for her?

"C'mon," he gave her a kiss on the lips then took her hand to start that trip for Oswin.

"I'm coming too," Lena raised her hand and scurried over to catch up before they left.

"No, Lena," Avalon begun but Lena wouldn't have it that time.

"I'm coming and shut up," Lena crossed her arms and nearly dared Avalon to try and stop her, "If they're going to talk it's not gonna be private if I'm around."

"She's got a point," the Doctor sided with the brunette and earned a very sharp look from his wife.

"Don't agree with her," Avalon took her hand from his, "It's dangerous!"

"I would like to point out that both ways include Daleks," Lena informed with a big smile, "So either way I'd be in danger. I just hope I don't get my dress dirty."

"You know what, we should take advantage of this little trip to discuss the matter of your...date," the Doctor raised an eyebrow while taking Lena's hand and Avalon's.

Lena's face dropped as she knew where it was headed, "You better not scare him off," she pointed at him.

"What? Me?" the Doctor looked around with a mischievous face, "I would never..."

"I'm serious!" Lena's voice echoed through the hallways as the three began their walk to rescue Avalon.

~ 0 ~

The talk of Lena's date had winded down the further they walked. As much as the Doctor was concerned over this man Lena was going to see, his primary focus was Avalon...and since Avalon had taken the lead and walked silently (since they left Amy and Rory) the Doctor felt like he needed to go to her instead.

''Ava," he only got the chance to speak her name before she raised a hand to his face that told him to be silent.

"I don't feel like talking," she mumbled and quickened her pace, uncaring of what laid ahead. All her mind was thinking of was her grandparents who were currently (and hopefully) talking about their pending divorce. To say Avalon was nervous was an understatement, she was terrified. This conversation would either make it or break it, and Avalon clung to the idea that Amy would rethink the whole crazy idea of divorcing.

The Doctor glanced back to Lena who'd voluntarily slowed her pace to allow for a better, private conversation. Lena nodded and urged for him to make another attempt to talk to her sister. It was clear Avalon was in need of a talk, and comfort, from him.

"Ava," the Doctor quickened to catch up to her, "Hey, c'mon," he reached for her hand but she balled it up.

"Let's just find Souffle Girl and hurry back to my grandparents," Avalon looked up at him and allowed him to see the heavy necessity of her words.

"I have a name!" Oswin was bold enough to make her appearance known during that moment.

The Doctor, however, rather wished she hadn't for this was one conversation he wanted to have with his wife on their own, "Oswin!" he rose his voice in a loud scold and successfully made the woman back up.

"I was just saying," were her last words for another ten minutes.

"Look," Avalon stopped walking and turned to the Doctor, "Oswin—" she corrected herself for the sake of the annoyed woman behind the speakers, "—is waiting to be rescued. We need to find her and then I need to go see how my grandparents are doing, okay?"

"Don't shut yourself," the Doctor sighed, already thinking of the negative effects it would bring (and already was) on her, "We know how that en—"

Once again, Avalon's hand raised to stop him, "I don't need review lessons," it almost sounded like a snap, and honestly she wasn't meaning to come across like that.

Thankfully, the Doctor didn't seem to get upset by her attitude. He was already witness to the consequences of her secrecy in the past and since he got her to confess when they were barely friends, he was sure he could get her to talk now that they were married.

"It's not a 'review lesson', it's a mere reminder," he spoke softly to her and finally took her hand, "You've been keeping this from me for months so I know there's a lot on your mind—"

"But I don't..." Avalon had begun in that harsh tone she wasn't meaning to use. She stopped and took a breath, it wasn't the Doctor's fault and she shouldn't take it out on him, "...I just want to get out of here. I want to see if my grandparents are fixing their relationship. That's all I want."

"Okay," the Doctor nodded, "And we're going to do that, I promise."

"Then let's go," she used the grip he had on her hand to pull him forwards, "Lena!" she called for her sister who was far behind.

"I'm coming!" the brunette hurried.

Avalon gripped the Doctor's hand in hers as they came to a peaceful pace. The Doctor took that as a sign of a 'thank you', probably for 'understanding' her. He just wanted to get his wife home where they could talk in a much more peaceful environment, and completely alone.

~ 0 ~

Minutes had passed and the trio were now standing in front of a shut door in front of them. The Doctor looked around and found a speaker through which he was sure Oswin was able to listen through, "Oswin? I think we're close."

"You are," she agreed, "Less than 20 feet away. Which is the good news..."

At the trail of Oswin's voice, Lena released a big sigh as she wrapped her arms around herself, "Must there be a bad news?"

"Afraid so," Oswin replied, sounding rather amused which honestly annoyed Avalon, "You're about to pass through intensive care."

