Amy couldn't believe it. The same crack in her bedroom was now in front of her, mid-air, tormenting her all over again.
"Amy!"
Upon Renata's yell, Amy squeezed her eyes shut and stumbled on her feet. Renata took hold of Amy's side and passed her hand down Amy's hair. Renata counted that half second as best she could.
"I got you, just don't open your eyes again!"
"But how...how is it the same crack? I don't understand!"
"Neither do I but we'll figure it out," Renata promised her and stared at the crack. Honestly speaking, she had no idea how it was possible either...but Amy didn't need to know that right now. There were more pressing matters like the Angel in her eyes.
"Marco, you want me to get a closer look at that?" one of the clerics offered.
Marco nodded. "Go for it. Don't get too close!"
"Wait a minute," Renata called to the cleric but he was already too far ahead to hear. "We never heard back from the other two clerics."
"What other two?" Marco gave her a blank look.
"What do you mean?" she frowned. "Your other two clerics! You sent them over and they haven't reported back!"
"Ma'am, I didn't send anyone before."
"Yes you did!"
"You did! Crispin and Phillip." Amy backed Renata up. She just couldn't see that it didn't matter for Marco.
"Crispin and who?"
~ 0 ~
"Miss Gonzalez, Dr. Song, get through, now." Octavian didn't give Gabby the opportunity to protest that she needed to wait for the Doctor. He ushered in and did the same with River. Finally, it was just them two. "Doctor? Doctor?"
The Doctor was in the middle of making calculations. His mind was working fast to understand what he'd been missing lately. "How is a duck pond a duck pond if there aren't any ducks? And she didn't recognize the Daleks! OK, time can shift. Time can change. Time can be rewritten. Ah! Oh!" He did a little sprint in the middle of his pacing, fingers working fast in the air. "Time can be unwritten."
~ 0 ~
"Ma'am, with all due respect, you're not making sense," Marco was getting agitated having both Renata and Amy trying to tell him he'd forgotten his own people. "There never was a Crispin or a Phillip on this mission, I promise you."
"Oh, don't make promises!" Renata huffed. "And I certainly don't appreciate you calling me a liar right now. What would be the point in me telling you this lie? I don't gain anything from it! You just sent your third cleric, Pedro, off towards a crack! I should've stopped you!"
"Pedro?" Marco once again had the same blank look on his face. "Who's Pedro?"
Renata blinked. "How are you doing that?"
~ 0 ~
"It's been happening and I haven't even noticed!" the Doctor smacked his forehead. He was figuring it out now. "The CyberKing! A giant cyberman walks over all of Victorian London and no-one remembers!"
"That's true," Gabby realized with wide, blinking eyes. The trip had been accidental — the Doctor was trying to get them to some other planet for a potential cure for Renata — and they'd of course stumbled across a mystery the Doctor couldn't resist. It led to a giant CyberKing walking (or stomping) through the town, hurting dozens of people. That story should have become legendary through history. But nobody remembered a damn thing. No one at home — her parents, or her best friend Cindy for that matter — ever talked about it. It was forgotten.
"Doctor, we have to move!" Octavian insisted. "They Angels could be here any second!"
"Never mind the Angels. There's worse here than Angels!" the Doctor snapped. His mind was still racing to make connections.
"Well how about Miss Renata!?"
The Doctor winced. "Of course! Alright fine!" But the moment they turned towards the deck, the lights went out.
An Angel had grasped Octavian's neck when the lights returned.
The Doctor brandished the sonic on the Angel. "Let him go."
"Well, it can't let me go, sir, not while you're looking at it," Octavian said grimly, knowing what would happen in a few seconds.
"I can't stop looking at it, it'll kill you!"
"It'll kill me anyway. There's no way out of this. You have to leave me!"
"Can't you wriggle out?"
"No. it's too tight. There's nothing you can do."
~ 0 ~
"Oh...my God!" Renata rubbed her forehead with frustration. "Why is it that whenever I talk, people don't listen! What is that!?"
"There never was a Pedro!" Marco was just as frustrated with her. "There's only ever been three of us!"
Renata dropped her hand to her side, shooting him a glare. "I'm a Time Lady, my mind works quicker than yours. So do you really think that I would just forget the amount of people I'm around with?"
Marco shifted. "Well...no…"
"Exactly! I don't forget people, trust me! It's been a huge thing in my life! But you've...you've truly forgotten...how is that possible?"
"Ma'am, I need to get a closer look at that light, whatever it is," Marco said, motioning he would be walking away. "I won't get too close!"
"No, you can't do that!" Amy frowned. "Didn't you just hear Renata? You've forgotten your own people!"
"Here, spare communicator!" Marco chucked the communicator to Renata who, despite catching it with ease, was refusing to let him leave as well.
