A/N: Alex's outfit for this chapter can be viewed on my Tumblr, under the name 'darksideofparis'.
~The Pros and Cons of Silence~
"This is hell!" Alex wailed a few minutes later as Amy and Rory dragged her up on deck to help. "This is absolute hell!"
The scene up top certainly did seem to be Alex's personal hell, what with the plethora of water and all. Heavy rain pounded down on the deck, making everything wet and slick. Within seconds of stepping onto the deck, everyone was completely soaked. Not that this seemed to be bothering anyone other than Alex though. Avery was currently hanging onto a rope for some strange reason, while Amy and Rory pulled Alex over to the middle of the ship, where the sails were located.
"To the rigging, you dogs!" Avery shouted at them. "Let go the sails!" He jumped down from the rope, a crazed look in his eyes. He appeared to be having fun in this godforsaken, effing weather. "Avast ye! Put the bunt into the slack of the clews!"
Amy and Rory turned hopefully to Alex, but the befuddled – and pissed-off and miserable – expression on her face told them she had as much understanding of what he was talking about as they did.
Knowing they had to do something, Amy started tugging on a pulley. "I swear he's making half this stuff up!" she declared, yelling over the roar of the wind and the constant rumbling of thunder overhead.
"Well, we're gonna need some kind of phrase book!" Rory shouted. He stumbled and nearly fell backwards. It may have been from the slick wood but was more than likely due to the fact that the Doctor had just taken the wheel of the ship, not necessarily a reassuring thing in this situation.
"Toby!" Avery called to his son as the boy stumbled his way up top. "Find my coat! My compass is inside it, boy!" Once Toby started making his way over to a chest, Avery shouted in the Ponds and Alex's direction, "Heave ho, you bilge rats!"
"Rats was all I could hear!" Rory yelled.
"Did he just call us rats?" Alex wondered, shouting like the rest of them. She was currently gripping onto a beam that held up one of the sails. Her nails dug into the damp wood, and she tried to calm her out-of-control breathing. Her body hadn't been this wet since the night of the boating accident. It was a big shock to her system.
But she didn't focus on this for long. Just as she was hoping and praying that she didn't break out into hives or something, a clang rang out behind her. She whirled around to see a large, jeweled crown rolling across the deck, away from Toby, who had apparently discovered it, before finally falling down flat at the edge of the ship. A split second later, a green arm shot out of the crown's reflective surface. A moment later, the Siren fully popped out. She flew through the air and over to Toby. Her hand was held out and her haunting, hypnotic song echoed through the air, sounding surprisingly loud over the roaring thunder and thrashing waves.
"Don't let her take you!" Avery shouted in horror. He raced down from the upper portion of the deck to get to his son. But it was too late. Toby, completely hypnotized and entranced, walked towards the Siren. "No!" Avery leapt forwards but by this point, Toby was already in the Siren's hold. He reached out and touched her. A second later, he burst into ashes. "NO!"
The Doctor sprinted down from the wheel. Snatching up the crown, he hurled it out into the pulsating waves, causing the Siren to disappear. He turned and glared at Avery, who, in his defense, looked rather remorseful and horrified.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Avery gasped, sounding truly regretful. He fell to his knees, tears streaming down his face.
Alex hesitantly let go of the beam to walk over to them. She was just as angry as the Doctor. Did a bunch of treasure really take precedence to Avery's own son?! Toby was so sweet and caring, and now he was dead. An angry thrum ran though Alex's veins, steadily increasing until it felt like there was an all-out hurricane inside her.
"You couldn't give up the gold, could you?!" the Doctor shouted. "That's why you turned pirate! Your commission, your wife, your son!"
"Just how much is that treasure worth to you?!" Alex demanded. "He was your son! He should've been your first priority!"
But before they could continue their berating, something horrible happened. As the Doctor and Alex were yelling at Avery, Amy was holding Rory back, the man having quickly gone under the Siren's trance when she appeared. He was still thrashing around to try and get to her, even though she was no longer in sight. Amy struggled to hold him back, but it wasn't easy without Alex there to help her. To make matters worse, the rain was making her hands slick and slippery. It was just the advantage Rory needed. He broke free of Amy's grasp and ran to the side of the ship. Right then, a sail broke its hold. The beam swung around, hitting Rory in the chest, and throwing him off the ship.
"RORY!" Amy screamed. She ran to the side of the ship and peered down into the water. "Rory! I can't see him! Doctor? I'm going in!"
"No!" Alex cried, immediately grabbing hold of Amy and pulling her back before the young woman could so much as get a foot over the side.
"He's drowning," the Doctor told her. "He's drowning! You go in after him, you'll drown too! There's only one thing that can save him now."
"What are you talking about?!" Amy demanded.
"The Siren. The Siren, she wants him. We have to release her." He hurried over to a barrel of water.
"Doctor, no!" Amy cried.
But he didn't listen. Instead, he soniced the lid open and pulled it off. The Siren flew straight up into the air. The Doctor pointed to the ocean. "He's drowning!" he called up. "Go find him!" Without a second thought, the Siren turned and dove into the water.
"What, what did you do?!" Amy shrieked as the Doctor replaced the lid.
"If he stays in there, he'll die."
"But she'll destroy him!"
"That thing isn't just a ravenous hunter. It's intelligent."
Alex gazed at him, seeing where he was heading with this. "You think we can reason with it?" She wasn't really sure about that, but stranger things had happened.
The Doctor nodded. "And maybe, just maybe, they're still alive somewhere. We have to follow."
"Are you mad?" Avery cried.
"Very," Alex told him.
The Doctor ignored her. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the nail Avery had nearly injured himself on. "If we ever want to see them again, we have to let the Siren take us. We'll prick our fingers. All agreed? Yeah?"
Avery looked a little hesitant, but after a moment, nodded. "Aye."
