Across the Stars

by Amy Thorton

So many tales of the Doctor have been told. None of them were complete truth. Rule number one: The Doctor lies. This greatest lie he ever told was about a girl. You see him flirt, love, even marry other women, but that's because he was keeping her safe. This is the story of Emma Williams. The girl who shouldn't have existed.

12. Running

Chapter Twelve: Running

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As they ran, the Doctor plugged in the readings from his sonic screwdriver into River's minicomputer.
"What's that?" Emma quietly asked.
"Readings from a crack in the wall."
"How can a crack in the wall be the end of the universe?" River asked as they caught up to her.
"Don't know, but here's what I think. One day, there's going to be a very big bang. So big, every moment in history, past and future, will crack."
"Is that possible? How?" River asked.
"How can you be engaged, in a manner of speaking?"
"Well, sucker for a man in uniform," River smirked.
"Doctor Song's in my personal custody," answered Father Octavian. "I released her from the Stormcage Containment Facility four days ago, and I am legally responsible for her until she's accomplished her mission and earned her pardon. Just so we understand each other."
"You were in Stormcage?" the Doctor asked.

Before she could answer, the computer chirped.
"What? What is that?" River asked.
"The date. The date of the explosion, where the crack begins."
"And for those of us who can't read the base code of the universe?" River asked. Emma peered over the Doctor's shoulder to see a date written down. 26.06.2010.
"Amy's time."

They reached a wall on the outside of the Primary Flight Deck.
"It doesn't open from here, but it's the Primary Flight Deck," said Father Octavian. "This has got to be a service hatch or something."
"Hurry up and open it," said River. "Time's running out."
"What? What did you say?" the Doctor asked. "Time's running out, is that what you said?"
"Yeah, I just meant—"
"I know what you meant. Hush. But what if it could?"
"What if what could?" Emma asked.
"Time. What if time could run out?"
"Got it!" exclaimed Father Octavian.

The hatch opened and River rushed forward, but the Doctor stood back. He started rambling to Emma as Father Octavian stood beside the hatch opening.
"Cracks. Cracks in time. Time running out. No, couldn't be. Couldn't be. But how is a duck pond a duck pond if there aren't any ducks. And she didn't recognize the Daleks. Okay, time can shift. Time can change. Time can be rewritten. Ah. Oh!"
"Oh?" Emma repeated.
"Time can be unwritten!"
"How?"
"It's been happening all around us and we haven't even noticed. I haven't noticed!"
"Doctor, we have to move!" called Father Octavian.
"The CyberKing. A giant Cyberman walks over all of Victorian London, and no one remembers."
"We have to move it! The Angels could be here any second."
"Never mind the Angels," the Doctor snapped. "There's worse things here than Angels."
"I beg to differ, sir!"

Emma couldn't help the scream that tore through her throat at the sight of an Angel with its arm wrapped around Father Octavian's throat.
"Let him go!" the Doctor demanded. He yanked Emma behind her, keeping her between a wall and himself.
"Well, it can't let me go, sir, can it? Not while you're looking at it."
"I can't stop looking at it, it'll kill you."
"It's going to kill me anyway. Think it through. There's no way out of this. You have to leave me."
"Can't you wriggle out?"
"No, it's too tight. You have to leave me, sir. There's nothing you can do."
"You're dead if I leave you."
"Yes, yes, I'm dead. And before you go—"
"I'm not going."
"Listen to me, it's important. It's important for both of you."

The two-time travelers grew quiet and waited for the man to speak.
"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."
"Then tell me?"
"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 has in Stormcage?"
"She killed a man. A good man. A hero to many."
"Who?" Emma asked.
"You don't want to know, ma'am. You really don't."
"Who did she kill?" the Doctor pressed.
"Sir, 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."
"I wish I'd known you better."
"I think, sir, you know me at my best."
"Emma, go."

She jumped through the hatch and the Doctor followed after a few seconds. River turned back to them.
"There's a teleport. If I can get it to work, we can beam the others here. Where's Octavian."
"Octavian's dead," the Doctor answered. "So is that teleport. You're wasting your time. I'm going to need your communicator."

River handed over her communicator and Amy's voice came through it. Her voice was shaky and terrified.
"Hello? Hello?"
"Amy? Amy? Is that you?"
"Doctor?"
"Where are you? Are the Clerics with you?"
"They've gone. There was a light and they walked into the light… Doctor, they don't even remember each other."
"No, they wouldn't."
"What is that light?" River asked.
"Time running out," the Doctor replied. "Amy, I'm sorry, I made a mistake. I should never have left you there."
"Well, what do I do now?"
"You come to us. The Primary Flight Deck, the other end of the forest."
"I can't see. I can't open my eyes."