"I am not letting you go!"
"I'll stay in touch the whole time."
"If you go back there what happened to the others will happen to you!"
"There weren't any other!"
"OH MY GOD!" Renata pressed her balled fists to her head. She tried, she really tried not to view humans as, well...humans, but then they came with this kind of stuff. She was telling him what had happened three times already and the man wasn't listening to her. Why were they such fools sometimes!?
"Two minutes, I promise!"
"I SAID NO!" Renata opened her eyes to reveal a strong golden white hue inside them. It froze Marco in his spot.
"The Vortex Butterfly," he breathed in. He heard the stories, knew them like the back of his hand like most Clerics did. He knew about the Vortex Butterfly claiming the lives of the age old Crucible ship that once eradicated a decent amount of Earth's population at one point. That's where it started. And he knew where it ended. The Vortex Butterfly was known for her volatile energy when she wanted it to be so, but most of the records also expressed the love and warmth she could bring when she wanted to.
But right now, he saw the volatile energy that many people feared. He was crossing her.
The moment Renata had heard the name again, she gasped and turned away. She felt the energy course within her for those few seconds. There was a fierce rage to protect what was left of them from that crack and given a few seconds, she might have used it. (Though how she would've used it, she had no idea).
"Renata?" Amy felt the terse air around them and wondered if Marco had truly left. After being yelled at like that, he would be an idiot to.
~ 0 ~
The Doctor was racking his brain for a way to save Octavian. The Angel had the man by the neck with zero space to work with.
"Sir, there's nothing you can do!" Octavian repeated.
"You're dead if I leave you!"
"Yes, yes, I'm dead. And before you go…"
"I'm not going!"
Octavian was sure he would. "Listen to me. It's important! You can't trust her."
"Trust who?"
"River Song. You think you know her, but you don't. You don't understand who or what she is and what she's capable of..."
There was an alert in his mind pointing out that right now River was alone with Gabby. If what Octavian was saying was true…
Renata would kill him if he let anything happen to Gabby, but he would end himself first if Gabby was hurt.
"Tell me," he looked at Octavian, more urgent than ever.
"I've told you more than I should. Now, please, you have to go. It's your duty to your friends."
"Just tell me why she was in Stormcage?"
"She murdered...somebody..."
The Doctor blinked. Of all the things…
He didn't know River that much - he didn't know her at all actually - but to murder? That was something hard to digest. She had a way of being, a difficult personality but would she really murder someone?
"Who? Who did she kill!?"
"You don't want to know, sir. You really don't. The Angels are coming. You have to leave me!"
"You'll die."
"I will die in the knowledge that my courage did not desert me at the end. For that, I thank God and bless the path that takes you to safety."
The Doctor nodded. "I wish I'd' known you better…"
"I think, sir, you know me at my best."
The Doctor stepped back. "Ready?"
"Content," Octavian nodded his head.
The Doctor turned for the hatch, jumping through as quick as possible and shutting it behind him. He went straight inside and was relieved to see Gabby perfectly fine.
"There's a teleport! If I can get it to work, we can beam the others here!" River exclaimed before noticing only the Doctor had come through. "Where's Octavian?"
"Octavian's dead, so is that teleport. You're wasting your time. I'm going to need your communicator." The Doctor didn't necessarily wait for River's okay on the communicator as he snatched it from her.
~ 0 ~
"Renata?"
Renata sighed in relief to hear the Doctor's voice over the radio. "About time! We're in a bit of a...what did Gabby say? A pickle?"
~ 0 ~
Gabby laughed. "Right!"
The Doctor would only chuckle. He was glad, so relieved, to hear Renata's voice. It meant she was safe for now. "Where are you? Are the Clerics with you?"
~ 0 ~
"Just...one…" Renata shot Marco another look, warning him with just a simple expression to keep still. "There were three clerics that went to examine that crack and now our only remaining cleric, Marco, can't even remember them."
"No, they wouldn't."
"Ah, so I'm a little behind on information then. Lovely."
"Time's running out, literally. Renée, I'm so sorry. I knew I shouldn't have left you!" the Doctor shut his eyes for a moment. He should've listened to his gut, his entire body had raged at him to bring her with him.
"Doctor, don't do that. What do we do now?" Renata bit her lip as she studied the crack. It was getting bigger...and shinier.
"You come to us. Primary Flight Deck, other end of the forest."
"I can't see!" Amy exclaimed, reminding them in case they'd forgotten that detail.
"We'll be fine, we'll be fine," Renata hushed her quickly even though her own tone of voice expressed nothing but concern. "Marco!"
"Ma'am!" the young man stiffened, waiting for orders.