"Aye," Amy agreed.
"Aye," Alex chimed in. She trusted the Doctor with her life, and she knew he wouldn't be going through with this if he didn't have a really, really strong suspicion that nothing horrible was going to happen.
"Aye then." The Doctor immediately set to work, pricking Avery and Amy's fingers and then his own. He was quite grateful that he didn't have to prick Alex's. He never wanted to cause her physical pain . . . other than the hickeys, of course. That was okay.
Amy frowned at him as he pocketed the nail. "What about Alex?" She figured the Doctor would be hesitant in pricking Alex's finger, but the brunette was quite capable of doing it herself. Actually, that was what Amy was expecting her friend to do.
"She doesn't need it," the Doctor murmured, wrapping an arm around Alex's shoulders. Alex leaned into him and wordlessly lifted the hand with the black spot on it.
Amy gasped. She opened her mouth to question the two, but before she could get anything out of her mouth, the Siren appeared. She opened her mouth and her haunting song poured out. The four offered their hands to her. Alex glanced around at the others. They all looked glassy-eyed and awestruck, just like that crewman and Rory had been. But Alex didn't feel the song's effects getting to her at all. There was a slight twinge in the back of her mind, but she could feel her mental barriers keeping it out.
That didn't seem to deter the Siren though. She reached out her arm to touch them, and the group disappeared in a brilliant white light.
~The Pros and Cons of Silence~
Alex groaned as she woke up and blinked wearily. Getting transported by the Siren was almost as bad as getting transported by vortex manipulator. At least she didn't feel nauseous.
She rolled over onto her side and found herself face-to-face with the Doctor. He was lying on his back, a pained expression on his face. "Remind me to book an appointment with a chiropractor after this," he muttered.
Alex laughed, remembering when he said the same thing after they jumped up onto the Byzantium. "Yeah? Okay, but you owe me big for dragging me into a water-infested adventure. I'll take diamonds, chocolate, and a Russian Blue kitten."
"No cats," the Doctor grimaced. "I will gladly give you any amount of chocolate you want . . . maybe with a bit more of what I promised I'd give you before we came here if you're good."
"I'm always good!"
"Let's not get carried away. . ."
"Oi!" Amy cried. The two turned their heads to see Amy and Avery lying next to them, the former looking rather exasperated. "Can you two please stop flirting for five seconds so we can find my husband?"
The Doctor and Alex cringed. She was right. They couldn't flirt. Finding and rescuing Rory was a hell of a lot more important. "Sorry," they simultaneously apologized.
"Thank you. Now where are we?"
"We haven't moved," the Doctor revealed. "We're in exactly the same place as before." He pushed himself to his feet, then reached down to pull Alex up. Once she was standing, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and steered her over to a large window, Avery and Amy getting up behind them. Alex marveled at the view. The window looked out onto the ship. It was still storming outside, and several items were getting blown and knocked around by the wind.
Avery came up and peered out the window. "We're on a ghost ship," he breathed.
"No, it's not," Alex corrected.
"It's real," the Doctor jumped in. "Spaceship trapped in a temporal rift."
Amy's brow furrowed in confusion. "How can two ships be in the same place?"
"Not the same. Two planes, two worlds, two cars parked in the same space. There are lots of different universes nested inside each-other. Now and again, they collide, and you can step from one to the other."
Amy nodded. "Okay, I think I understand."
"Good, because it's not like that at all. But if that helps."
Amy and Alex looked at each-other and rolled their eyes. "Thanks," they said together.
The Doctor ignored them. All of his attention was captured by the window. "All the reflections have suddenly become gateways," he mused. He reached down, picked up a piece of metal, and tossed it at the window. Instead of the glass shattering, the object went right through it, landing on the deck of the pirate ship. "Ever look in a mirror and think you're seeing a whole other world? Well, this time it's not an illusion."
Beep, beep!
The group whirled around, the Doctor leading the way as they tried to locate the source of the beeping. "The signal?" Alex guessed.
"Yes."
"The distress call?" Amy checked.
"Uh huh."
"There was a second ship here all this time."
A familiar singing then rang out. Alex shuffled closer to the Doctor, knowing that the Siren wanted her. "And the Siren is onboard," she muttered.
The Doctor latched a protective arm around her waist and pulled her close to his side. Nothing was going to get his Ally if he could help it. With his other hand, he reached out and pushed a button on a door in front of them. It opened to reveal a dead creature in a spacesuit.
Alex yelped, the Doctor hurriedly pushing her behind him as Amy and Avery jumped back. Avery whipped out his gun, only for the Doctor to put his hand out and lower it. "Dead," he announced. He stepped forward and studied the skeleton. The alien looked like a cross between an oversized rat and an equally ginormous beaver. It was dressed in a futuristic spacesuit with the letters D.I.H.S. on it.
The Doctor took Alex's hand and carefully led her past the alien, keeping her as close to him as possible to prevent her from touching it. Alex used her other hand to cover her mouth and nose. Based on the smell the alien was letting off, it had been here since, oh, the time of the Black Plague.
The group walked into a large control room. A circle of controls sat in the middle of the dark room while several windows decorated the walls, all of them looking into the captain's cabin. Also in the room was another alien skeleton, sitting in a chair next to the controls. Like the first one, it wore a spacesuit. While the Doctor pulled Alex over to examine it, Amy and Avery looked out the windows.
"You were right," Amy remarked. "There was something staring at us the whole time. How long has this ship been marooned here?"
"Long enough for the captain to have run out of grog," Avery quipped, nodding to the skeleton the Doctor and Alex were currently sonicing.
"I don't understand." Amy turned to the Doctor and Alex, the pair still scanning the alien. "If this is the captain, then what's the Siren?"
"Same as us," the Doctor guessed. "A stowaway."
"She killed it?"