"What the hell does that mean?" Avalon demanded as she took Lena's hand to comfort her, "Daleks don't have hospitals..." And then she glanced at the Doctor questioningly, "...do they?"

At that moment, the doors slid open in front of them and allowed them access to the dark room that laid ahead. Avalon's answer came from vision, as when they walked in they saw individual Daleks in small cells, some in chains.

"And what's so special about this lot then?" the Doctor's curiosity got the better of him.

"Dunno. Survivors of particular wars," Oswin went on to list said word, "Spiridon.

Kembel. Aridius. Vulcan. Exxilon. Ringing any bells?"

"All of them," the Doctor admitted, a dark glare settling in his eyes the more he looked at the Daleks.

"Yeah? How?"

"These are the Daleks who survived me."

The Daleks were becoming active the further the trio went through the room, "Doc... tor... Doc... tor... Doc... tor... Doctor..."

"Well they certainly seem to be remembering you," Avalon mumbled to the Doctor.

"Yeah, well - special visitor," the Doctor dismissed and yanked the sisters towards a shut door, "OK, door, but it won't open," the sonic was not working yet the Daleks were becoming more and more rowdy, "You can't be far away though..."

"Hang on, not quite sure," Oswin called, sounding confused herself, "There's a release code, let me, let me just...anything happening out there?"

"Yes!" Lena cried, "Daleks are waking up!"

"Hang on, I'm trying a thing!"

"Oh my god," Avalon watched one Dalek break it's chains to leave its cell. The Doctor left the door to see the happenings and was horrified to see Daleks coming for them from all sides.

"Doc... tor... Doc... tor... Doc... tor..."

"Oswin, get this door open!" the Doctor yelled and pounded on the door, "Oswin open this door!"

"I can't!"

"Avalon!" Lena violently trembled which made Avalon pull her for a hug while the Doctor continued calling for Oswin.

"Oswin! PLEASE, GET THIS DOOR OPEN!" But no such thing happened. The Doctor turned around to face the Daleks. He could hear Lena's sobs and with no other option, he pulled the two sisters behind him to protect them, "OSWIN! OSWIN! PLEASE, GET THIS DOOR OPEN! HELP US!"

"Souffle Girl!" Avalon shouted, clinging to the Doctor's jacket while holding onto Lena.

Seeing no action from Oswin's side and the Daleks mere feet away from them, the Doctor turned to the sisters and hugged them in order to cover them from the aliens behind.

"Doc... tor... Doc... tor..." the Daleks came to a sudden halt when they were only spare inches from the trio. The Doctor glanced over his shoulder to see the Daleks swiveling away from them like they didn't even exist.

"Oh, that is cool," came Oswin's voice, "Tell me I'm cool, chin boy."

"What happened?" Lena sniffled as she watched the Daleks return to their places.

"Hang on, I think I've found the door thingie..."

"No, tell us what you did!" the Doctor ordered, still staring at the Daleks in case they tried something.

"The Daleks, they have a hive mind," Oswin began to explain, "Well they don't, but they have a telepathic web."

"The Path Web, yes..."

"I hacked into it. Did a master delete on all the information connected with the Doctor."

"You made them forget him?" Avalon blinked and looked up at the Doctor, both equally stunned.

"Good, eh?" Oswin still boasted, "And here comes the door!" The door opened up but none of them looked back as they were still processing Oswin's actions.

"I've tried hacking the Path Web," the Doctor admitted in a mumble, "Even I couldn't do it."

"Come and meet the girl who can," Oswin laughed.

"Hold on, is that flirting again?" Avalon made a face, "Cos I'm not gonna stand for that, and now that we're going to be face to face..." her voice trailed the moment she turned around.

Her silence prompted the other two to turn around and see her locked gaze on what laid ahead in the white, honeycombed-patterned room.

"I wasn't flirting," Oswin tried to argue, "I was just saying...you know what, you're right outside, come on in and I'll explain face to face..."

Lena shook her head and stepped back, the weight of everything finally settling over her shoulders, "This is too much," she breathed.

"Oswin... we have a problem..." the Doctor began, the correct words to describe the 'problem' evading his mind.

"No, we don't!" Oswin quickly interjected, "Don't even say that. Joined the Alaska to see the universe, ended up stuck in a shipwreck, first time out. Rescue me, chin boy, and show me the stars! Avalon, you and I can co-write that story we talked about!"