"Keep your eyes open for any Angels on your right. I'll take the ones on the left." Renata moved over to Amy's left side and motioned Marco to take the girl's right. "Doctor, we'll be starting now."
"I'm going to try and make it easier for you," the Doctor said after a moment. He was working the communicator and the sonic together. "When the communicator sounds like my screwdriver, you're facing the right way. Follow the sound."
They soon heard the noise so Renata pulled them into a walk.
"There's time energy spilling out of that crack and you have to stay ahead of it!"
"Seriously need to understand what that crack is," Renata said as they moved slowly down the forest. "I don't understand how it's possible."
"Ma'am, I see more Angels," Marco warned. They were regathering and coming for them. In a moment, they would be surrounded.
"We'll be fine...everything will be fine…" Renata assured him and Amy. She could feel the girl's shaking arm around hers. She didn't want to say it but she saw more Angels on her side as well. "Doctor, talk to me more about this crack. Did I miss something?"
"It's an explosion. Somewhere an explosion is happening and that crack is just part of the results. It will erase every moment of your existence. You will never have lived at all."
"Oh, um...we should probably look into that," Renata bit her lower lip. "Cos I'm pretty sure that's not supposed to happen."
"Renée, please move!"
~ 0 ~
"It's never going to work," River groaned while the Doctor kept offering more useless comfort words to Renata.
Suddenly, she had the man shouting at him. Even Gabby had flinched.
"WHAT ELSE HAVE YOU GOT!? River, tell me!"
"Doctor!" Gabby called when they heard a loud whooshing noise followed by a clanging. It didn't sound too far away which worried her a bit more. "What is that?"
The Doctor gripped the communicator. "The Angels running from the fire. They came here to feed on the time energy. Now it's going to feed on them." He almost smacked his forehead in frustration. Never again would he leave Renata on her own, never again! "Renée! How are we doing!?"
"Ah, well, the forest is full of Angels but otherwise I'm fine," Renata's cool answer made River roll her eyes. A simple 'ok' would've sufficed.
"That time energy, what's it going to do?" River finally asked him.
"...keep eating."
"How do we stop it?"
"Feed it."
"Feed it what?"
"A big complicated space-time event should shut it up for a while!"
"Like what, for instance?"
Once again, the Doctor shouted at full volume. "Like me, for instance!"
Gabby shook her head and stalked over to River. She pulled the woman's arm to turn her around but before River could snap at her, Gabby whisper-hissed at her. "Let's try to figure out how to get that portal working before he bites your head off!"
River yanked her arm out of Gabby's grip. She hated to admit it - she really did - but Gabby made a point.
~ 0 ~
"Ma'am, the Angels are surrounding us," Marco's voice shook.
"Yes, I've noticed…"
"What are we going to do now?" Amy hated that she was slowing them down. She was only glad that Renata was around because otherwise, the cleric might have just left her.
"Keep walking, that's it. The Angels are scared right now," the Doctor told them. "It's your salvation right now. Keep going!"
Renata unwrapped Amy's arm from hers, startling Amy. She gasped, believing Renata to have gotten caught. "Ren—"
"I'm fine, I just...I want to try something…" Renata blinked fast, feeling the warmth of her energy. "Marco, keep walking her!"
Marco nodded dutifully and continued walking with Amy. Renata was right behind them now, letting sparks of golden butterflies into the air. With any luck, the Angels would assume the butterflies were part of the Time Energy and be warded off.
"Renata…?" Amy's nervous voice called for her.
"I'm still here Amy!"
"Ma'am! The Angels have gotten ahead of us!" Marco was forced to stop when a row of Angels barred their way.
Renata scanned their area and saw even more Angels had appeared on them. "Doctor, I'm sorry but...we are fully surrounded." She heard a loud clanging noise and assumed he had thrown something in the deck room. Later on, Gabby would tell her it had been his fist colliding with the control panel.
"Ma'am, what do we do now?" Marco asked again and Renata felt terrible because she had nothing. They couldn't do anything! "Ma'am?"
"I-I don't...I'm sorry, I don't know," Renata brought a hand up to her forehead. She was panicking, she was panicking quickly.
Suddenly, a bright light filled the front and engulfed both Amy and Marco.
Renata felt the air leave her lungs when she found herself alone.
~ 0 ~
"I will kill you!" Gabby lost it with River when she returned only with Amy and Marco.
"Amy, don't open your eyes! I teleported you!" River quickly told the girl before she would open her eyes on them.
"I will do it you selfish, jealous bitch!" Gabby genuinely screamed and stormed towards the woman, her entire body flaming purple.
"Gabriella!" the Doctor had to physically pick the girl up from behind.
"LET ME GO!" Gabby's legs flailed in the air as he turned her away. "She did that on purpose! I know she did! She hated Renata!"
