As Alex had expected, the Doctor had been caught and captured in the Apollo 11 module. He now sat, handcuffed, in a chair in one of the lecture halls at NASA. Boards cluttered with equations and diagrams lined the perimeter, along with a mini model of the Apollo 11 capsule. A guard stood at the back of the room while two men in white shirts, khakis, and ties stood before the Doctor, trying for the tenth time in the last half hour to pry what they believed was the truth from him.

"Now, one more time, sir," a man who'd introduced himself only as Gardner urged. "How the hell did you get into the command module?"

The Doctor glared at them. He'd been telling them the truth for the last half hour, them and the other couple men who'd been sent in and ultimately given up on him. "I told you. I'm on a top-secret mission for the President." He then proceeded to bite the cuffs in a fruitless attempt to break them.

Gardner chuckled, apparently believing the Doctor to be a total nut. "Well, maybe if you just get President Nixon to assure us of that, sir, that would be swell."

The Doctor dropped the cuffs and smirked. "I sent him a message."

Right on cue, the door behind the men opened to reveal President Nixon, flanked on either side by River and Rory. Rory had changed into a professional suit, complete with Clark Kent style glasses, while River had opted for a blue dress with a matching coat, small heels, a brooch, and her wild, curly hair pulled back into a bun.

The two men whirled around, completely dumbstruck, while the Doctor merely grinned and lifted a cuffed hand to wave at the group.

"Hello," Nixon greeted as he approached the men. He turned to Gardner. "I believe it's Mr. Gardner. Is that correct? Head of security?"

Gardner fiddled with his glasses as he stuttered out an answer. "Er, yes sir! Yes, Mr. President."

Nixon turned to address the other man, a slightly more rotund one with short blond hair. "Mr. Grant, is it?"

"Yes, Mr. President."

"The hopes and dreams of millions of Americans stand here today at Cape Kennedy, and you're the men who guard those dreams. On behalf of the American people, I thank you."

"You're welcome, Mr. President," a collected Gardner nodded.

"I understand you have a baby on the way, Mr. Grant."

Grant nodded. "Yes, Mr. President."

"What are you hoping for, a boy or a girl?"

"Just a healthy American, sir."

Nixon laughed and nodded approvingly. "A healthy American will do just nicely," he affirmed. "Now, fellows, listen. This man here, code name the Doctor, is doing some work for me personally. Could you cut him a little slack?"

Gardner shifted uncomfortably. "Er, Mr. President, he did break into Apollo 11."

Nixon stared at the Doctor. The latter shrugged and mouthed, "Sorry."

After a moment of processing this information, Nixon finally said, "Well, I'm sure he had a very good reason for that. But I need you to release him now so he can get on with some very important work for the American people. Could you do that for me?"

Grant hesitated. "Well. . ."

"Son, I am your Commander in Chief."

"Then I guess that would be fine, Mr. President," Gardner hurriedly relented, eager to stay on Nixon's good side.

"Glad to hear it," Nixon smiled.

Gardner turned and nodded at the guard. In just a few seconds, the Doctor was released. He sprang out of the chair and rushed over to Grant. "Thank you!" he beamed, shaking the man's hand. "Bye, bye." He shook Gardner's hand as well before snapping his fingers at Nixon and rushing past them to the TARDIS parked just outside.

"Carry on, gentlemen," Nixon told Gardner and Grant before exiting as well. River followed along behind him while Rory loitered in front of the Apollo 11 model. He picked up a piece of the model, only for it to break off in his hand. He cringed and tried to stick it back on but was ultimately unable to.

He set it down on the table and turned to face the men. He coughed a little. "America salutes you," he said in his best American accent, which really wasn't very good. Once saluting them, he turned and awkwardly headed back to the TARDIS.

~The Pros and Cons of Silence~

Back at Graystark, Amy and Alex walked through the third-floor hallway, thankfully the last floor of the building. After their experience in the room downstairs, the girls had decided to use the flashlights Canton had provided them. Walking around in such a creepy place was much better with a little light instead of none at all.

Alex stepped into an empty bedroom while Amy continued down the hall. Alex moved further into the room, using her other hand to hold her umbrella out like a sword. There wasn't anything significant about this room. A few more bedframes lined the walls, a couple of them covered with dirty, dusty mattresses. Looking out the lone window in the room, Alex could see the rain continuing to pour down, just as furious as it had been when they arrived.

She glanced up at the ceiling, checking to see if there was another nest of aliens up there, but thankfully, this one only yielded dusty rafters and possibly a few bats. That was good. The ones downstairs were enough for her.

She was about to investigate the room further when she suddenly heard Amy's voice call out, "Hello? I saw you looking through the hatch!" Alex whirled around and hurried out of the room and down the hall, coming to a stop before an open door.

"Amy?" she called into the room.

Amy spun around. "Alex! Did you see her?"

Alex frowned in confusion. "See who? I was in another room. Who were you talking to?"

"There was this woman wearing an eyepatch who appeared in a hatch in the door." Amy patted the specific spot on the door. The hatch was noticeably nonexistent. "I asked her who she was, but she just turned away and said, 'I think she's dreaming'."

Weird. Maybe the aliens had gotten to Amy and were trying to trick her. "Amy, have you checked your hand lately?" Alex asked as she tilted her head to get a better look at Amy's palm.

Amy glared at her. "Alex! I know what I saw!" She raised her hand. No glow coming from it. "See?" she said triumphantly.