Pursing his lip, the Doctor started thinking. Emma watched him, waiting impatiently for him to speak.
"Doctor?" Amy asked.
"Turn on the spot," he said.
"Sorry, what?"
"Just do it. Turn on the spot." He used his sonic against the communicator in his hand. "When your communicator sounds like my screwdriver, that means you're facing the right way. Follow the sound. You have to start moving now. There's Time Energy spilling out of that crack, and you have to stay ahead of it."
"But the Angels, they're everywhere."
"I'm sorry, I really am, but the Angels can only kill you."
"What does the Time Energy do?"
"Just keep moving!"
"Tell me!"

The Doctor didn't say anything, shaking his head.
"Doctor, tell her," Emma pressed.
"No."
"Theta!" His eyes snapped up to hers and she gestured to the communicator. "Tell her." He swallowed harshly, then lifted the communicator back to his mouth.
"If the Time Energy catches up with you, you'll never have been born. It will erase every moment of your existence. You will neve rhave lived at all. Now, keep your eyes shut and keep moving."

From behind them, River scoffed.
"It's never going to work." Emma crossed her eyes, giving the blonde a disapproving looking. River immediately looked chastised, biting her lip at Emma's glare.
"What have you got?" she asked.
"I-I-I…"
"Keep quiet if you've got nothing that'll help."

A loud clanging sound startled all of them.
"What's that?" River asked.
"The Angels running from the fire," the Doctor answered. "They came here to feed on the Time Energy, now it's going to feed on them. Amy, listen to me, I'm sending a bit of software to your communicator. It's a proximity detector. It'll beep if there's something in your way. You just manoeuvre your way 'til the beeping stops. Because, Amy, this is important." He took a deep breath. "The forest is full of Angels. You're going to have to walk like you can see."
"Well, what do you mean?"
"Look, just keep moving."
"That Time Energy, what's it going to do?" River asked.
"Er, keep eating."
"How do we stop it?" River asked.
"Feed it," came the simple answer. "Feed it what?"
"A big, complicated space time event should shut it up for a while."
"Like what, for instance?"
"Like me, for instance."

River started messing with the teleport as Emma took the communicator from the Doctor's hand.
"Amy," she said softly. "This is going to be hard, but you can do. If the Doctor is correct, the Angels are scared and running, and they're not interested in you. They'll assume that you can see them and their instincts will kick in. All you've got to do is walk like you can see."
"She's not moving, Emma," the Doctor anxiously said. "She's gotta move."
"You can do this, Amy," Emma soothed. "Come on."

She watched as the dot on the screen began to move. It was quiet, other than the sound of the Doctor pacing and Amy's heavy breathing. Suddenly, Amy's startled voice came through the communicator.
"Emma! I can't find the communicator. I dropped it. I can't find it. Emma! Doctor!"

There was a flash and Amy was suddenly standing in front of them.
"Don't open your eyes," River said quickly. "You're on the Flight Deck. The Doctor and Emma are here. I teleported you." She smirked at the Doctor. "See? Told you I could get it working."
"River Song, I could bloody kiss you!" the Doctor exclaimed.
"Maybe when you're older," River flirted. Emma rolled her eyes at their flirting. Did it hurt? Slightly. But it had always been like this and despite the Doctor's confession just a few weeks before, it would always be like this.

An alarm began to blare through the ship and Emma looked around, trying to locate the sound.
"What's that?" River asked.
"The Angels are draining the last of the ship's power," answered the Doctor. "Which means the shield's going to release."

The bulkhead into the forest rose, revealing an array of Angels. One stood in front of them, holding a metal device.
"Angel Bob, I presume," the Doctor said. The Angel's mouth didn't move, but Bob's voice came through.
"The Time Field is coming. It will destroy our reality."
"Yeah, and look at you all, running away. What can I do for you?"
"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 that… could do that. But why?"
"Your friends will also be saved." The Doctor clicked his tongue.
"Well, there is that."

River jumped forward.
"I've travelled in time. I'm a complicated space time event too. Throw me in."
"Oh, be serious. 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." Emma immediately caught the Doctor's words and grasped onto a metal bar.
"Doctor, I can't let you do this," River said.
"No, seriously, get a grip!"
"You're not going to die here!"
"No, I mean it. River, Amy, get a grip!"
River's eyes widened, "Oh, you genius."
"Sir," said Bob. "The Angels need you to sacrifice yourself now."
"Thing is, Bob," said the Doctor, moving to stand beside Emma. "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." He wrapped himself around Emma, his hands restign on the metal on each side of her. "I think they've forgotten the gravity of the situation. Or to put it another way, Angels, night-night."