"Doctor?" they both heard Renata's voice through the communicator.
Gabby stopped fighting altogether and snatched the communicator from the Doctor's hands. "Ren!"
Meanwhile, the Doctor turned for River, giving her a much darker look than Gabby's childish screams. "You better go back for her right now!"
"I grabbed what I saw!" River huffed, though there was a part of her that wasn't all that sorry for giving them that type of scare. It wasn't her fault that Renata wanted to play hero and got left behind. Oh well.
"GO BACK!"
"I need to set it back up—"
"DO IT!"
River flinched, glaring briefly before returning to the control panels.
"Ren! Ren! I'm so sorry! River got Amy and Marco!" Gabby was busy filling Renata in on what happened.
~ 0 ~
Renata could at least be relieved that Amy was safe again. "That's fine, she...she did the right thing." She swallowed hard. "I, uh...I think the Angels are closing in."
She didn't think, she knew they were closing. She swallowed hard. The Angels were surrounding her even as she tried to look at all of them.
~ 0 ~
The Doctor lost his patience and shoved River to the side, taking over the controls of the teleport. It was such a menial job getting it right for the second trip and she couldn't figure it out? River watched him carefully as he fixed the errors and when he met her gaze, she looked away.
Maybe she dilly-dallied on the job, who knew.
~ 0 ~
"Gabby, it's fine, I'm fine…" Renata stopped moving. There was no point in trying to get out of it.
"No, you're not," Gabby's eyes pricked with tears on the other side. "You're calling me Gabby. You don't do that unless you're scared."
It was the same story when they first met. Renata loathed nicknames. She found no point in them when people had proper names. She refused to call Gabby by her nickname and instead addressed her by her full name instead. But once they found out about Renata's predicted death and Gabby confronted her about it, Renata had assured Gabby that everything was fine. She was fine. Until Renata called her 'Gabby' before leaving the room.
Gabby glared deeply at River across the deck room. "I swear to God that I will hurt you if the Doctor doesn't get that working again."
"Wouldn't be the first time," River snapped back, startling Gabby for a second.
"Gabby," the Doctor warned just as Renata had over the communicator.
"Don't say things like that," Renata's voice clearly shook while she was trying to put on a brave tone.
The Doctor, however, felt inclined to follow in Gabby's footsteps if he couldn't get the teleport working again. River only folded her arms and watched the Doctor work, as if waiting to see how it would work out. And she was.
Renata took in a breath. "It's fine just...just get out…"
"What? No w—"
A flash of light cut Gabby off. Renata felt arms wrap around her waist and then a force of a pull. The flight deck was in her vicinity.
"I am never leaving you again," the Doctor mumbled with more than half his air gone. Renata smiled in utter relief as he held her. She hugged him and met his lips with a kiss that the Doctor would've liked to have prolonged but Gabby had other plans. She ripped Renata away from him to hug her too.
"Oh thank God you're okay!"
The Doctor threw a look at Gabby who couldn't have ignored it better. She had her eyes squeezed shut over Renata's shoulder. Renata only laughed at the two.
"Children!"
River loudly cleared her throat to get their attention back on the problem that mattered. Thankfully, an alarm blared with her.
"What's that?" Gabby pulled away to see.
"The Angels are draining the last of the ship's power, which means... the shield's going to release!" the Doctor barely ran to said shields when they raised to reveal the full army of the Angels.
Renata pushed Gabby behind and backtracked with her several steps. "Angel Bob, I presume?" she asked.
'The Time Field is coming. It will destroy our reality.'
"Yeah, and look at you, all running away. What can I do for you?" the Doctor didn't expect an answer but the Angels were full of surprises today.
'There is a rupture in time. The Angels calculate that if you throw yourself into it, it will close and they will be saved.'
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Could do, could do that. But why?"
'Your friends would also be saved.'
"No, we're fine!" Renata snapped, already telepathically warning the Doctor not to go all sacrificing himself.
"I've traveled in time. I'm a complicated space/time event, too. Throw me in," River offered herself up to ease any lingering resentment for her earlier stunt. That would get Renata to reel everyone back. She knew her just too well.
"River, don't. Watch Amy," went the Time Lady right on schedule.
"Oh, be serious!" The Doctor wandered over to a control panel, much too randomly even for him. "Compared to me, these Angels are more complicated than you and it would take every one of them to amount to me, so get a grip."
River shot him a look. "Doctor, I can't let you do this."
"No, seriously, get a grip!"
"You're not going to die here!"
Renata suddenly laughed, much to River's annoyance. "How are you that intelligent and lucky?"
The Doctor flashed her a smirk. "I have no idea."
"What? What's going on?" Amy wished with all her heart that she could see what was going on. It was crazy frustrating to just to hear things!