Alex sighed. Well, at least that was good news, but it still didn't explain why Amy had seen an eyepatch lady in the door. "Well, whoever she was, she's gone now," Alex said, flashing her light around the room.

They appeared to be in a child's bedroom, presumably the little girl's since it looked much nicer than the rest of the bedrooms they'd seen. A small collection of stuffed animals had been arranged on the bed while a mobile full of stars and moons hung from a lamp. On another side of the room was a large chest of drawers, the top of which contained a bunch of framed photographs on a lace doily. Amy headed over to this while Alex crouched down to examine the stuffed animals.

The photos showed the little girl at various ages, none stretching past her current one. As Amy examined them, she spotted a photo tucked into the very back. She reached out and picked it up, only for her eyes to widen in shock.

It was of her and a baby swaddled up in a white blanket. She was holding the baby, leaning over slightly so her face was in the picture. Amy couldn't see much of the background, so she had no idea when or where the photo might have been taken.

"How?" she murmured to herself. "How can that be me?" It was entirely possible this photo had been taken in her future, but whose baby was she holding? Was the baby the little girl? If so, Amy thought, who is she to me?

"Ames?" Alex called. She straightened up and headed over to the redhead. "What'd you say?"

Amy glanced at her friend. She was just about to show her the photo, hoping that maybe Alex could gleam something from it that she couldn't, only to hear a familiar thudding sound from a small distance away, steadily getting closer.

The astronaut.

Amy hurriedly set the photo down while Alex moved a hand to her sonic necklace. They watched, hesitant, as the astronaut entered the room, coming to a stop a few steps away from them. "Who are you?" Amy demanded. "We don't understand, so just tell us who you are!"

The astronaut raised its gold visor to reveal the little girl from the warehouse. A crack was still in her helmet from where Amy had tried to shoot her. Amy winced at the sight and at the thought that she had nearly killed a child. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "I didn't mean to shoot you. I'm glad I missed." The little girl just stared at her, as if unsure whether or not to believe her words. Alex studied her as Amy continued. "But you killed the Doctor. And you tried to kill Alex." She nodded to the girl beside her. "Or you're going to kill him and try to kill her."

"That's time travel for you," Alex interjected, knowing she had to try to get the girl to like them if they wanted to find out who she was. She cautiously stepped forward, ignoring Amy's tugs on her blazer, and smiled a little at the girl. "Hi. I'm Alex, and that's Amy. What's your name?" No response, not that Alex was surprised by that. "Oh, come on. Pretty little girl like you must have a pretty name." Still, nothing. Alex sighed and decided to try another tactic. "Who are you? Could you please tell us, because we don't understand any of what's going on."

"Please help me!" the little girl begged. She reached a hand out towards them. "Help me, please!"

"Help you from what?" Alex asked. She was already starting across the room. "Is it the aliens? Is that it?"

But just as she reached the little girl, two of those very aliens came in through a door behind the girl. Amy started screaming and the door slammed shut. In the space of five seconds, Alex found herself grabbed by one of the aliens.

"Let go of me!" she yelled, kicking and thrashing around as the creature attempted to restrain her. Just her luck. The only way they could get out was by using the door, which was currently locked, and the only person who could open the door was currently being held by a disgusting-looking alien. Just great.

"Help!" Amy shouted. She scrambled over to the door and desperately tried to open it. "Help us!"

"Canton!" Alex screamed at the top of her lungs as she continued thrashing around. Remembering she still had her umbrella in hand, she moved to dig its handle into the alien, only her captor caught her doing it and jerked her to the side. The umbrella jostled out of her grasp. Defeated, she turned to watch the other alien approach Amy as the redhead continued to kick and pound at the door. The little girl in the spacesuit stood by, observing everything with a sad, but accepting air.

"Canton!" Amy called, not seeing the creature behind her. "Canton, help us!"

But by the time Canton would their screams and come to rescue them, it would be too late.

~The Pros and Cons of Silence~

"You have to tape everything that happens in this office," the Doctor instructed Nixon. They were back in the Oval Office, Nixon behind his desk while the Doctor stood on the other side, giving orders. The Doctor couldn't help but be partially amused at the fact that he was setting part of the Watergate scandal up. He had to remember to tell Alex this. She'd probably tease him about doing such a thing in that adorable, flirty, sassy way of hers. "Every word, or you won't know if you're under the influence."

"Doctor, you have to give me more than this," Nixon argued as the Doctor went over to the TARDIS. "What were you doing to Apollo 11?"

"Thing," the Doctor dismissed. "A clever thing. Now, no more questions. You have to trust me and nobody else."

Just then, the TARDIS door opened and River poked her head out, one hand clutching a phone. "Doctor, it's Canton!" she cried frantically. "Quick! He needs us!"

The Doctor didn't even hesitate, rushing past River and into the console room. He ran up the steps, practically taking them two at a time as River shut the doors and moved to join him. The Doctor barely looked up as they operated the time machine, not even to tell River she was doing anything wrong.

In truth, he was terrified, absolutely terrified. If Canton had called, that meant that Alex or Amy or both were in danger. His hearts tensed at the thought of his Ally in peril. He should have known something like this might happen! He should have resisted Alex's incredibly irresistible eye-batting and pleading and put his foot down. Never mind how angry she might have been, she'd be safe.

Not now, he told himself as he pulled a lever down to send them to the destination Canton had given them. Go save Ally – and Amy – and then you can worry about the what ifs.

All too soon – but not soon enough for the Doctor's liking – they were at Graystark Hall Orphanage. The Doctor barreled down the stairs and out the door, River and Rory hot on his heels. As they ran up to the third floor, they could hear Canton desperately shoving against a door, Amy and Alex's screams echoing from beyond.