Emma's hands tightened against the metal bar as the false gravity failed. The Spaceship tilted back, the Angels falling through the Forest into the crack. It snapped closed behind them. The Doctor took a deep breath as he soniced the grav-globe, allowing them to settle back on the ground.
"And they're gone," he said. "Amy, you can open your eyes now!"
"Nope!"
"Come on, Emma," the Doctor said, hugging her tightly. "We've gotta climb out now. Amy, open your eyes."
"Not until we're outside."
"Fine!" And then stubbornly, the Doctor shut his own eyes.
"Absolutely not," Emma said. She lightly slapped his cheek and his eyes shot back open. "Do not make me lead you out of here." He pouted and she shook her head. "The puppy eyes aren't going to work today."
"Fineeeee… Make Amy open her eyes!"
Emma shook her head, "I can only make you do things, Doctor."

The climb out of the ship was much less eventful than the climb in. The Tardis still stood on the rocky beach and Emma darted inside to grab a blanket for Amy.
"Hello beautiful!" she greeted as she walked past the console. The Tardis purred and a blanket appeared. "How do you always know what I need?" Emma asked. "Thanks!"

Walking back outside, Emma smiled when she saw Amy blinking and looking around.
"How are you?" Emma asked, wrapping the blanket around the red-head's shoulders.
"Ah, bruised everywhere."
"You didn't have to climb out with your eyes shut," the Doctor gently scolded. "The Angels all fell into the Time Field. The Angel in your memory never existed. It can't harm you now."
"Then why do I remember it at all?" Amy asked. "Those guys on the ship didn't remember each other."
"You're a time traveller now," said the Doctor. "It changes the way you see the universe forever. Good, isn't it?"
"And the crack, is that gone too?"
"Yeah, for now. Bu the explosion that cause dit is still happening. Somewhere out there, somewhere in time."

Emma left them, walking over to River.
"Must it always end this way?" River asked the other woman. "Me in handcuffs, you walking away with the Doctor."
What happens now, River?" Emma asked. "The prison ship is in orbit. They'll beam me up any second. I might have done enough to earn a pardon this time. We'll see."
"Father Octavian said you killed a man."
"Yes, I did."
"He said it was a good man."
"A very good man. The best man I've ever known."
"Who?" the Doctor asked, appearing at Emma's side.
"It's a long story. It can't be told; it has to live. No sneak previews. Well, except for this one." She winked at Emma. "You'll see me again quite soon, when the Pandorica opens."
"The Pandorica, ha!" the Doctor laughed. "That's a fairy tale."
"Doctor, aren't we all?" River asked. "I'll see you there."
"I look forward to it."
"I remember it well." Emma threw her arms around River, hugging the blonde tight despite the handcuffs between them.
"Bye, River."
"See you soon, Darling. Bye Amy!"

A beep came from River's handcuffs and River sighed, "Oh, I think that's my ride."
"Can I trust you, River Song?" the Doctor asked.
"If you like. Ha! But there's the fun in that?" River disappeared in a whirl of sand. Emma turned to the Doctor, her eyes softening at his thoughtful expression.
"Doctor, what are you thinking?" He leaned down, kissing her forehead.
"Time can be rewritten." She gave him a concerned look and he hugged her tightly. "It'll be all right, Emma."

They walked back into the Tardis and Amy looked at both of them.
"I want to go home."
The Doctor shrugged, "Okay."
"No, not like that," Amy said. "I just, I just want to show you something. You're running from River. I'm running too."
"Okay."

Emma stayed behind as the Doctor returned Amy home. She sat near the console, a blanket wrapped tightly around her. She had almost fallen asleep when the Doctor and a disgruntled Amy stormed back into the room.
"Amy's getting married in the morning!" the Doctor announced. Emma blinked blearily at him.
"Oh? To Rory?" Amy frowned at her.
"How'd you know?" Emma snuggled deeper into her blanket. "He was madly in love with you. He looked at you like young hung the stars in sky."
"I don't know why, but i have a feeling," the Doctor said. "And this feeling is that quite possibly, the single most important thing in the history of the universe is that Emma and I get you sorted out right now, Amy." The Doctor started messing with the console, flipping switches, pressing buttons, but a yawn from Emma paused him in his tracks. "Well, we'll sort it out in the morning." He scooped up Emma, let her cuddle into him. "Come on, Emmy, let's get you to bed."

Leaving Amy behind, the Doctor carried Emma to her bedroom.
"Emmy?" she sleepily repeated.
"Emma," he corrected himself. She yawned, exhausted eyes opening to meet his.
"I don't mind Emmy." He settled her into bed, tucking the blankets tight around her.
"Sleep well, my beautiful Emmy," he whispered, kissing her forehead.
"Mmmmhmmm." She was asleep before the door shut behind him.

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