"Everyone, find something to hold onto!" Renata said just as she dragged Gabby to the rail beside the Doctor. She motioned Marco to bring Amy to another rail.
'Sir, the Angels need you to sacrifice yourself now.'
"If he does that I'll be very crossed!" Renata offhandedly commented as she tried moving River to another rail, only for River to yank her hand away before Renata could touch her. Renata didn't insist and only motioned River to take her place. She would really have to start remembering not to touch River. She didn't like it and forcing her to the same thing just wasn't nice.
The Doctor smiled again. "Thing is, Bob, the Angels are draining all the power from this ship, every last bit of it. And you know what? I think they've forgotten where they're standing. I think they've forgotten the gravity of the situation. Or to put it another way, Angels: Night-night."
Gravity failed them when the power fully died. The deck turned to its side and gave the crack the full opening it needed to suck everything that swarmed near it. A burst of light flashed in the room before the crack disappeared.
~0~
"Here," Renata brought a blanket to drape over Amy now that they were back on the beach, relatively safe and sound.
Amy relished in the warmth of the blanket the moment it made contact with her body. "Thanks."
"Bet your bruised, huh?" Renata moved around the rock Amy found comfort on.
"Kind of, yeah," Amy nodded with a light chuckle.
"Sorry. That resort of stuff happens sometimes. But don't worry, the Doctor and I will find a nice relaxing place for you girls next time."
"Where is Gabby?" Amy wondered now that she could see again. She spotted Gabby making her way towards River and once Renata saw it too, she started for them.
"Watch her!" Renata pointed the Doctor to Amy. He was barely coming to them and was mighty confused with the sudden instructions.
Gabby had come up to River and eyed the sophisticated handcuffs on her wrists. River rolled her eyes the moment she saw Gabby, not hiding the noise she made afterwards.
"You're in prison," Gabby stated. "I knew you were mean and rude but I never thought you were in prison. That just confirms everything I think about you."
"This may come as a surprise to you, Gabby, but I don't really care what you think about me," River raised an eyebrow at the girl and smiled sarcastically. "I'm not you who desperately wants Renata's approval."
"At least I'm not some desperate woman chasing after a man who'll never look at her twice," Gabby smirked proudly when she watched River's fall flat.
"I hate you. You have no idea how much I hate you, Gabby."
"Yeah, but I do know how much you hate Renata. I saw it today. You willingly—" Gabby brought a finger up to point at the woman, "—left her back in the forest! You did that on purpose!"
"I don't know what you're talking about," River nonchalantly said, even shrugging for effect.
"Of course I do! I've seen people like you, only you're worse! Other people would've stopped but I get the feeling you'll never stop." Gabby could only picture the Library. River had used her last moments to take jabs at Renata. "And it kills me that Renata won't put you in your place."
"Oh, you mean Mother Teresa?" River had to take a last shot while she could. She saw Renata approaching them, no doubt to pull her little human child back.
Gabby swallowed down her snap to get through what she wanted to say. She stepped closer to River, having to tilt her head up due to their height difference. "Renata might be passive aggressive but I'm not. Every time you insult her, I will be there to return the favor. Every time you wanna wedge yourself between her and the Doctor, I'll be there to yank you out. If you hurt them, I will hurt you."
"Gabriella," Renata's voice was loud and sharp when she reached the two. They were nose to nose with eyes on each other that could kill on the spot. "Gabriella, step away."
River upheld her end with a deep glare even as Gabby finally relented and backtracked to where Renata was.
"I mean it," Gabby said despite Renata's insistence to stay quiet. "I swear it."
"Believe me, I know what you're capable of," River muttered, her dark eyes flickering to Renata for a second. "You learned from the best, after all."
Renata shook her head and looked at Gabby. "Go to the Doctor and Amy. Amy might need help getting into the TARDIS."
"Ren—"
"Go," Renata's tone was final. With a small groan, Gabby stalked off. Renata waited a moment before turning to River again. "I get that you don't like me, but what could Gabby do to you to make you hate her so much?"
"Unfortunately that falls under 'spoilers'," River sourly said. How she wished she could tell Renata right there and then what her precious Gabriella would one day do, or attempt to do.
Renata sighed. "Look River, whatever I do to you in the future...I'm sorry."
River loudly scoffed, looking more disgusted than ever. "Please. You and I both know - or you will anyways - know that neither of us are sorry for what we did. I'm especially not. So save your sorry sermons for someone who buys it."
It was beyond repair, Renata thought. There were visible traces of guilt marking her face, one that just made the anger bubble up inside River all over again.
"God just stop!" she snapped. "You're such a fraud."
Renata swallowed hard. "Yeah, you've mentioned something similar before." The older version of River in the Library made sure to leave that clear.
