Amy's and Ginny's Choices - Part Five

I didn't realize that the sofa cushions in the library were heated, but as the fire died out and the room grew colder I found myself settling deeper into the cushion my face was pressed against. When I heard a faint heartbeat come from the cushion; however, my eyes shot open and I could feel the embarrassment rushing to my cheeks. It wasn't a sofa cushion at all, it was Thomas. He'd just woken up too and to my surprise, didn't seem all too flustered about us being in each other's arms. We just laid there for a second, looking at each other wordlessly before I broke the silence with a comically loud hiccup.

"You alright?" Tom asked, laughing slightly as he sat up.

"Yeah! Great! Totally peachy keen!" I said, standing up a little too quickly only to fall right back down onto the cushions.

"Are you sure? You look rather pink," He reached forward and rested the back of his hand against my forehead. I flinched slightly and he shrunk back, looking concerned.

"Sorry! Your hand was just really cold," I said, "I think we've gotten closer to that cold star the Doctor had mentioned."

"Yeah, I think we have," Thomas looked into the smoldering textbooks. An awkward silence then filled the air for a minute or so when I decided to break it.

"So, which one do you think is the dream?" I asked, scooting a little bit closer to Thomas, "It might be better in the long run if we both figure this out now."

Thomas thought for a moment, looked at me, then back at the fire, then back at me again.

"Leadworth," he said, "Leadworth's gotta be the dream."

"What makes you so certain?" I asked.

"Well it's five years in the future, yeah? So why did we all look the same age?"

That realization hit me like a ton of bricks. Sure if it were still just an episode it could be explained away with as a plot hole, but this wasn't a show anymore. This was my life now, and if five years were supposed to have happened then why would I still look sixteen and not twenty-one?

"How come none of us noticed?" I thought out loud.

"Maybe it was because we were too busy being chased by killer old people," he said, "Or maybe I… I dunno." He trailed off.

"What?" I asked.

"Nah, forget it. It's silly."

"Oh come on, you can't just leave me in suspense like that," I nudged him playfully.

"Like you haven't done any better?" Thomas turned to face me and the sudden eye contact caught me by surprise, "Ever since we got placed in the library you've been acting really awkward around me. So I'll ask again: Are you okay, Ginny?"

Oh great, I thought, Time to spill the beans. Better now than never, I guess. I took a deep breath, and looked back at the fire.

"I know you said you were acting in Venice, but when you kissed me it kind of took me by surprise. I'm not trying to say it wasn't nice. It was very nice, at least as far as my limited experience with kissing goes. But still, I'd only known you for a few hours and you felt comfortable enough to kiss me like that. I dunno, I guess you could say I started to develop a crush on you," I started to play with my hair nervously, "And then in the dream we're getting married so that's only made me feel even more confused about…" I waved my hand back and forth between us, "this. I like you Thomas, I really do. But I hardly know you, and I've never felt this way about anyone before so it's all really confusing for me. I'm sorry I wasn't honest with you sooner."

Thomas didn't say anything for awhile, but then he took my hand in his.

"Ginny, I was actually hoping you'd say something like that because I've been feeling the same way. And you're absolutely right. We've only known each other for maybe a little over a day, but even still I'd really like to spend more time with you. And whether that's as a friend first or if we dive straight into dating, I'll be happy either way because it means I'll be with you."

It felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders, and going by the look of relief on Tom's face, I could tell he felt the same. So smiling, I pulled him in for a hug; partially because of how cold it was but mostly because I was finally able to be honest with him, and the fact that he'd felt the same way too only made things even better.

"So what now?" Tom asked, "I mean, this was a show on the telly for you, yeah? So what happens next?"

"I dunno," I admitted, "Weird as it may sound, you weren't a character in the show when I was watching so things are a bit different from what I remember. I think at some point though Amy gets separated from the Doctor and Rory though."

"Separated how?"

"Like, between dreams. Amy on the Tardis and the boys back in Leadworth." I tossed another bundle of algebra papers onto the fire to keep it going.

"Well hopefully nothing like that happens to us," Thomas said, and then as if on cue the Dream Lord phased in right on top of the fire, extinguishing it in the process.