"Nope, human bacteria," Alex announced. She examined the results on her sonic necklace. "It was a virus from Earth. To be more specific, influenza. Since influenza's airborne, I'm guessing it traveled through the portal into here. That's what killed it." She returned the necklace charm to her collarbone and looked over at the Doctor. To her surprise, he was smiling at her. "What?"
"Nothing," the Doctor dismissed, still grinning away. "Although that was quite impressive, Ally."
Alex blushed. "It wasn't a big deal," she mumbled bashfully. Secretly, she was quite happy that she had managed to make him proud of her. It seemed like a much bigger thing to make a fuss over now that they were a couple.
"Maybe not to you," the Doctor said, coming up to her and brushing her bangs to the side so that he could look into her light green eyes, "but it was to me. It made me realize even more how glad I was I gave you a sonic necklace."
Alex giggled. Christ, she really wished she could pull him down and kiss him. Well, she could if she wanted to. Nothing was stopping her other than her desire to keep the wool over Amy and Rory's eyes for a little while. Still, it might be fun to see the stunned expression on the redhead's face when they finally came up for air. Maybe she would even faint!
But before Alex could do any of this, someone cleared their throat. With slightly sour expressions on their faces, the Doctor and Alex turned to Amy. As usual, she had interrupted them.
I really need to get on building that companion muzzle, the Doctor thought. It'd save him and Alex a whole lot of trouble and interruptions.
Amy stared at them. It wasn't like these two to get so off-track like this, but they'd been doing this all day! It was really weird. "Virus on aliens?" she reminded them, even nodding at the skeleton to get her point across.
The Doctor sighed. He knew she was right. "Yes," he said, pocketing the sonic screwdriver as he walked around the controls. "Influenza virus, that's what killed it." He pressed a hand to the controls. "Didn't get its jabsssss . . . urgh!" He grimaced and yanked his hand off the controls, right out of the slime he'd accidentally put it in. "Look," he said, holding out his hand and revealing the slime on it.
Amy and Alex backed away, disgusted. "What is it?" Amy sneered.
"Sneeze! Alien bogies!" He shook his hand, flicking some of the slime off, before crossing over to Amy and wiping the rest on her jacket. Amy shuddered, looking positively horrified. As the Doctor walked off, she glared darkly at his back.
Alex chuckled a little and hastened to catch up with him. She was about to grab his hand, but quickly reconsidered. Better make sure he washes those hands before he kisses me again. "Careful, Doc," she murmured. "You'd better sleep with one eye open tonight."
"Alex, I don't need to sleep for another two weeks."
"Better not let Amy know that," Alex said, glancing back at her friend. Amy was still shooting daggers at the Doctor's jacket. If looks could kill, the Siren would be having a field day with the Doctor's body right now.
They went a little further into the spaceship until they finally reached a large room. The walls and floor were slightly dark with gauzy white curtains hanging at random intervals. Several tables hung from the ceiling, each holding an unconscious male occupant. All of the occupants were dressed in only a pair of pants while a tube was wrapped around each of their throats, stretching upwards into the ceiling.
"Legraw!" Avery suddenly cried out as the others looked around the room in shock. "He's one of my men."
Amy went over to examine Legraw. "He's still breathing," she reported, seeing the rising and falling of his chest.
"My entire crew is here!" Avery spun in a circle, marveling at all of this, until he spotted one particular figure on a table across the room. "Toby!" he cried, rushing over to his son's side.
"Amy, look!" Alex exclaimed. She tugged on Amy's sleeve and pointed to a table a little ways away, holding another familiar man.
"Rory!" Amy gasped. She and Alex immediately ran over to Rory's side. To their relief, the man was still breathing, not showing any signs of nearly drowning.
"The TARDIS!" the Doctor cheered when he spotted the time machine behind some curtains. He ran over and kissed the door before falling back against it in relief.
"We have to get him out of here," Avery said.
"Wait!" The Doctor hurried over to him and pulled out the sonic. He gave Toby a quick scan. His brow furrowed at the results. "His fever's gone," he revealed.
"What?" Alex cried. How could that be possible? Toby had typhoid fever, not something easily curable in this time period. She glanced down at Rory before lifting her necklace charm up and running it over him.
"He looks so well," Amy observed.
"She's keeping him alive," the Doctor deduced, racing over to them. He turned to Alex, now examining the results of her scan. "Anything?"
Alex nodded. "His brain is still active, but all cellular decay is suspended."
The Doctor lifted a black block he had acquired a few moments ago. He held it out to Alex. "It's not a curse, it's a tissue sample," he explained as Amy and Alex studied the yellow spot on it. The Doctor frowned in thought. "Why get samples of people you're about to kill?"
"Maybe she's not planning on killing them?" Alex suggested. "Either that or she's creating clones."
"Help me get him up," Amy requested. The Doctor and Alex quickly moved to unstrap Rory, but the Siren's song began playing just a little ways away. Rory stirred, his eyes fluttering, and a series of beeping began coming out of some the equipment monitoring him.
"She's coming!" the Doctor hissed. He grabbed Alex, the two and Amy running and hiding behind some monitors. Avery rushed over to join them, hiding behind a panel.
The group tensely watched as the Siren came floating in. She went over to Rory, who was now wide awake. Rory struggled, trying to get away from her and out of his tube, but the Siren simply continued singing. She placed a hand on his chest. Within a few moments, Rory was fast asleep.
"Anesthetic," Alex murmured in realization.
"What?" Avery whispered, unfamiliar with that medical terminology.
"The music," the Doctor clarified. "The song. So she anesthetizes people and puts their body in stasis."
And then the Siren went over to Toby.
The Doctor happened to look over at Avery and saw him pull his gun out. Why didn't I take that thing away from him?! "Avery, no!"
But Avery didn't listen. Instead, he jumped out and fired at the Siren.