"Good," River's tone sharpened. "I just hope that one day the Doctor will see the light as well. Don't worry I'll be doing my best to guide him."
"What do you mean?" Renata lost a bit of her voice there. River took pleasure in it. These were some of her favorite parts of her life.
"What you hear," River stepped closer to the woman until they were face to face. She smirked so widely, so certain that Renata had to ask. It was beyond her at this point.
"River, how do you know the Doctor so well?"
This version of River seemed almost as knowledgeable as the one in the Library. And the sonic the Doctor made for her?
"Ah," River slightly raised her head, truly enjoying the moment now. "Well, you know…things happen — will happen."
Renata felt a lump in her throat. She couldn't help remember the moment she first learned about - the moment she met - the Doctor's wife. River looked so confident of her words and with her previous evidence...how could Renata not doubt herself for a moment?
And even though River couldn't see what Renata was thinking about, she knew the type of thoughts she was having. Her face had paled, her lips pursed, and there was a faint glimmer in her eyes.
Oh sometimes it was just too easy.
~0~
"Doctor, could you just pull Ren away from that woman already?" Gabby was harshly tapping her foot against the sand. She was knocking sand onto Amy's boots in the process. She was watching Renata and River having a 'conversation' but she knew when Renata was flailing and that moment was now. River was smirking far too widely for Gabby to be mistaken.
"Gabby, you really need to calm down," the Doctor didn't honestly think he'd ever seen Gabby so worked up over someone. River Song truly got under her skin.
"Doctor, seriously! You know we can't trust her!"
The Doctor wouldn't argue with that point. Already had had a brief conversation with River, learning more about this pardon she was trying to get from Stormcage. The woman was...enigmatic. She was quick to tell him the next time they would meet, though he laughed in her face when she gave the name of a blatant fairy tale. But what really drove the Doctor to his reluctance against her was her crime. She committed a crime, murder, and she accepted it.
"I thought she was cool," Amy remarked and winced when Gabby scoffed at her.
"Of course you would say that! She was nice to you all the time!"
"Okay, don't argue," the Doctor motioned them to sit still. He turned to go for Renata when he saw River beamed up to a ship in the sky. Renata remained in her spot for a few seconds before leaving the spot and going for the shore. She was upset, he could feel it. Their mind connection had faltered for a few moments, blocking him really. Before he knew it, he was making his own way towards her.
"My Renée, what are you thinking about?" he called once he neared her.
She was hugging herself, staring ahead but not precisely at the ocean. "You know me...I always think."
"Oh, I know," the Doctor stood beside her, side-glancing her thoughtful yet grin face. "But what is it? You're close to frowning and I daresay that there's a little tear wanting to come out of those brilliant eyes."
Renata quickly rid herself of the evidence by dragging a few fingers over her eyes. "Thoughts, so many thoughts. Not all of them are nice."
"You want to tell me what some of them are?"
"No need to bother you with them."
The Doctor stepped closer to her and nuzzled his nose on her cheek. She smiled with his touch (and maybe because it tickled). "You can always tell me what's bothering you, Renée. I'll try to make it better."
Renata's lips kept curving into a deeper smile as he moved his nose down, near her jaw. "I just...you're always so carefree and I'm...I'm always bringing problems."
"Take a look at who you're talking to, dear." The Doctor raised his head and reached a finger under her chin to bring her gaze over. "I'm 'problems'." Renata's laughter slipped before she even realized. The Doctor grinned. That was much better! "Alright Renata, you and me, on a date."
Renata tilted her head at him, trying really hard to keep that excitement she felt at bay. She didn't want to seem too eager and embarrass herself. "Anywhere in mind?"
"No idea but I will make sure it is the best place possible for you."
"Doctor, please don't go overboard. I know that's what you do by default but...you really don't have to with me."
"I can't just give you something 'blah'," the Doctor pretended to gag, making her chuckle. "It's our date! Our first date!"
"Well, yeah, but I already know you Doctor. We've had loads of times together adventuring on almost-but-not-exactly-dates and we got to know each other so well," Renata smiled at him. "You've already impressed me. I'm already in love with you."
"So you...don't want something...amazing? Brilliant? You just want 'blah'?" That made things even harder for the Doctor to figure out. He wanted something huge for Renata, leave her face stunned! It was just a natural drive to want to impress her. He wasn't used to the idea of not having to impress someone. It'd become a core part of him ever since he could remember. People coming into the TARDIS usually expected to see only the best things, so he just went with that. He had tried to impress Renata when they first met. Maybe she was right. He didn't have to keep doing that anymore. But then what else was he supposed to do?
Renata smiled at him while he went into a silent state, no doubt thinking about what they would do now. "I need a shower because I don't want our first date to be ruined because I smell like caverns."