Avalon felt her throat dry. Oswin was so enthusiastic. She sounded like a child, really. But she wasn't. She wasn't remotely like a child, at least not in appearance. Avalon's gaze was locked on the Dalek in chains across the room, the one that spoke at the same time Oswin did. "...do you like fairy tales, Oswin?" she asked quietly, daring to take a step forwards, though the Doctor couldn't help but go in with her and hold her arm in case something happened. Avalon couldn't explain it but she felt she needed to be close to Oswin right now.

"I do, actually," the Oswin-Dalek said, still none the wiser about the reality. "Why?"

"I love fairy tales. When I was young and lived on Earth, a lot of people didn't like me and to escape the awful reality...I would make up stories: the perfect world. Do you know Sleeping Beauty?"

"Oh, it's a classic!"

"If you dream a thing more than once, it's sure to come true," Avalon recited with a tired sigh. Why did things always have to end so grim for them? She had no idea who Oswin was, nor what her life was about, but she knew that Oswin had dreams that deserved to be seen through. She probably had to work hard to go on an expedition in the first place and look how she ended up.

"It has some good lines," the Oswin-Dalek remarked.

"It does," Avalon said, biting her lip hard, "Everybody deserves to have dreams and make them come true. You couldn't so you tweaked it. You needed to."

"I don't...I don't understand," the Oswin-Dalek said in confusion.

"It's a dream, Oswin," the Doctor spoke up, sensing it was becoming harder for Avalon to reveal the tragedy. "You dreamed it for yourself, because the truth was too terrible."

There was a long pause, leaving the trio of travelers to glance amongst each other. If they were right, and they were, then Oswin must be starting to remember the truth.

"Where am I? Where... am... I? Where... am... I?"

"Your reality became too awful...because you're a Dalek," the Doctor regretted to say as it sent the Dalek into a turmoil.

"I am not a Dalek! I am not a Dalek! I'm human!"

"You were human when you crashed here," the Doctor agreed. "It was you who climbed out of the pod—that was your ladder."

"I'm... human..."

"Because you're right, you're a genius. And the Daleks need genius," the Doctor added, "They didn't just make you a puppet, they did a full conversion. Oswin, I am so sorry. But you are a Dalek. The milk, Oswin. The milk and the eggs for the soufflés, where, where did it all come from?"

"Eggs..."

"You're not anymore, I'm sorry," Avalon whispered. Tears were brimming in her eyes. "You dreamed yourself a better reality. Where you are, it's not real. It never was."

"Eggs... term... in... ate," the Oswin-Dalek raised its gun at them like a real Dalek would.

"Is she going to attack us!?" Lena asked in alarm.

"Eggs... term... in... ate. Exterminate! Exterminate!" the Oswin-Dalek broke free from its chains and went for the couple.

"We need to get out of here!" Lena shouted, barely moving to turn when she saw Avalon go towards the dalek. "Avalon!" she shrieked at the same time the Doctor felt his hearts stop.

"Oswin! You don't have to!" Avalon had stopped in front of the dalek. "You're not—you're not one of them! You're one of us!"

"Avalon!" hissed the Doctor. He was all for talking down enemies that weren't really enemies but he would never be okay with watching his wife put herself in front of an armed dalek.

Avalon ignored him, not even turning back to see his pale face. She was only focused on Oswin right now. "You're not a dalek! You were capable of creating a whole reality for yourself! You dreamed! You could never be one of those emotionless pepper bots!"

Silence hung over them again but Avalon swore that if they really listened, they could hear a quiet sniffle. A human sniffle. It broke Avalon's heart.

The Doctor came up behind Avalon, still cautious, as grabbed Avalon's arm. She wouldn't budge from her spot. "Ava, please," he begged her.

"No," she said, eyebrows furrowed. "Osw—"

"They hate you, Doctor," the Oswin-Dalek said suddenly, freezing the couple, "Why do they hate you so much?"

The Doctor glanced at Avalon. She nodded at him to answer. Oswin's humanity was seeping through and they had an obligation to help her as much as they could in the circumstances.

"I fought them," he answered eventually. "Many, many times."

"They have records on you," the Oswin Dalek said, "And they're compiling history on you, Avalon. You're making a name for yourself."

A chill went through the Doctor at the revelation. It was the last thing he wanted and yet the thing he knew wold eventually happen with his enemies. He was sticking to the shadows but somehow there were still whispers that he survived the Silence and that he'd even married. The fact that River Song was infamous all on her own didn't help conceal Avalon's identity either. From both sides, Avalon was gaining recognition amongst enemies that she didn't even know of. The Daleks would of course be included.

"I'll make sure to earn it, then," Avalon swallowed hard. She felt the Doctor's grip around her arm tighten. She brought her other hand to his on her arm, trying to ease his nerves. She knew exactly what she was getting into with him and she would never regret it.