The Siren whirled around, turning from green to red in the blink of an eye. Hissing and screeching, she stalked towards him, her red devil eyes practically promising pain. The Doctor ran out of his hiding spot, hoping he could stop her. As he was running around a table with one of Avery's crewmembers on it, he sneezed. The Siren's attention switched to him She whirled around and screeched. A moment later, a brilliant red fire appeared in-between her hands.
"Fire!" the Doctor gasped, his eyes wide.
Across the room, Alex watched, terrified, as the Siren got closer to him. She had half a mind to run over there, but she knew the Doctor wouldn't want her to do that.
"That's new," the Doctor stuttered. He ran a hand through his hair as he struggled to figure out why the Siren was coming after him. He backed away, trying to keep as much distance between him and the angry creature as possible. "What does fire do? Burn? Yes. Destroy? What else?"
"Sterilize!" Alex cried just as she figured this out.
"Sterilize!" the Doctor shouted in agreement. He stuck a hand in his pocket, madly digging around for a tissue as the Siren continued to come at him with her big ball of fire. He absently mused that he really needed to clean this garment out sometime. He had too much stuff in the pockets. "I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I sneezed!" he stuttered as he finally managed to locate a tissue. "I've brought germs in!" Once he blew his nose, he hurled the tissue to the floor. The Siren seized on it, shooting the fire in her hands out to burn the wet rag.
The Doctor breathed a sigh of relief that he was no longer going to get killed, but then saw that Amy had run across the room back to Rory and was in the process of trying to remove his tube. "Amy, stop!" he cried as the Siren turned around and strode towards her. "Don't interfere! Don't touch him! Anesthetic, tissue sample, screen, sterile working conditions. . . Ignore all my previous theories!"
"Yeah, well, we stopped paying attention a while back!" Amy snapped, ignoring his instructions and continuing to try and free Rory.
Alex darted over and pulled Amy back. "She's not a killer at all!" she shouted in time with the Doctor. "She's a doctor!"
Amy looked at them in shock. Seeing that she was no longer trying to tamper with her patient, the Siren calmed down and turned back to green.
"This is an automated sickbay," the Doctor explained as he looked around, admiring everything. "It's teleporting everyone on board."
"With the crew dead, the sickbay hasn't had anything to do," Alex added.
"It's been looking after humanity whilst it's been idle. Look at her!" the Doctor exclaimed. "A virtual doctor able to sterilize a whole room!"
"Able to burn your face off," Amy reminded him.
He merely waved this off. "She's just an interface, seeped through the join between the planes, broadcast in our world. Protean circuitry means she can change her form and become a human doctor for humans." He beamed at the Siren. "Oh, sister, you are good!"
Amy pulled out of Alex's grasp and went over to try and remove Rory's tube again. The Siren immediately turned red and snarled at her. Amy jumped back and the Siren switched back to green.
"She won't let us take them," Avery surmised as he went over to Toby.
"She's keeping them alive, but she doesn't know how to heal them," the Doctor realized.
"I'm his wife, for God's sake!" Amy snapped. "Why can't I touch him?!"
The Doctor considered this. Just a few seconds later, an idea came to him. "Tell her, Amy. Show her your ring." He grabbed Amy and Rory's left hands and held them up before the Siren, showing her the matching rings. "She may be virtual, but she's intelligent. You can't do anything without her consent." He looked at the Siren. She was simply staring at the rings. "Come on. Sophisticated girl like you, that must be somewhere in your core program."
"Look, he's very ill, okay?" Amy pleaded. "I just want to look after him." Tears pooled in her eyes as the Siren continued to do nothing. "Why won't you let me near my husband?"
Alex tensely watched the Siren consider Amy's words. Finally, a spark of recognition went off as the Siren tilted her head. She held out her hand to Amy, a golden ring of light appearing around it.
"I'm guessing that's the consent form," Alex murmured.
The Doctor nodded. "Sign it," he told Amy, who was eyeing the ring apprehensively. "Put your hand in the light. Rory's sick. You have to take full responsibility."
This spurred Amy on. She stuck out her hand and placed it through the ring. Once she did, the Siren disappeared. Without wasting any time, Amy rushed over to Rory and began unstrapping him, the Doctor and Alex stepping in to help. As the Doctor and Alex fumbled with the tubes, Amy hit a button on a panel next to the bed. Rory suddenly jerked up, eyes wide, gasping and wheezing for breath.
"He can't breathe!" the Doctor cried. "Turn it back on!"
Amy quickly hit the button and Rory fell back to the table, unconscious. "What do we do?" she asked. "I can't just leave him here."
"He'll die if we take him out," Alex said. "He was drowning."
Amy ran a hand through Rory's hair. She leaned down and whispered in his ear. "Rory? Rory, wake up."
Rory stirred, his eyes slowly opening. He looked around in shock, taking in his strange, unfamiliar surroundings. "Where am I?"
"You're in a hospital," the Doctor explained calmly. "If you leave, you might die."
Alex frowned at him. A split second later, she whacked the back of his head.
"Ow!" the Doctor cried, shooting her a glare. "What was that for?!"
"Was that really the only way you could tell him that?" Alex cried, giving him an identical glare back.
"Both of you shut it," Amy ordered, not even taking her eyes off Rory. "The Doctor's right," she admitted when the Doctor and Alex had quieted. "But if you don't, you'll have to stay forever."
"You're saying that if I don't get up now. . ."
"You can never leave," Amy finished.
"The Siren will keep you safe," the Doctor added.
Rory struggled to comprehend this. "And if I come with you. . ."
"Drowning on the point of death," Alex said quietly.
Rory was silent for a moment as he thought this all over. Then he looked at Amy. "I'm a nurse."
Amy blinked. What did that have to do with anything? "What?"
"I can teach you how to save me."
"Whoa! Hold on."
"I was drowning. You just have to resuscitate me."