"I think you smell like a lovely cavern," the Doctor grinned at her again.
"Okay," she laughed with a shake of her head. "Let's go. As much as I love the beach here…I'd rather not be around one where a ship crashed."
The Doctor agreed. He had a lot to think about anyways. Where would he take Renata on their date!?
~ 0 ~
"Alright, you two—" the Doctor pointed a finger at Amy and Gabby as he worked around the console, "—are off to a spa! The 52nd century! Or, if you're being daredevils, the Medieval Ages!"
Gabby's hand shot into the air. "Renata says I can't go into the Medieval periods again without supervision." At Amy's questioning look, Gabby added, "I may have accidentally gotten myself engaged."
Amy's eyes widened. "What?"
"Long story short, I thought he was just joking and I said 'yes'." Gabby laughed. She could still remember Renata's reaction when it all happened. But really, was it her fault that the prince of the kingdom they were visiting had snuck out of the castle to see the kingdom up close and instantly liked her? No! How was she supposed to know that he was the prince? Not even Donna could tell and she vowed that she could spot royalty from a mile away!
Well, the prince had not been playing and now he expected Gabby to live up to her 'I will' and become his wife. Renata had been furious while the Doctor babbled on about the ups and downs of such a marriage until she whacked him to agree with her. It ended almost like their visit to King Henry VIII had: running for their lives.
"Right," the Doctor quickly agreed, remembering that visit all too well. "So a spa!"
"Why are you shipping us off all of a sudden?" Gabby crossed her arms, eyeing the Time Lord suspiciously.
"Uh, Ren and I have somewhere to go!"
"Oh, well...can I at least get changed? I don't want to smell like Weeping Angels and River Song."
The Doctor looked at Gabby for the jab. "Go!"
Gabby proudly smiled as she turned to leave. "Amy! C'mon!"
"Be there in a mo," Amy said, though she didn't really have the intention of catching up. It was her chance now!
"Cool!" Gabby raised a thumb into the air before disappearing into the corridors.
"Uh, Doctor? Can I go home?" Amy asked as soon as they were alone.
The Doctor stopped altogether to give her a wide-eyed look. Had they already warned Amy off?
Amy could see what he assumed and laughed. "No, not like that! I just… I just want to show you something. You're running from River. I'm running too."
"First of all, I'm not running from River," the Doctor said as he started to prepare the console for Amy's house, making sure that it was only a few minutes after he picked her up. He didn't want another 12 years to slip by for her. "I'm just not that eager to keep bumping into her. And second of all...hang on!"
~ 0 ~
Amy was silent the moment she and the Doctor walked out of the TARDIS into her bedroom...where her wedding dress was hanging on her closet door. It was better time for him to digest it before she started talking. They sat on the edge of her bed and stared at the dress for several minutes before the Doctor finally found his words...
"Well!" It wasn't much to begin with but he did have quite a surprise finding out that Amy Pond was getting married!
"Yeah!" Amy awkwardly laughed, fiddling her fingers together.
"Blimey!" He would say that she was too young to get married. After all, Gabby was only a year younger than her and she didn't look like she would be getting married anytime soon. At least...Gabby didn't look like she wanted to get married anytime soon. And, he supposed it did make sense that Amy would want to get married now since humans' lifespans were…
Oh, he'd rather not think about that.
"I'm getting married in the morning," Amy had taken up her engagement box from her nightstand, the one she purposely left when she saw the TARDIS again. She held the box to the Doctor, opening it up to see the engagement ring inside.
It was a beautiful ring, making the Doctor wonder why she wouldn't want to bring it along. "Why did you leave it here?"
Amy shot him a look, not that he would get it. "Why did I leave my engagement ring when I ran away with a strange man the night before my wedding?"
"Yeah!"
Amy almost laughed at him. He was so clueless. "You really are an alien, aren't you?"
"Who's the lucky fella?"
"You met him!"
"Ah, the good looking one or the other one?"
Amy lost it when he mimed Rory's nose. "Yeah, that one."
"Well, he was good too."
"Thanks…" Amy took another quick look at the TARDIS before going on. She wasn't sure how long Renata and Gabby would be so she wasn't going to dilly-dally. "So, do you comfort a lot of people on the night before their wedding?"
"Why would you need comforting?"
"I...nearly died?" Amy asked as if to jog his memory of the detail that literally happened like an hour ago. "I was alone in the dark and I nearly died. And it made me think."
The Doctor winced. Yeah, that probably made a person think...especially a human and especially a human on their first super dangerous trip in the TARDIS. "Well, yes, natural. I'm sorry. Sometimes those thoughts aren't exactly the best."
"Well I thought about what I want. About who I want," Amy scooted closer to him, cautiously looking for his reactions. "You know what I mean?"