"We have grown stronger in fear of you," the Oswin-Dalek declared.

"I know. I tried to stop," the Doctor sighed. "I tried to for everybody's sake but..."

"He can't stop because then we'd all be dead," Avalon said confidently. "Isn't that right, Lena?"

"Oh yeah!" Lena was quick to agree from her spot. "Where would we be without the Doctor?"

It always warmed the Doctor's hearts to hear his Ponds and his baby sister talk about him like that, even when he knew he didn't deserve it.

"Then run."

That made everyone freeze. Avalon was the first to come back to the present. "What did you say?"

"I've taken down the force-field. The Daleks above have begun their attack," the Oswin-Dalek explained, "Now run!"

"It's letting us go?" Lena raised an eyebrow at the creature, far too confused to be scared at the moment.

"I am not an 'it', I am a she," the Oswin-Dalek corrected, "I am Oswin Oswald. I fought the Daleks. And I am... human. Remember me."

The Doctor began smiling, "Thank you!"

"Run you clever boy,

The Doctor took Avalon's hand to rush out of the room but she easily slipped out of it to stay with Oswin one more second.

She bent down to look directly into the eye stalk. "I'm sorry we didn't come sooner for you," she said, her eyes once more shining with tears.

"It's okay, I dreamed," the Oswin-Dalek said, and if Avalon could picture her she would see the real woman smiling with the same teary eyes. "Can you write a dream for me? A-a story?"

Avalon nearly choked on her tears when she tried to laugh. "Yeah, of course. I'll write a good one for you. A better dream. I promise!" Avalon said, forcing herself to stand straight and back away. "Goodbye, Oswin!" She then let the Doctor grab her hand and yank her out of the room along with Lena.

They ran as fast as they could to get back to Amy and Rory. They were just getting by the explosions when they reached the teleportation room...where Amy and Rory were kissing...

Avalon gasped loudly, overfilled with joy, "YES!"

The Doctor would've been happy as well if they weren't delaying their escape, "Right, go, let's go! We're good, let's go!" but the humans continued to kiss, "Oh, for God's sake!" He snatched the controls from Rory and activated the teleport.

~ 0 ~

The TARDIS still remained on the Dalek ship, and while the Daleks were ransacking for who the hell was intruding on the ship, the Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS, full of pride for his latest victory, "You know, you guys should really have seen this coming. Thing about me and teleports, I've got a really good aim. Pin-point accurate, in fact. Or to put it another way..,suckers!"

"Identify yourself!" a Dalek ordered, "Identify! Identify!"

"Well, it's me! You know me!" the Doctor exclaimed, "The Doctor! The Oncoming Storm? The Predator?"

Darla stepped towards him, appearing to be confused as well, "Titles are not meaningful in this context. Doctor who?"

"Doctor who?" the prime minister Dalek repeated the question.

"Doctor who?" the supreme Dalek joined.

The Doctor realized what had happened and grew even more gleeful, "Oh, Oswin. Oh, you did it to them all! Oh, you beauty!"

With the door of the TARDIS still opened, Avalon stepped to the doorway with arms crossed and a look of doom, "You what?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Can we not do this surrounded by Daleks, love?" the Doctor gestured to the amnesiac Daleks, "Just because they forgot doesn't mean they won't attack..."

Avalon didn't budge, her eyes only narrowing, "You choose, Doctor...angry wife or Daleks?"

"Uh..." the Doctor looked around the thousand Daleks then returned his eyes to his wife who had not lifted her doom-face, "...I love you?" He tried to step into the TARDIS but the little space Avalon left wasn't helping, "We really gotta go..."

"Mhm."

"...Ava...can you move?"

"I don't know..."

"Daleks!" the Doctor waved his hands to remind her of the situation.

"Mm..."

The Doctor pouted. "C'mon!"

A very evil smirk crossed his wife's face at that moment. She stepped aside and allowed him to go inside. She lingered a moment under the doorway, looking out at the daleks still demanding answers from them. Avalon's smirk turned into a soft smile. "I will definitely dream a better dream for you, Oswin," she vowed as she closed the door.

~ 0 ~

Amy and Rory were dropped off first and to Avalon's joy, it was at their house. She noticed the little looks between her grandparents and was eager to find out what would happen with them after they finally talked.

"Bye Ava," Rory pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Be good and stay safe, you got that?"

Avalon nodded fast. "Aha! Promise!"

"Seriously," Amy pointed. "And stop by more often, please. I worry."

"Yes, yes, yes! Promise! Now go!" Avalon shooed them both out the door and turned around to the Doctor and Lena, absolutely brimming with joy. The other two shook their heads at her, but they were also secretly happy that things were looking better for the Ponds.