Amy gave an incredulous laugh. "Just?"
"You've seen them do it loads of times in films. CPR. The kiss of life."
Amy blinked back an onslaught of tears. "Rory, this isn't a film, okay? What if I do it wrong?"
"You won't," he insisted.
"Okay, but what if you don't come back to life? What if—"
"I trust you." He took her hand and squeezed it reassuringly.
"What about them?" Amy asked, nodding at the Doctor and Alex. "I mean, why do I have to be the one? Why do I have to save you?"
Rory smiled at her. "Because I know you'll never give up." Amy sniffled and brightened slightly at that. "And," Rory went on, "I know for a fact that Alex skipped all of the health fairs her high school offered."
"Hey!" Alex cried, shooting him a dirty look.
"Not my fault you don't know CPR!" Rory shot back.
"In my defense, I didn't think I was ever going to need to know any of it!" At the time, ditching the all-day health fair to go make-out with Ryder Lewis in Lover's Lane or go to Lexington with Lacey seemed like very good ideas.
"Okay," Amy interrupted, chuckling a little at their banter. "What do I need to do?"
As Rory started to explain the basics of CPR, the Doctor and Alex walked over to Avery. The pirate was staring down at his son, worry in his eyes, the kind of worry that only a parent could project. Alex smiled slightly. It looked as though Avery had finally realized how important his son was.
"We have to send this ship back into space," the Doctor told them. "Imagine if the Siren got ashore. She would have to process every injured human."
"What about Toby?" Avery asked.
The Doctor sighed sadly. "I'm sorry."
"Typhoid fever," Alex revealed, her voice quiet and morose. She looked at Toby sadly. "Once he returns, it's only a matter of time."
Avery was silent for a moment. "What if I stay with him, here?" he proposed. "The Siren will look after him. I can't go back to England. And what home does he have now, if not with me?"
"Do you think you can sail this thing?" the Doctor asked.
Avery offered him a wry grin. "Just point me towards the atom accelerator."
The Doctor laughed and clapped the man on the back while Alex tilted her head, wondering what they were talking about. Probably something that happened aboard the TARDIS, she guessed as the duo wandered back over to the Ponds.
"I know you can do this," Rory was telling Amy as they approached. "Of course, if you muck it up, I am going to be really cross. And dead."
"You'll be fine, Amy," Alex assured her. "You're the most stubborn person I know."
Amy smiled slightly. She sniffled a little and ran her fingertips over Rory's cheek. "I'll see you in a minute," she vowed. Rory nodded in agreement and lay his head back against the table. Once he was ready, the Doctor, Amy, and Alex set to work ripping the tube and straps off him. Rory gasped for breath as the Doctor and Amy set his arms around their shoulders and hauled him to the TARDIS. The moment they placed him on the floor, Amy dropped to her knees and began a series of five compressions and a breath.
Alex shut the TARDIS door and hurried over to the Doctor. He was crouched on the floor, watching the scene before him with a hopeful expression. Without a word, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, tugging her to him.
They tensely watched Amy breathe into Rory's mouth. Nothing happened. Panicked, Amy turned to look at them. The Doctor and Alex nodded encouragingly. Amy turned back to Rory and did another round of compressions and a breath. Nothing.
"Come on, come on, Rory," the Doctor chanted as Amy did another round. "Not here, not this way, not today!"
Five more compressions, another breath.
Nothing.
"He trusted me!" Amy wailed. Tears flowed down her face, falling into her mouth and hair. "He trusted me to save him!"
"You still can!" Alex insisted. Amy couldn't give up now!
"You can still do this," the Doctor agreed. "He believes in you."
"And he's not the only one," Alex added. "Come on, Amy! Come on!"
Reinvigorated by their praise and encouragement, Amy started the compressions again. She pounded Rory's chest hard, like she was trying to physically shove life back into him. Once the compressions were done, she bent down and gave him a breath of air.
Nothing.
"No!" she sobbed, continuing to pound on Rory's chest. She sucked in a large breath and blew it into Rory's mouth. The Doctor and Alex watched, their hope quickly dwindling as Rory failed to move.
"Please, please, please wake up!" Amy begged Rory's unconscious body. She did another series of compressions. "Wake up! Wake up! Come on, come on!"
But even after she breathed into him, there was no movement from Rory.
Amy broke down in tears. The Doctor fell back on his heels, the hope on his face turning into weariness and melancholy. Alex broke out of his grasp and crawled over to hug Amy. Amy buried her head in Alex's hair, feeling a few drops of water land on her neck as Alex softly cried.
But then, a miracle.
A sudden gasping, coughing sound attracted everyone's attention. Rory was on his side, hacking up water. Amy looked on in shock for all of two seconds before breaking free of Alex's arms and launching herself at her husband. As she helped him up, the Doctor sprang to his feet and went over to help Alex up. Alex shuddered and threw herself at him in a tight hug.
"Please no more ships," she begged. It seemed that every time she was on a ship, somebody drowned or almost did. First her parents and herself near enough, and now Rory. She wasn't willing to go for a third.
The Doctor pressed his lips to the top of her head. "Never," he promised. If he ever received a distress signal from another ship stuck in water, he wouldn't go near it . . . or he'd just leave Alex in the TARDIS and refrain from telling her about it. Either would do.
"Amy," Rory breathed, smiling at his wife as she continued to hold onto him, afraid to let him go. "Amy, you did it! You did it!" He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly as Amy sobbed tears of relief into his shoulder.
The Doctor and Alex kindly stood aside, respecting their moment.
~The Pros and Cons of Silence~
A little while later, the Doctor had piloted them into the time vortex, far away from the pirate ship and the Siren sickbay. No one had really wanted to stick around the ship longer than necessary. The Doctor had showed Avery the basics of the spaceship, then hurried off. He wanted to get Alex as far away from the ship as possible and kiss her senseless in apology as soon as the Ponds went off to bed.