"Help!" Amy screamed. "Help us! Please, I can't . . . I can't see!"

"Get off of me!" Alex screeched. The Doctor ran even faster at this. "Somebody help!"

"Amy!" Canton cried. "Amy! Alex! Can you hear me? Girls, I'm going to try to blow the lock. I need you to stand back!"

"Okay, gun down!" the Doctor cried as he jumped up onto the landing and ran over. He already had his sonic screwdriver out and he immediately pressed it to the knob. "I've got it!"

"Amy! Alex, we're here!" Rory called as he and River reached the top of the steps. "Are you okay?"

"We can't see anything!" Alex yelled.

At this point, the lock gave way and the Doctor barreled into the room, the others quickly following. They found themselves in the little girl's bedroom. The astronaut suit was lying lifeless on the carpet and Amy and Alex were nowhere in sight.

Rory spun in a circle, trying to see all of the room at once. "Doctor, where are they?!"

River hurried over to the spacesuit and knelt down next to it. She pulled out her scanner and ran it over the contraption. "It's empty," she reported a moment later. As though to further illustrate her point, she lifted the visor. Nothing but a blank space.

The Doctor nodded at her, but his thoughts were consumed by Alex. Where was she? What had happened to her? She should have been safe, considering she could see the aliens. What had happened to her?! "Alex!" he shouted. "Alex!" He crouched down on the floor and looked under the bed, even though he doubted he was going to find her under there. "Ally, where are you?!"

"It's dark," Amy's voice whimpered. The group looked around and were soon drawn down to the floor as a red light flashed on the carpet. It was Amy's nanorecorder. "So dark. I don't know where I am. Please, can anybody hear me? Alex? Where are you? Alex?!"

"Right here," Alex's voice reported, sounding much calmer than Amy. The Doctor sighed in relief. She was alive. That was good. He didn't think he could handle it if she was dead. "Wherever here is, anyway."

Rory bent down and picked up the nanorecorder. "They took this out of her. How did they do that, Doctor? Why can I still hear her?"

"Is it a recording?" River asked.

The Doctor stepped closer and ran his sonic over the device. After a moment of scanning it, he raised the sonic and examined the results. "It defaults to live," he explained. "This is current. Wherever the girls are right now, this is what they're saying."

"Amy, can you hear me?" Rory called into the recorder, cradling it in his hand like it was the rarest gem in the world. "Alex? We're coming for you two. Wherever you are, we're coming, I swear."

"They can't hear you. I'm so sorry. It's one-way."

Rory shot him a dark look. "Amy can always hear me, Doctor," he argued as Amy's sobs broke out on the other end. "Always. Just like Alex can always hear you. Wherever they are, and they always know we're coming for them. Always."

The Doctor went silent. He couldn't really argue that point, considering the connection between him and Alex. He could always hear her and most definitely would always hear her. He wouldn't be surprised if it turned out to work vice-versa as well.

"Doctor?" Alex's voice called out, as though she could actually hear them right now. "Doc, I know you're out there. Doc, if you can hear me, please, please hurry. Amy's scared and, well, I'm okay but I'd much rather be with you instead of with a bunch of aliens permanently dressed for the Oscars. Like that one, Amy?"

"Yeah," Amy giggled, her sobs turning into slight sniffles. "Thanks, Alex."

"No problem," Alex said breezily. The Doctor and Rory looked at each-other and grinned. Alex was trying to distract Amy with her usual sarcastic wit and humor. That meant she was okay . . . for now. "But hurry up, Doc. Amy needs her raggedy doctor and I need to see you."

The Doctor stared at the nanorecorder for one long moment before plucking it out of Rory's hands and raising it to his lips. "I'm coming, Ally," he whispered into it. "I swear it; I'll be there soon."

There was a long pause on the other end and then, finally, "Thank you, Doc."

"Hello?" a new voice rang out as the Doctor handed the nanorecorder back to Rory, the latter kissing it. Everyone turned to see Renfrew poking his head in. The Doctor eyed him. The man certainly looked frazzled and off his rocker, just like Alex had said.

Renfrew stumbled the rest of the way in, glancing back out at the hall a few times as though to check that something was there. "Is somebody there? I think someone has been shot. I think we should help . . . we c. . ." He blinked and looked around bewilderedly. "I can't re. . . I can't remember."

Yep, off his rocker, the Doctor thought. The poor man's mind would never be the same again after so many memory wipes. He darted forward towards the door, River, Canton, and Rory rushing to follow him . . . until the Doctor tripped on something. He stumbled and held his arms out for balance, catching himself at the last minute. Frowning, he looked down.

It was a bright red umbrella, lying abandoned on the ground. The golden tip at the top was broken, the little piece lying just a small distance away. The Doctor bent down and picked it and the umbrella up, placing the former in his pocket so he could attach it back on later. He fingered the umbrella. It was still slightly damp from the rain, drops of water catching and staining the sleeves of his tweed jacket.

It looked like an ordinary umbrella to everyone else, but it was incredibly important to the Doctor. It was the umbrella Alex had been carrying when she walked out of the TARDIS wardrobe in what he liked to call her power-suit. He'd been confused as to why she was carrying it when it was sunny outside though, now seeing the rain pounding away out the window, he guessed that the TARDIS had known a change in weather was coming and had wanted Alex to be prepared for it.