"Hey big brother," Lena said, casually as ever, "Can we finally go back to New Earth? My date's waiting for me!"

"About that," the Doctor started making rounds at the console, "Who is this person? Where does he work? What are his intentions? Has your father met him already?"

"Big brother," Lena started again, though Avalon was pretty sure that strained smile of hers was holding back a big snap, "Date. Now."

"But-"

"NOW!"

There it was.

Avalon laughed.

~ 0 ~

On New Earth, Lena was finally dropped off in front of a modern restaurant. Avalon helped her fix herself up and she also held the Doctor back so she could leave the TARDIS.

"You are not chaperoning anybody, you moron!" Avalon held his arm tightly while she switched the destinations on the console.

"She needs some supervision! We do not know the intentions of this man, Ava!" the Doctor exclaimed.

Avalon rolled her eyes. She brought the monitor's screen to life to show a security feed of Lena's restaurant. The brunette had come in and reached the table where a man was waiting for her.

"Hi," she nervously tucked another strand of her hair.

Her date stood up and pulled her seat for her, "Hi," he greeted her, sounding nervous himself.

"Sorry for being late," Lena apologized while he returned to his seat, "You would not believe the day I had..." she chuckled.

Satisfied with what she saw, Avalon switched the monitor off. Things were falling into place again.

~ 0 ~

When the Doctor entered the bedroom, he saw Avalon already changed into pajamas. She sat on their bed with her trusty journal in her lap. Her pen's top currently resided between her teeth.

"Hey there," the Doctor strode up to the bed, giving her a significant kind of look. Her eyes flickered up from her journal. He heard the clack of her pen when she pulled it out of her mouth. "Are we too focused to have a conversation or...?"

Avalon sighed. She knew this was a pending conversation she would eventually have to have. "I don't really want to have it..."

"But we need to," the Doctor clarified. He moved around the bed to take his spot beside her. "Why didn't you tell me about Amy and Rory?"

"You're going to get upset."

"I won't."

"Yeah, you will."

"Avalon, I promise I won't. You and I made it out alive of a planet full of crazy daleks. I love you about ten times more tonight."

A frown made its way across Avalon's face. "Just ten times?"

The Doctor playfully rolled his eyes at her. "Avalon..."

"Oh, alright!" She let her hands fall on her journal. "It's nothing against you, I just...I wanted to do this on my own. This is my family and after everything Amy and Rory have done for me, I wanted to help them for once. I owe them after everything I put them through and I'm not just talking about the Silence. Before you came along, Rory was always bailing me out of jail. Amy kept me in check. And when you were gone, they dealt with my annoying ass while I searched for you. I just wanted to help them this one time."

"Ava," the Doctor pulled himself closer to her, "You've helped them countless times too but you know what? It's not about owing them. You don't owe anybody anything. Believe me, Amy and Rory will love you no matter what. They will until...they're not here anymore."

Avalon smiled sadly. It was a terrible thing to think of but he was right. "I know, it was stupid..."

"No, you had good intentions. Don't feel bad about it." He pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Why don't you get some rest instead? I'm not an expert but I think today was a pretty rough day."

"Yeah," Avalon nodded. She closed her journal, holding it close for a second. "I was trying to draft something for Oswin. I'm not sure what it'll be but it'll be something one day."

"I have no doubt about it," the Doctor said, plucking the journal out of her hands. "But you can continue that after you sleep."

"Yeah, okay," she handed him the pen too. She watched him carefully set it on his night stand then wiggled her fingers for him to come closer. He obliged, knowing what she was going to do next, and just smiled when she started undoing his bow-tie.

"Kick off those shoes, mister. Those do not go on my bed," she instructed.

He smiled. "Of course, dear."

"I'm going to dream good tonight," she announced. "There's a lot of good things to dream about."

The Doctor agreed. "I think so too," he brushed a curl from her face. "Let me give you some encouragement." He heard her laugh for a split second before he muffled it with a kiss.

---

Author's Note:

And we finally kick off Clara's arc! I'm so excited for her arc in the next story! I love Oswin, and Victorian Clara and then regular Clara! Can't wait for them to show up! The next chapter will be part of the comic arc and we get to see the only Reynolds we haven't really gotten to know yet. Can yah guess who it is? ;)

As always, I have a tumblr account dedicated to my fanfic works! It's a place where anyone can comment about a story or even just talk to me! I often drop aesthetic work belonging to my stories too! Feel free to check it out, my URL is "saiilorstars"

For the review:

DarkSideofParis: Thanks so much! Nope, she doesn't know about the Library unfortunately. When it comes, it won't be fun...