Luckily for him, the experience of one of them nearly dying had drained the Ponds. Rory, wrapped in a blue bathrobe the TARDIS had provided, headed up the stairs, partially assisted by Amy. The Doctor was by the console, looking at something on the scanner, while Alex was sprawled out on the jumpseat, pretending to read an issue of Harper's Bazaar. Needing to get the salt-water stench off her as soon as possible, she had showered and changed into a sky blue, short-sleeved shirt that showed off her hickeys and assets (at least in her opinion), a pair of matching sky blue and black plaid pajama pants, and white socks. Casual, but cute and attractive enough to get the Doctor's attention.
She glanced up at Amy and Rory, seeing that they were still only on the third step of the staircase. Jesus, go to bed already! she mentally shouted. She wanted to be in the Doctor's arms again so badly. She wanted to stretch up on tiptoe and kiss him, have him back her up onto the console . . . and she really needed to focus on pretending to read Nicole Kidman's interview before she did something potentially embarrassing. Not necessarily for her, but for Amy and Rory.
"I thought I was an excellent pirate," Amy remarked as she and Rory finally began heading up the stairs at a faster pace.
Rory smiled cheekily. "I thought you were an excellent nurse."
"Easy, tiger," Amy laughed, blushing slightly as she turned to look back at the Doctor and Alex. "Night, Alex. Goodnight, Doctor."
The Doctor took a quick glance away from the monitor to address her. "Goodnight, Amelia."
Amy frowned. "You only call me Amelia when you're worrying about me."
"I always worry about you," the Doctor dismissed, fiddling with a knob on the scanner.
Amy eyed him for one long moment, remembering the shooting at Lake Silencio. "Mutual."
The Doctor glanced over at Alex. She seemed pretty absorbed in her magazine, but he knew better. He turned back to Amy. "Go to bed, Pond," he commanded, hoping that this would spur her into leaving so that he could finally get back to what he was doing with and to Alex before the distress signal came.
Over the top of her magazine, Alex watched Amy shake her head fondly before continuing up the stairs. At the top, she saw Rory whisper into Amy's ear and then Amy whisper back. It was probably romantic murmurings, but Alex doubted it. She didn't ponder it though. She was trying to put Lake Silencio and its events out of her mind. She should be focusing on the present, not a future that was years and years away.
But it was easier said than done.
Stop thinking about that, Alexandria Nicole! she snapped to herself. She needed to focus on more important things . . . namely that Amy and Rory had now completely exited the control room, leaving her and the Doctor alone.
There was silence for a few moments. Alex put down her magazine and swung her legs over so that she was now sitting properly. She leaned forward, watching as the Doctor frowned at something on the scanner. "What're you looking at?" she asked.
The Doctor glanced at her. "Oh, nothing," he lied, taking another peek at Amy's pregnancy scan. It continued to flash back and forth between positive and negative. But that was something he could worry about later. He had more important things to concern himself with, namely the incredibly gorgeous brunette sitting just a few feet away from him. He switched the scanner off and sauntered around the console until he was standing directly in front of Alex.
"So. . ." he said, leaning against the console.
"So. . ." Alex copied, saying this in a low voice to try and imitate him.
The Doctor laughed slightly at her antics. "So . . . I believe I promised you a few things back on the ship."
"Diamonds, chocolate, and a Russian Blue kitten," Alex promptly recited. "But the diamonds are a bit difficult to get and we both know I'd have better luck getting you to destroy the space-time continuum than with you letting me get a cat."
"Very true," the Doctor agreed. "But I'm sure the TARDIS will be more than happy to accommodate you with the chocolate." A loud, affirming hum went off at this.
Alex giggled and slowly stood up. Nonchalantly, she strolled over to him. She leaned a hip against the console, just a few steps down from him. "Glad to hear that, but I seem to recall you promising to do something else to make it up to me, too."
The Doctor cocked his head in pretend thought. "I did, didn't I?"
"Yes." Her eyes glittered mischievously, turning from chocolate brown to copper.
"Although, in actuality, I said I'd only do it if you were good."
"I'm always good!"
"What did I say about getting carried away?" Alex rolled her eyes and the Doctor chuckled. "But you're right this time," he conceded.
"So you'll do that thing with my ear again?"
The Doctor's eyes grew dark, and he stepped closer. Alex eagerly watched him, not moving a millimeter due to the anticipation of what would happen next. He brushed a finger over her hair, tucking a few strands behind her ear. Then, he knelt down and took her earlobe into his mouth. Alex gasped and her head fell back, forcing the Doctor to cradle her jaw with both hands to keep her steady as he sucked at the lobe. He ran his tongue around her earring stud, kissing the top part of the stud lightly before moving on to the bridge of her ear. He ran his tongue up and down it before finally moving in and nibbling the already bruised skin, creating new marks atop the old ones.
Alex groaned as his breath hit her skin. She could feel her legs shaking. She wouldn't be able to stand upright for much longer. Sensing this, the Doctor's hands traveled down to her waist, keeping her still as he continued to lavish her ear with attention. He pulled her closer to him, his hands playing with the hem of her top. He wasn't going to pull it off or anything; no, he wanted to take this new relationship slow. When he and Alex were ready for that next step, he'd make sure she was treated just like the incredible, gorgeous girl she was.
He pulled back from her ear to study her face. He took great delight in the fact that Alex's mouth had gone slack, her breathing labored and intense. Her eyes were dark and unfocused, until they looked upon him. In an instant, they turned from glazed and clouded to dark, fixated forest green pools. He immediately opened his arms, allowing her to jump up into them. Her long legs wrapped around his waist as he clutched her fiercely, holding her to him like she was the only thing that mattered. He maneuvered her onto the console, a spot with no levers or switches suddenly appearing before him. Sending a mental thank-you to the TARDIS, he ran his fingers down her neck, gathering her hair in a loose ponytail and placing it behind her shoulders.