Still gripping the umbrella, the last thing he had left of Alex, the Doctor stormed out the door and down the stairs. He knew the others were following him, but he barely heard them. His blood was pounding away, harder and faster than the rain overhead, and his hearts were beating louder than any thunder could dream to sound like. He was angry, so, so angry. Alex, his Ally, had been taken away from him, snatched out of his reach by enemies he couldn't even remember encountering. They had just taken her from him, not knowing how furious it would make him.

He felt the dark part of himself he strove to keep hidden rise up. The Oncoming Storm was whirling through him like a mighty hurricane and nothing, nothing, was going to stop him from rescuing Alex.

So consumed in his thoughts, he almost didn't register the fact that he was walking into Renfrew's cluttered office. Lying on the floor was one of the aliens. One of its hands clutched a gunshot wound on its side. Canton shined his flashlight on it as they approached. The creature struggled to back up as the Doctor advanced towards it.

He knelt down next to the creature. "Who and what are you?" he demanded. His voice was cold and hard, a little glimpse of the all-consuming rage running through his veins.

The creature eyed him for a moment before answering. "Silence, Doctor," it hissed. "We are the Silence."

The Doctor's eyes widened in recognition. Silence. . . He'd heard that before. He'd heard it all throughout his adventures leading up to the Pandorica.

Prisoner Zero fixed his eyes on the Doctor and Alex. "Silence, Doctor and Ally," he hissed. "Silence will fall."

Rory stepped into the doorway, Alex right behind him, but the Doctor stopped them from heading in. "Rory, Alex, listen to that!" he commanded.

Rory frowned in confusion. "Er, what? All I can hear is . . . silence."

Almost instantly, Rosanna's playful demeanor towards him disappeared, revealing a scared and mournful person. "We ran from the Silence," she replied.

"The Silence?"

The Doctor blinked. All those instances where his enemies had spoken of the Silence. . . He hadn't known what they were talking about until now. He stared at the Silent before him.

"And Silence will fall!" it finished.

~The Pros and Cons of Silence~

A little while later, the Doctor, Rory, and River were back at the warehouse. The Doctor had dropped Canton and the Silent off at Area 51 after making a pit stop in Washington to pick up President Nixon, who they needed to make sure no one questioned Canton about his reappearance from the prison after several days of being in there. They had a little plan in the works which, if everything went off without a hitch, would work.

Now, the Doctor and River were examining the spacesuit they'd recovered from Graystark while Rory sat a little distance away, clutching the nanorecorder in his hand. Amy and Alex hadn't spoken for a while, and it was starting to alarm the men. River didn't look all that concerned, but she was from the future and probably already knew how things happened.

Or she just really didn't care for Alex. That was likely too.

"It's an exoskeleton," she said now, pulling the Doctor out of his steadily darkening thoughts. "Basically life-support. There's about twenty different kinds of alien tech in here."

"Who was she?" he wondered. "Why put her in here?"

"You put this on, you don't even need to eat. The suit processes sunlight directly. It's got built-in weaponry and a communications system that can hack into anything."

"Including the telephone networks?"

"Easily."

"But why phone the President?"

"It defaults to the highest authority it can find," River said as she scanned the suit. The Doctor took this opportunity to pull the blue envelope he'd received out of his jacket and begin examining it. "The little girl gets frightened, the most powerful man on Earth gets a phone-call. The night terrors with a hotline to the White House." She looked up just in time to see the Doctor licking the envelope. She shook her head and wondered if this was how Alex felt half the time. "You won't learn anything from that envelope, you know."

He lowered the envelope and turned it over, examining each side. "Purchased on Earth, perfectly ordinary stationary, TARDIS blue," he summarized. "Summoned by a stranger who won't even show his face. That's a first for me. How about you?"

"Our lives are back to front," River reminded him. "Your future's my past. Your firsts are my lasts."

"That's not really what I asked."

River just smirked. "Ask something else, then."

Easy enough, considering there was still a lot about the Silence and the little girl he didn't know. "What are the Silence doing raising a child?"

"Keeping her safe." River leaned back down to examine the suit's technology. "Even giving her independence."

The Doctor paced across the floor, passing Rory as he said, "The only way to save Amy and Alex is to work out what the Silence are doing."

"I know," Rory responded.

"And every single thing we learn about them brings us a step closer."

"Yeah," Rory cut in before he could go on. "Doctor, I get it. I know."

The Doctor nodded, knowing that he did, but just reinforcing what they had to do to get their girls back. "It's possible she's not just any little girl," he said to River.

"Well, I'd say she's human," River hypothesized, "going by the life-support software."

"But?" he prodded. There was always a 'but'.

River sighed and wearily rubbed her forehead. She looked a bit like Alex when she was frustrated, not that the Doctor was about to tell her that. That wouldn't be received well at all. "She climbed out of this suit. Like. . ." She held up one of the wires sticking out of the suit. It had been ripped in half. ". . .she forced her way out. She must be incredibly strong."

"Incredibly strong and running away," the Doctor mused. He smiled. "I like her."

"We should be trying to find her."

"Yes, I know. But how? Anyway, I have the strangest feeling she's going to find us."

"Apollo 11, this is Houston," a voice rang out, though no one looked around for it. It was coming from the TV that had been set up on the other side of the room, tuned to the Apollo 11 launch. "How do you read? Over."

The Doctor walked over to the TV and studied the screen as the NASA scientists went on. Rory, however, eyed the spacesuit. "Why does it look like a NASA spacesuit?" he asked.

"Because that's what the Silence do," the Doctor said. "Think about it. They don't make anything themselves. They don't have to. They get other life forms to do it for them."