"Yeah." He nodded his head but two seconds later he took it back. "No."
Amy playfully rolled her eyes and scooted one last time so that their sides were side-by-side, no itty bitty gap at all. "About who...I want."
The Doctor was aware that there was something he was supposed to be understanding but as much as he thought - and he really tried - nothing came to mind. "No, sorry, still not getting it."
Oh my God. Amy scratched the side of her head as she thought about how best to put it without actually having to go into a full detailed explanation. That would just dampen the mood. "Doctor, in a word, one very simple word even you can understand…" She thought climbing on top of him would definitely seal her intentions.
It did.
And the Doctor practically shoved her to the side. He clambered over the foot rail of the bed, nearly falling face-first to the ground. "NO! You're getting married in the morning!"
Amy took it as a challenge rather than an actual 'no'. She got up from the bed and slyly smiled as she walked over to him. "The morning's a long time away!" She pressed her hands against his chest and pushed him against the TARDIS. "What are we going to do about that?" She undid a few of his buttons and even managed to slip off his braces.
She was fast, the Doctor would give her that but it was the only thing he would give her. "I have several ideas but you're not going to like them!" He pushed her away and quickly pulled his braces back up.
"I'm open-minded," Amy flashed him a smirk and grabbed the sides of his face to kiss him.
"STOP!" the Doctor pushed her away so hard that she landed against the foot railing again. "And don't you dare take another step towards me!" He was beyond furious with the girl for a) trying to seduce him and b) for continuing to try and seduce him even when he kept saying 'no'! "Listen to me: this will never happen!"
"Oh c'mon Doctor, I'm not looking for anything permanent. Most blokes run away with when they get the hint of commitment but that's not what I want!" Amy's eyes flashed with a darkness that almost made the Doctor run inside the TARDIS and lock the door.
But then he might bump into Renata. Oh Renata. This would be so lovely to explain...
"Amy! I love Renata! I am so ridiculously in love with her! You need to stop all this!"
But all that crossed Amy's face was confusion...and astounded. "What? You and Renata?"
"Yes — why are you saying it like that? And how did you not know!?" the Doctor was now the one wearing the confusion on his face, apart from everything else that'd happened.
"Because I never saw anything!" Amy frowned. She thought about it long and hard and couldn't remember one moment that looked truly 'couple-esque'. Sure, they held hands and hugged each other but...well, she did that with almost everyone she knew. "And, well...Renata's like a Mum. You could never be with someone like her!"
"Excuse you?" the Doctor's voice turned low and harsh enough for Amy to flinch. "Renata is like a Mother to you and Gabby and everyone else because she cares about everyone she meets! She would love to gather you all up and keep you safe even if it killed her! She's nurturing, loving, and a little bit uptight but she's my nurturing, loving, uptight Time Lady and I will be damned," — he started shouting and didn't even realize it — "if you use that condescending tone about her again! And just so we're clear, I could never reach up to her level! She's amazing and right now, you and I are hurting her - and Rory, by the way—" He stalked towards her, making her lean even further over the railing as he got impossibly close to continue shouting, "—beyond belief! You're getting married Amy! How could ever think that I would…" He trailed off when he happened to catch sight of the clock on the bed stand.
The date.
Tonight was the date he learned the mysterious explosion would happen.
"Doctor?" Amy accepted that her little plan failed and right now all she wanted (ironically) was for him to give her some space so she could get off the railing and fix her back. There would probably be the bruise of the railing imprinted on her skin within the next few hours.
"You're getting married in the morning!" the Doctor stepped back. The explosion, the crack...it was all in Amy's bedroom. Amy. "It's you. It's all about you. Everything. It's about you."
"Kinda getting mixed signals here... " Amy mumbled as he went on. One moment he was shouting how he was so 'in love' with Renata - how that was even working she wouldn't understand - and then the next he was going on about her?
"Amy Pond... Mad, impossible Amy Pond. I don't know why, I have no idea, but quite possibly the single most important thing in the history of the universe is that I get you sorted out right now!" the Doctor reached over for her arm and yanked her for the TARDIS.
June 26, 2010 was an important day and he needed to figure out why it all revolved in this bedroom.
A/N:
Okay folks, we finally finished this monster of an episode xD. No more Weeping Angels for a good while! There were a couple tidbits from the future in this chapter, though, hmmm...
And agh, the first date cut off by Amy (this part of the episode always boils my blood! Honestly, season 5 Amy was not my girl.) We'll see the consequences of this in the next chapter (which, by the way, is one of my favorites! You'll get a hint of why when you see the name of the chapter!)
For the review:
I know, I always thought that part was so stupid too. They literally swore not to do that and then it's the first thing they did .