He gazed down at his handiwork on her neck, all her hickeys now bared to him. He had claimed her alright, all his teeth marks and nibbles and sucking showing her as his and only his. No one else would ever have a claim over her, not if he could help it.
"Like what you see, Doc?" Alex asked breathlessly.
"Very much so, Ally." He looked up into her dark eyes, the desire in them making his hearts beat faster at the realization he could make her so insatiable, so hungry for him. What she didn't know was that she did the same to him.
He leaned down and placed his lips upon hers. He kissed her slowly and languidly, not wanting to get too fast and rough yet. He wanted to show her just how much she meant to him. He couldn't say the l-word yet, but he did want to let her know that she was important to him, more than any of the others that had traveled with him. It was hard to convey in words, but the Doctor was a firm believer in actions speaking louder than words.
Alex went along with the gentle kiss for about a minute until her raw desire overpowered her. She grasped his still slightly damp jacket lapels, her fingernails digging into the tweed material. Using her tongue, she pried his mouth open and ran her tongue inside it. She scraped her tongue over his, causing his knees to buckle and his hands to delve into her slightly curly hair, how it always got whenever she first came out of the shower. She sucked at his bottom lip, emitting a groan from the centuries-old Time Lord. His hands fisted in her hair, and he tugged her closer to him, if that was even possible.
So caught up in their phenomenal kissing, they didn't hear footsteps ringing out just above them. "Sorry, Rory. I left that pirate hat down here and I need to get it before the Doctor gets hold of it. . ." Amy dashed down the stairs, her face aimed at the floor so as to watch her step. Rory was right behind her, his head down as well. "I think I put in on the jumpseat. . ." Amy looked up at the same time Rory did and her voice trailed off. Their eyes widened and their jaws dropped.
Right by the console were the Doctor and Alex, feverishly making out. As in actually, legitimately making out. Alex was seated on the console, her legs wrapped around the Doctor's waist. Her hands were clutching his jacket lapels while his were currently fisted in her hair, keeping her face nice and close to him. Their eyes were closed, and their lips and tongues were working tirelessly against each-other, going faster than the TARDIS ever did through the vortex.
"OH MY GOD!" Amy shrieked.
The Doctor and Alex jumped, yelping, and sprang apart at the sound of her voice. The Doctor almost fell as he stumbled backwards away from Alex. The two looked around, coming face-to-face with the astonished Ponds. The Doctor and Alex's eyes widened to the size of CD's.
"Wh-what?" the Doctor gasped, too breathless from kissing Alex to really get the word out.
Alex didn't say anything. She was too stunned by the fact that Amy and Rory were there gawking at them. She didn't even try to straighten her messy, tousled hair or tug down her shirt, which had bunched up slightly in the front.
"Oh my God, you were kissing!" Amy cried, quite unable to believe this fact. It had happened, it had finally happened! She pointed at Alex's neck. "I knew those weren't burns! Curling iron, my eye!"
"Um. . ." Alex panted for breath and attempted to hop off the console, but her legs had fallen asleep from being around the Doctor's waist for so long. She stumbled and grabbed hold of a lever. The Doctor was still too stunned by the Ponds' discovery to notice and rush to her aid.
"When did this happen?!" Rory gawked. It couldn't have been after Lake Silencio. They'd have noticed! Wouldn't they?
"Uh. . ." It rather amazed Alex at how slow her brain was working just because of the Doctor's kisses.
"Five hours, thirty-seven minutes, and. . ." The Doctor paused to check his watch. ". . .seventeen seconds ago."
Alex whirled around to look at him. "How do you know that?" she asked, somehow regaining her voice to ask this question.
"Time Lord, Ally. I have a connection to time."
"Seriously?!" Amy exclaimed. "And you didn't tell us?!"
"Well, it happened rather fast. . ." Alex stared at the Doctor, hoping he would jump in. However, he had gotten the sudden urge to start aggressively wiping the railing around the platform with his jacket. As if cleaning was the most important thing right now.
"I can't believe you didn't tell us!" Amy glared at them, the effect slightly spoiled by the grin threatening to crop up. "We've been trying to get you two together for almost a year now, and you went and did it on your own!"
"Ever heard of patience, Pond?" the Doctor muttered, continuing to wipe the railing at the exact same spot he'd been at a minute prior.
"Patience, my arse! You two are so bloody stubborn and would never admit it! Why the hell didn't you tell us?"
"Truthfully, we were hoping to keep it from you for a little while."
"Just to let ourselves adjust," Alex hastily clarified.
"Yeah," Rory scoffed. "You two were very subtle."
The Doctor and Alex didn't say anything to that. It wasn't like it wasn't true or anything.
There wasn't much else to say. Knowing it was time to leave, Amy dashed over and grabbed the pirate hat from where Alex had placed it under the jumpseat. "Well," she chattered, rushing back over to Rory and hauling him up the stairs, "we'll be going now! Get back to . . . what you were doing!"
Rory managed to plant his feet on one step before Amy could continue dragging him up. "Keep it clean!" he warned the Doctor, giving him a warning look. Amy rolled her eyes and snatched hold of his earlobe. Rory yelped as she yanked him up the stairs, pulling him into the corridor by his earlobe. The last thing the Doctor and Alex heard before they got out of earshot was a bunch of slaphappy giggling from Amy, followed by, "Idiot! What did you say that for?!"
Then all was quiet.
"Well," Alex said after a few moments. "That was fun."
"I hope you mean that sarcastically," the Doctor commented.
"Yes, Amy has the worst timing ever." Alex sighed, fixing her eyes up on the ceiling. "Has to ruin everything."