"So, they're parasites then," River summarized.

"Superparasites," the Doctor corrected, "standing in the shadows of human history since the very beginning. We know they can influence human behavior any way they want. If they've been doing that on a global scale for thousands of years. . ."

"Then what?" Rory prompted when he trailed off.

"Then why did the human race suddenly decide to go to the moon?"

"Ten, nine. Ignition sequence start. Six, five, four." Flames began bursting out from the underside of the rocket and the whole contraption trembled on the launch-pad.

"Because," the Doctor finished, "the Silence needed a spacesuit."

"One, zero. All engines running. Liftoff. We have a liftoff." On screen, Apollo 11 began zooming upward. In just a few minutes, the astronauts aboard would be in the upper part of Earth's atmosphere, pieces of rocket falling away as it propelled towards the moon. "Thirty-two minutes past the hour, liftoff on Apollo 11."

~The Pros and Cons of Silence~

A little while later, the Doctor opened River's beeping comm. He smiled when he saw the video file Canton had sent from Amy's phone. That smile turned into an almost dark grin when he heard the Silent utter the phrase, "You should kill us all on sight."

Behind him, River continued to examine the suit. The little archeologist inside her must have been having a field day, examining such a complex piece of tech. Just as she was running her scanner over it again, one of the suit's gloves twitched.

"This suit," she called to the Doctor, making him look back over at her as the suit continued twitching, "it seems to be repairing itself. How's it doing that?" Then, a thought occurred to her. "Doctor, a unit like this, would it ever be able to move without an occupant?"

"Why?"

"Well, the little girl said the spaceman was coming to eat her. Maybe that's exactly what happened."

Before the Doctor could reply, Amy's voice came out through the nanorecorder. "I love you," she said, the first words either girl had spoken for at least a couple hours. "Really, I do. More than I ever thought possible. And I swear, when I see you again, I'm going to tell you properly, just to see your stupid face. My life was so boring before you dropped out of the sky. So just get your stupid face where I can see it, okay? Okay?"

"And, for the record," Alex's voice interjected, "just in case there's any lingering paranoia in you, Rory, she was talking to you."

"Yes, thank you, Alex," Amy dismissed, probably sticking her tongue out at the girl.

Rory had to chuckle. Alex needn't have clarified Amy's words for him. He hadn't worried about Amy's feelings for the Doctor in a long time, not since he came aboard the TARDIS and went to Venice. Seeing Alex's interactions with the Doctor and vice-versa and seeing how Amy had turned over a new leaf and was trying to push the two together, he knew then that Amy was completely his, reinforced even more after he heard what she did to get back to him during the Dream Lord adventure. She was his wife and she loved him, and nothing would ever make him doubt that.

"They'll be safe for now," the Doctor quietly assured him, having sat down beside him at some point during Amy's declarations of love. "No point in dead hostages." He grimaced, realizing just how bad that had sounded. "Um . . . forget I said that," he said awkwardly, his stomach twisting painfully at the thought of Alex dying.

Rory looked at the Doctor, taking in his weary and slightly angry expression. Being apart from Alex was taking his toll on him. He recalled the way the man had acted when Alex was taken by the Silurian's. He'd never seen such raw anger before, a twisted, powerful force that was never seen so long as Alex was standing alongside the Time Lord. He could only hope and pray that it wouldn't be unleashed again before they got back to the girls. "Can't you save them?" he asked.

"I can track that signal back. Take us right to them."

Rory gaped at him. If he could do that, why wasn't he falling over himself trying to get back to Alex, considering how important she was to him? "Then why haven't you?" he demanded.

The Doctor sighed. "Because then what? I find them and then what do I do? This isn't an alien invasion. They live here. This is their empire. This is kicking the Romans out of Rome."

"Rome fell," Rory flatly reminded him.

"I know," the Doctor murmured, remembering his trip to the city during his first incarnation and how he accidentally gave Nero the idea to burn down the city. Not that he was about to tell Rory that. Instead, he settled for, "I was there."

"So was I."

Which reminded him. . . "Personal question."

"Seriously, you?"

"Do you ever remember it?" the Doctor asked, ignoring the dig. "Two thousand years, waiting for Amy? The Last Centurion."

"No."

The Doctor eyed him doubtfully. "You're lying."

"Of course I'm lying."

"Of course you are. Not the sort of thing anyone forgets."

"Alex asked me about that."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow, but he wasn't really all that surprised. Alex was tremendously caring, and he knew she looked after her friends with a fierce protectiveness and determination that he greatly admired. "Did she now? When?"

"Not long after the wedding. It was probably a few days before we went to Savannah. She found me in the kitchen late one night. I'd had a dream of a memory during those years. It was during WWII, London Blitz, and I was tugging the Pandorica out of the warehouse it was in before a bomb fell on it. I was heading out when this brown-haired girl in a nurse's uniform came running up to me. She yelled, "Look out!" and pushed me out of the way and on the ground. Then there was this whistling sound and a big explosion. When it cleared, I looked round, but she wasn't there anymore. She died for me that night and I didn't even know her.

"Anyway, I couldn't sleep after dreaming about that, so I went into the kitchen to make tea. I was just sitting there, and Alex came in. Said she couldn't sleep either and asked me what I was doing up. I told her about the dream, and she asked me if I remembered any more of those 2,000 years."

"What'd you tell her?"

"I said I don't remember it all the time. It's . . . like this door in my head. I can keep it shut."