"You just had to say that didn't you?" I asked Tom, getting up and backing away from the Dream Lord as he rose out of the fireplace.

"No, no he raises a good point here, Ginny," he said, dusting some ashes off his jacket, "The B-Team should have some fun too, after all. So, who's going back to that cramped closet, eh?"

"I'll go," Thomas said, without hesitation.

"Wait what?" I asked, "No, no one needs to go anywhere."

"It'll be okay, Ginny. I can carry you better than you can carry me anyways."

"But–"

"Besides, I kind of asked for this to happen anyways, so I might as well be the one that goes through it."

I sighed, admitting defeat and brushing some hair away from his blue eyes.

"Just be careful, okay?" I placed the cushions back on the couch and gestured for him to sit next to me, "And don't bump my head against anything!"

"I'll be very careful, I promise," he said, resting his head on one of the decorative pillows. But then, I started to hear the birds. Thomas looked a bit confused as he sat up.

"Hey, why can't I hear the–" was all I heard him say before waking back up in the storage closet.

"Dammit!" I exclaimed, slamming my fist against the door. The Dream Lord switched our places and left Thomas on the Tardis. And speaking of Thomas, he was leaned up against a shelf littered with cleaning supplies, snoring lightly. I stood slowly and placed an ear against the door. Fortunately I didn't hear any of the seniors outside, so I unlocked the door and hoisted Thomas up. It was hard enough to drag him into the closet while half asleep, but now fully comatose, it was a herculean effort.

"You've gotta take it easy on the sweets from now on," I muttered to myself as I dragged him through the sanctuary. Somehow though, by means of dream logic or actual strength on my part, I was able to get him out of the church and back up to the front gate. And with very good timing too, because just as I made it to the stone walls a van with none other than the Doctor driving crested the hill. I waved frantically for him to stop, and thankfully he did. The side door swung open and several people poured out all heading inside the church.

"Everybody out, out out! Into the church," the Doctor ordered before stepping out to help me load Thomas into the van, "Thank goodness you're both okay. I was looking everywhere for you!"

"Yeah? I guess all you needed was some divine intervention," I said, climbing into the back with Thomas, "Amy and Rory should be back at the cottage. We need to get there fast."

"Buckle up then!"

With that the Doctor practically floored it back to the cottage. And here I thought the Doctor was rough with piloting the Tardis, but nope! Turns out it's any vehicle.

"I hope you didn't drive Bessie around this recklessly!" I said, holding onto the edge of my seat for dear life. At the speed we were going the hilly landscape sent me up out of my seat a few times. Thankfully though, we reached the Pond residence in record time, only to find out where all the seniors had gone. They were all converging here, holding their walking sticks, rakes, one of them even had a chainsaw all while trying to get into the house.

"Now, how to get us all inside," the Doctor puzzled, "Can't exactly go through a window with Sleeping Beauty back there."

"There's a backdoor behind those trees," I said, pointing to the stepping stones forming a path past their cypresses, "If we're quick and quiet we can probably sneak right past them."

So that's what we did. With the Doctor holding his legs and with me holding his arms, we carried Thomas around to the back of the cottage to thankfully not find the same onslaught we saw in the front garden. Not even bothering to fish the sonic out of his pocket, he decided to simply kick the back door in, allowing us inside the cottage.

"I'll fix that later," he said, leading us into the living room and dropping Thomas's legs on the far end of the sofa. While the Doctor barricaded the back door I rested his head on a decorative pillow, brushing his blue streak of hair away from his face.

"Hey, Doc? I'm gonna stay down here and guard the back door," I said, pulling up a chair as the Doctor was setting a barstool against the kitchen window, "Not that I don't trust your barricade, I'm just not sure how we're gonna get him up the stairs." I gestured to Thomas on the couch.

"Valid point," the Doctor said, coming over to give me a quick side-hug, "Just be careful down here okay?" I nodded up to him and then he ran up the stairs. I could hear him knocking on the nursery door quite passionately before it opened. As it would happen though, a persistent banging started against the living room window, followed by shattering glass. I quickly looked behind me to find a purple walking stick crashing through the drawn curtains. I quickly hoisted the coffee table up and went to place it against the window when I heard a tired voice call out for me.