"Not necessarily," the Doctor argued. He walked back over to her. "We can still pick up where we left off if you want."
Alex was about to answer in the affirmative when she felt a fast hum run underneath her fingertips. She glanced down. To her surprise and bafflement, there was a small square of chocolate lying next to her hand. "Huh," she remarked, picking up the chocolate and pulling off the silver and blue wrapping. She held the piece up for the Doctor's inspection. "Guess the TARDIS is fulfilling her promise to me."
"You never know, you might find a whole cache of diamonds in your vanity," the Doctor joked.
Alex giggled and began to put the piece of chocolate in her mouth. Then an idea came to her. "Hey, Doc?" she said casually, holding the chocolate at her lips. "Come here."
The Doctor hastened to obey her, figuring she wanted to get back to their kissing. He was therefore surprised when she placed a hand on his shoulder, preventing him from moving in and grabbing her lips.
"Be patient, Doc," she murmured. "I've got an idea I think you're gonna like."
The Doctor watched, curious, as Alex stuck the chocolate in her mouth. Then, placing her other hand on his other shoulder, she pulled him to her lips.
She opened her mouth a little, just letting his tongue creep onto her bottom lip. But before he could delve inside, he felt the tip of his tongue pressing up against something. It was hard and slightly slick. Her teeth? No, her teeth didn't taste that sweet.
It was the chocolate. The Doctor almost fell back at the shock his tastebuds were now going through. The chocolate, aside from tasting milky and sweet, was now coated in Alex's particular taste. It was sweet and sour, like a lime covered in lemonade. Alex pushed the chocolate outwards towards his mouth. The Doctor grasped one end with his teeth. The chocolate was now perfectly divided between their mouths. They bit down.
A half of chocolate went into each of their mouths. The Doctor sucked on the Alex-flavored sweet in his mouth while Alex hastily chewed and swallowed her own piece. She took in the Doctor's look of pure delight at his new treat. Finally, he swallowed.
"Brilliant idea, Ally," he complimented, gazing at her admirably. "Your greatest one, I believe. We should share food more often."
Alex laughed and ran her hands over his shoulders, pulling him back to her. "Well, I think the TARDIS might be willing to help with that idea." A rather thrilled hum went off throughout the room, the lights overhead blinking excitedly. A moment later, the Doctor felt a bag appear on his boot. He bent down to pick it up. It was a nicely sized bag full of little chocolate squares.
Alex eyed the bag. "That's a lot of chocolate." There had to be at least thirty pieces in that thing!
The Doctor chuckled and set the bag down beside her. "Well then," he remarked, pulling a piece out and unwrapping it, "we'd better get to work."
~The Pros and Cons of Silence~
A/N: Sorry about the chapter being posted so late. I went with my dad to Lexington to take one of our dogs to therapy (he had two hip surgeries, in case you were wondering). We left at 8:00 and didn't pick him up until almost 2:00. :| On the plus side, we went to two bookstores while we waited, and I got six books. :)
But here's the chapter! Aren't the Doctor and Alex cute?! I went back and forth on including the chocolate scene and tried my best to keep it from sounding cheesy. Hope you enjoyed it. :)
Notes on reviews. . .
stormhazel - Lol, no problem! I'm so glad to hear that you enjoyed the stories, especially the Doctor and Alex! I can't wait to get into what the Silence did to Alex. I'm hoping that it'll surprise people. :} Hope you enjoyed the chapter! :)
secretlyanalien - Haha, yeah, it is kind of funny the Siren targeted Alex because of what happened during an intense make-out session. :} Hopefully, you found Alex's fears in this chapter believable. I wanted to, aside from addressing her fear of water and storms, her fear of losing other people she loves from those things. It's something that hasn't really occurred to her until this chapter. I'm glad you're looking forward to more episodes with the Bristol group! I really want to know what people think of them as I worry that, because those chapters don't have much to do with actual episodes, people don't like them or skip over them. There will be, way off in the future, a side-story that is kinda-sorta like 'Father's Day', but I don't want to say much else in fear of spoiling things. :) No, Melinda Clarke is not Melody Pond. It's just a coincidence with the names, though that would be funny if it really was Melody Pond. Hope you enjoyed the chapter! :)
Sam Fraser - Thanks for the rec! I'll try to check him out sometime. :)
fox - Not really sure what you mean by coincidence, unless you're referring to one of Alex's friends being a redheaded Scot in which case, yeah, no wonder Alex hit it off with Amy so quickly! Thank you! I'm SO glad to be back! :D
shadowfox2011 - I'm glad to hear that! I'm happy (and more than a bit relieved) that it's out too. :)
Guest - Yeah, I really hope Chris Chibnall and his team really make the Thirteenth Doctor a well-rounded, complex character, just as previous writing teams have done for their versions of the Doctor. :)
ShadowTeir - As you saw in this chapter, Amy figured it out (after walking in on them)! But I feel like she would've gotten there eventually. :) I LOVE writing the more intense flirting. We'll be getting more of that in this story. :} The next story won't be delving into Rory's past, but the one after that, and even then it'll be brief. But I think people will like the twists I put in there. :) Lol, that's pretty funny! I hope your mom wasn't too alarmed. :) Haha, yeah, that is a good comparison! Sadly, the Doctor won't be proposing to Alex, not in this story. Maybe in a future one. . . :} I can't wait to get to the original chapters! They're so fun to write and they reveal a lot about Alex. Glad you enjoyed all the thought processes in the last chapter! Oh, yeah, seeing what Amy's thinking when she sees Kovarian is kinda creepy, especially when you, as the reader, know what's currently going on with her. I'm so glad you have so many favorite moments in this story so far! Haha, I think chapter 6 is everyone's favorite so far! Hope you enjoyed the chapter! :)
Thank you to everyone that reviewed, followed and/or favorited this story! Please review and see you tomorrow! :)