"Please, please, just come and get me," Amy begged, sobs starting to overtake her voice. "Come and get me."

"Come on, Doctor," Alex pleaded. "You must have a plan in the works by now! I know you. You're quite brilliant. And sorry, Rory, for making a smug look appear on his face."

The Doctor laughed a little, making a mental note to get back at her for that remark. "I do, Ally," he said to the nanorecorder. "And I think now's as good a time as any to put it in action."

~The Pros and Cons of Silence~

Alex's eyes fluttered and she grimaced as she re-woke to a dim room, lights shining overhead like some people who claimed to have been abducted by aliens described. She glanced down to see that she was still strapped to the chair she'd been in for the last. . . Well, she didn't really know how long she'd been here, but she'd estimate a couple days.

She looked around the room, a carbon copy of the control room she'd seen in Craig's flat and the one back at the warehouse. A small distance away, Amy, strapped to her own chair, was waking up. And in front of them were at least a dozen aliens.

Amy winced in the bright glare of the lights. "Where am I?" she demanded. "Where is this?"

Alex wasn't surprised that Amy couldn't remember much. These aliens, who she'd heard calling themselves the Silence, had been knocking them out, using their post-hypnotic suggestion skills to make them forget the last few days. Well, they were trying to, in Alex's case. Alex could remember everything but didn't let on in front of them. She doubted it was a good idea to let them know that. They might try and kill her because of it.

Still, she had fallen asleep. And when she'd woken, she could have sworn that she was supposed to remember something, something important. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't think of anything.

Now, Alex shifted. There was an uncomfortable pain in her chest. It was probably from the tight straps surrounding her waist, but it didn't really feel like that. It felt more like something was . . . shifting around inside her body, like her organs were getting squished from something new being added to her insides.

But before she could dwell on it further, one of the Silence started speaking. "You are Amelia Pond." It then turned to Alex. "And you are Alexandria Locke."

"And you're ugly," Alex retorted. "And don't call me Alexandria."

"We do you both honor. You will bring the Silence." Exactly who it was talking to was unclear, for the creature had positioned itself so it was looking at both girls. "But your part will soon be over."

"Whatever that means, you've made a big mistake," Amy shot back, "bringing us here, because wait until you see what's coming for you now." The Doctor was most definitely angry about Alex having been taken. Amy had seen what instances like that did to him. If the Silence were smart, they'd better run.

"You have been here many days."

"No," Amy said slowly, "we just got here. You just put us in here!"

"Your memory is weak," the Silent argued, as if it hadn't been erasing her memories over the past few days. "You have been here many days."

Amy shook her head adamantly and struggled against her straps. "No. No, I can't have been."

The Silent stepped over to her while another one went to Alex. Both started to lean over the girls. "You will sleep now," they commanded.

"No!" Amy screamed, shaking against her restraints.

"Get off of me!" Alex yelled, thrashing around wildly, and cringing back from her Silent. She really wished she could use her sonic necklace to loosen her bonds, but it only worked when she was holding it. When the Doctor got here, because he would get here, she was going to have to ask him if there was any way she could use her necklace without having to physically hold it.

"Sleep."

"No! Get off me!" Amy cried. "No! No!"

"Sleep."

"NO!" the girls screamed, their cries practically rivaling each-other in volume.

And then, a glorious sound rang out, stopping everyone in their tracks and cutting the girls' cries short. It was the TARDIS materialization noise. Amy and Alex turned to watch, grins lighting up their faces, as the blue box came into reality.

The Doctor stepped out and looked around at the familiar setting. "Oh, interesting," he marveled, studying the room. "Very Aickman Road. I've seen one of these before. Abandoned. I wonder how that happened? Oh, well, I suppose I'm about to find out." He spun around to address River and Rory, who had just stepped out of the time machine. "Rory, River, keep one Silent in eyeshot at all times."

He swiveled back around and looked at the Silence. "Oh, hello!" he exclaimed, as if just now noticing them. "Sorry, you were in the middle of something." He darted back into the TARDIS, coming out only a second later with a small TV in his hands. Alex cocked her head at it. What was he doing? "I just had to say though, have you seen what's on the telly?" As he set the TV on the console, he turned to the girls. "Oh, hello, Amy, Ally! Are you two alright? Want to watch some television?" In actuality, he was literally forcing himself from running forward and tearing Alex out of her restraints. Sadly, he just couldn't do that yet. His plan had to go off without a hitch or things would be truly screwed.

He then noticed that some of the Silence were edging closer to him. "Ah!" he warned, holding a hand out. "Now, stay where you are. Because look at me, I'm confident. You want to watch that, me, when I'm confident. Oh, and this is my friend River." He nodded over his shoulder to the woman now standing back-to-back with him, her blaster trained on the Silence. Neither of them noticed the steely glare on Alex's face when she saw how close they were. "Nice hair, clever, has her own gun, and unlike me, she really doesn't mind shooting people. I shouldn't like that. Kind of do, a bit."

River beamed at him over her shoulder. "Thank you, sweetie."

"I know you're team players and everything, but she'll definitely kill at least the first three of you—"

"Well, the first seven, easily," River interrupted.

"Seven, really?"

River smirked, practically preening at his amazement. She leaned her head back to rest on his shoulder. "Oh, eight for you, honey," she promised.

"Stop it."

"Make me."

Oh, I'll definitely make you! Alex thought, her eyes positively shooting daggers at River. Her eyes switched from a light honey to a deep, dark green, to the point that they were almost black. Amy and Rory glanced over and shivered a little bit. They'd seen Alex's eyes change colors before, but never like this.