"Ginny?" Thomas asked, sitting up slowly and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. I turned to face him, however before I could even say anything a burning pain seared my back. I screamed out and collapsed against the couch, turning back around to see a small cloud of gas leaving Mrs Wallis's mouth. Thomas immediately leapt into action and bashed her over the head with a chair leg, leaving her limp in the window frame. He then focused all his attention on me. I looked down at my hand which was already turning to dust and started hyperventilating, but he tilted my chin up so that I was looking at him.

"Hey, eyes on me, yeah? You're gonna be okay, Ginny. You're gonna be just fine," he said, wiping a tear away from my cheek with his thumb.

"It still hurts," I croaked, "It hurts so much." I couldn't feel my legs anymore, they were probably already dust.

"I know, I know, but it'll be over soon." I could see tears forming in Tom's eyes now, so before I lost it too, I used my remaining hand to wipe his tears away.

"I'll see you soon," was the last thing I heard him say before everything went white.

—

Slowly I became aware of the cold glass floor of the Tardis control room, but also something warm encompassing me. I opened my eyes slowly and looked up to find Thomas holding me tightly against his chest, running his hands up and down my arms to generate heat.

"Fair's fair. Let's warm you up," the Dream Lord said before the lights all came on and a thawing gust blew into the control room, "I hope you've enjoyed your little fictions. It all came from your imaginations, so I'll leave you to ponder on that. I have been defeated. I shall withdraw. Farewell."

With that, the Dream Lord phased out for the final time.

"If I ever see him again it'll be far too soon," I said, sitting up slightly with Thomas still holding me close. The Tardis might've had the heating back on, but we were slow to thaw out, "Sorry for, um, dying in your arms, I guess?"

Thomas laughed slightly, then kissed my forehead.

"Just don't go doing it in real life, okay?" he said.

I nodded, most likely blushing, "I'll do my best."

The Tardis roared to life as the Doctor turned a small wheel on the controls. I stood up slowly, using the railing for support.

"What're you doing there, Doc?" I asked, already knowing the answer and knowing I would have to do some serious damage control in a minute.

"Me? I'm gonna blow up the Tardis," he said, moving to a keyboard and typing in some commands.

"What?" Rory exclaimed as the time rotor began to move.

"Notice how helpful the Dream Lord was? Okay, there was misinformation, red herrings, malice, and I could have done without the limerick. But he was always very keen to make us choose between dream and reality."

Red light bathed the control room and the Tardis shook a bit nearly sending me back to the floor.

"What are you doing?!" Amy asked worriedly.

"Doctor, the Dream Lord conceded. This isn't a dream!" Rory said.

"Yes it is!" the Doctor shouted, activating more things on the control panel. I looked up at Thomas and saw the worry in his eyes.

"Hey, look at me," I said, grabbing his face in my hands, "You gotta trust me when I say we're gonna be okay, okay?"

His eyes flashed from my face, back to the time rotor, then back to my face; then he nodded slowly.

"Stop him!" Amy pleaded.

"Star burning cold? Do me a favor!" the Doctor said, priming a detonator of sorts, "The Dream Lord has no power over the real world. He was offering us a choice between two dreams."

"How do you know that?" The Tardis was swaying quite violently now, but for a brief moment everything seemed to stop.

"Because I know who he is," the Doctor said.

Click.

Boom.

—

I woke slowly to the persistent trill of my iPod's alarm clock. Somehow even with all the sleep we'd gotten between the Dream Lord's games, I still found myself extremely tired. I lifted my head slightly and reached a hand out, only for it to collide with Thomas's nose. I shrunk back quickly, but thankfully he didn't rouse. He was probably just as worn out as I was, bless. I then saw that my iPod was resting on his left arm face down. I grabbed it, disabled the alarm, and reached over to the coffee table to set it down there. Suddenly Thomas stretched in his sleep, and wound up pulling me in closer to his chest. So I, much like the Dream Lord, admitted defeat. With my head resting against the MCR logo on his t-shirt, I found myself lulled back to sleep by his steady heartbeat. Hopefully this dream wouldn't be as dangerous.