From his angle, the Doctor couldn't see Alex and her steadily growing fury. "Yeah?" he shot back. "Well, maybe I will."

By this point, Alex had had enough. "WILL YOU TWO STOP FLIRTING FOR ONE GOD-DAMNED SECOND AND GET US OUT OF HERE?!" she screeched, everyone, even the Silence, wincing at the sound of her voice.

"Yeah!" Amy called out in agreement, although nowhere near as loud as Alex. "Because I feel like I should be high on the list right now!"

The Doctor cringed, more at Alex's voice than anything. That was the voice of pure jealousy, no mistaking it. And he couldn't blame her. It did sound like he had been flirting with River, even though he didn't mean to. His most recent incarnations had acted like this with everyone, flirting with people who he regarded as friends. As far as he was now concerned, he only wanted to flirt with Alex. Which meant that he was going to have to watch the flirting.

"Yes," he nodded, jumping away from River. "Right. Sorry! As I was saying, my naughty friend here is going to kill the first three of you to attack, plus him behind, so maybe you want to draw lots or have a quiz. . ."

As he talked, Rory crept over to Amy and began trying to undo her bonds. "What's he got?" she whispered.

Rory fussed with a complicated knot. "Something, I hope," he muttered.

". . .or maybe you should listen a minute," the Doctor went on. "Because all I really want to do is accept your total surrender and then I'll let you go in peace. Yes, you've been interfering in human history for thousands of years. Yes, people have suffered and died, but what's the point in two hearts, if you can't be a bit forgiving, now and then?" He eyed one of the Silence, but it didn't say anything. "Ooh, the Silence. You take that seriously, don't you? Okay, you got me. I'm lying. I'm not really going to let you go that easily. Nice thought, but it's not Christmas."

He went over to the TV and flicked one of the switches. "First, you tell me about the girl. Who is she? Why is she important? What's she for?"

But there was still no reply.

The Doctor shrugged. "Guys, sorry, but you're way out of time. Now, come on. A bit of history for you. Aren't you proud?" He extended the TV antennas and switched it on. The screen showed black and white footage of the moon landing. "Because you helped! Now, do you know how many people are watching this live on the telly? Half a billion. And that's nothing, because the human race will spread out amongst the stars. You just watch them fly. Billions and billions of them, for billions and billions of years, and every single one of them at some point in their lives will look back at this man, taking that very first step, and they will never, ever forget it."

They all watched as Neil Armstrong prepared to step off the ladder and onto the lunar surface for the first time. "Oh, but they'll forget this bit," the Doctor added, pulling out his comm and clicking it on. He held it to his lips, eyes fixed on the Silence. "Ready?"

"Ready," Canton confirmed.

On screen, Neil Armstrong began to hop off the Apollo 11 module ladder. "That's one small step for man. . ."

But then, the image changed. Alex blinked, shocked, as a Silent took Armstrong's place. "You should kill us all on sight," it hissed.

"You've just given the order for your own execution," the Doctor remarked, his voice dark and filled with an unmistakable edge, "and the whole planet just heard you."

The screen switched away from the Silent and back onto Armstrong as he stepped onto the lunar surface. ". . .one giant leap for mankind."

"And one whacking great kick up the backside for the Silence!" the Doctor laughed.

"Oh, you clever man," Alex breathed. And he really was. She was rather surprised though that the Doctor hadn't given the Silence a chance to back off, like he did with every other alien enemy they came across. Then again, what probability was there that the Silence would agree? In her experience, zero. They would likely just continue to influence the human race with post-hypnotic suggestion and there really wasn't any need for that, right?

The Doctor caught Alex's praise and beamed, even though he was pretty sure he didn't really deserve it. He didn't like committing genocide, but in this case, he felt it was necessary. "You just raised an army against yourself, and now, for a thousand generations, you're going to be ordering them to destroy you every day. How fast can you run? Because today's the day the human race throw you off your planet. They won't even know they're doing it. I think, quite possibly, the word you're looking for right now is, oops."

But the Silence hardly looked amused. In fact, they looked furious. Alex's eyes widened and she started thrashing around again, desperate to be free, as the Silence stared advancing on the Doctor.

"Run!" the Doctor cried, hastily backing up as above them, electricity started building. "Guys, I mean us. Run!"

Beams of light began shooting down, the Silence angrily screeching at their plans having been thwarted. River immediately sprang into action, firing her blaster at them while the Doctor just flashed the sonic around. What he was doing wasn't clear to Alex, but she imagined he was trying to be useful in some way.

"I can't get her out!" Rory shouted as he struggled with Amy's straps.

"Go! Go!" Amy cried. There was no way she wanted to see him dead! Again.

"We are not leaving without you!"

"Look, will you just get your stupid face out of here!"

"Run!" River shouted at them when she saw they hadn't gone anywhere. She shot another Silence. "Into the TARDIS, quickly!"

Hearing the Ponds' predicament, the Doctor flashed his screwdriver at Amy's restraints. The straps fell off her and Rory immediately sprang up to help her down. The two raced through the gunfire and blasts of electricity all the way into the TARDIS.

"Doctor!" Alex wailed as she struggled with her restraints. Unable to actually force herself out of them, she was trying to free a hand so she could use it to work her sonic necklace on the straps. Unfortunately, the Silence were skilled knot-tiers. These straps were practically unbreakable.

The Doctor instantly sprinted forwards and over to her side. Once beside her, he wasted no time in flashing his sonic over the straps. Alex shook her arms as the straps fell away, reaching out for the Doctor. He guided her arms around his neck as he lifted her out of the chair. Without pausing to put her down, he raced over to the TARDIS door and set her down inside.

"I'll hug you properly later," he promised.

"I'll hold you to it, Doc," Alex smiled.

Once Alex had ducked inside, the Doctor ran back over to River. "Don't let them build to full power," he warned her, flashing the sonic around.

River rolled her eyes. "I know! There's a reason why I'm shooting, honey! What are you doing?"

"Helping!" he replied as they pressed their backs against each-other.

"You've got a screwdriver! Go build a cabinet!"

"That's really rude!"

"Shut up and drive!"

Deciding to obey River before she shot him, the Doctor ran into the TARDIS. In the Silence control room, River kept firing, spinning around in a circle like a graceful ballerina, killing Silence every which way. Once she had done a full circle, she crouched down, checking to see if all of the aliens had actually been taken out. Behind her, Rory slowly opened the TARDIS door and peeked out.

River straightened up and spun the blaster on her finger before tucking it into her holster. "My old fella didn't see that, did he?" she asked, not even turning around. "He gets ever so cross."

Hardly your 'fella', Rory thought, but didn't say. There was something he'd been wondering about River and now seemed like as good a time as any to ask it. "So, what kind of doctor are you?" he asked as River turned round to face him.

"Archeology," she answered . . . right as a Silent jumped up behind her. But before Rory could call out a warning, she pulled the blaster out and, without turning back, shot and killed the creature. She tucked the blaster back into her holster and strode up to the TARDIS door. "Love a tomb," she beamed, then calmly headed inside.

She darted up the stairs and over to the console. The Doctor, seeing this, cried, "You can let me fly it!"

Beside him, Alex snorted. Though she didn't care much for River, she'd be the first to admit that the woman was much better at flying the TARDIS than the Doctor was. "Or we could get where we're supposed to," she challenged.

"Thank you, Ally," River remarked as she started pressing buttons on the console.

"River, how many times have I told you not to call me Ally?"

Across the platform, Amy observed the three, chuckling slightly at River and Alex's bickering. As she was laughing, Rory stepped up beside her. Amy looked over at him and, noticing the awestruck look on his face, asked, "What's the matter with you?"

"You called me stupid."

"I always call your stupid."

"No, but my face." He held up the nanorecorder.

Amy looked at it, then back up at him. "You heard me?" she breathed.

Rory smiled at her. "I always hear you. And just for the record? I know you love me. Alex didn't need to reassure me of that."

"That's good," Amy giggled, beaming like an idiot. She stepped closer to him and wrapped her arms around his neck before pulling him into a long kiss.

"Thanks," Rory smiled once they came up for air.

"You're welcome," Amy replied. She quickly pulled him back for another kiss. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Alex watching them, smiling away like the cat that ate the canary.

Now if we can only get her together with the Doctor, Amy mused as she deepened the kiss with her husband.

~The Pros and Cons of Silence~

A/N: So Alex got kidnapped by the Silence along with Amy and . . . something happened to her while in captivity. What did the Silence do to her? Like I warned you guys, a lot more questions before we get answers. :}

Notes on reviews. . .

ShadowTeir - Oh, yeah, I remember now that where you live, because of the time zones, you get two chapters a day instead of one, though I'm happy to hear you don't mind the schedule. :) So glad you liked the chapters! Yep, Alex is different with the Silence because of her mind. Lol, yeah, the jealousy in the third chapter is pretty funny! I did want to make Alex feel sorry for River, because what the latter does go through is pretty difficult, getting to know someone only to go back through their timeline with them always knowing you less the further back you go. But yes, River is still being pretty bitchy and Alex isn't going to forget that. Haha, yeah, I loved writing Rory's thoughts! He really got the gist of things, I think. Alex's twinges do have to do with Amy, but she's not necessarily picking up on the fact that Amy is currently Ganger Amy. You've got some good guesses regarding the 'it should have been you' line. Won't say if any of them are right, though. :) I can state that the Silence were not responsible for the boat accident Alex and her parents were in. We are, however, delving more into Alex's family history in this story so we'll see if Malcolm and Daphne could have been immune to the Silence or not. :) Haha, I loved writing the Bobby Dean part! It was a bit frightening but at the same time, contrasted so well to the world-wide danger going on. :)

SopherGopherroxursox - Interesting guesses! I will say that no one was taken at the lake or the White House. Not commenting on if Kovarian wants a Dalex baby or not. :) Hope you liked the chapter! :)

NicoleR85 - Glad you enjoyed the chapter and I hope you enjoy this one! :)

Jojo - I'm happy to hear you loved the chapter! No, as you can see, despite her best efforts, Alex did not save Amy from getting rekidnapped by the Silence (which, frankly, never made sense to me. If they know she's the Ganger, why do they take her?). In answer to your question, the series established that Amy was taken and replaced with a Ganger before 'The Impossible Astronaut', so sometime before the sixth series started. :)

Serena - It wasn't easy. I had to do a lot of Google image searching before I finally found a dress that was red and black like I described. Basically, once I found a red and black mod dress, I just put in it, lol. Glad you like the dress! :)

bored411 - Yep, things are getting a lot more mysterious and crazy. Hope you enjoyed the chapter! :)

fangirl0012345 - Lol, I'm glad to know you liked the chapter so much! Hope you enjoyed this one too! :)

Thank you to everyone who reviewed, followed and/or favorited this story! Please review and see you tomorrow! :)