The group sat in the middle of Central Park, New York, a picnic blanket laid out on a large rock near a duck pond.
The Doctor and Amy sat back-to-back, Amy working on a wordsearch while the Doctor read his own book. Rory laid off to the side, soaking up the sunlight as Thea laid besides the Doctor on her back, eyes closed listening to the Doctor reading.
"New York growled at my window," the Doctor read his book aloud, "but I was ready for it. My stocking seams were straight, my lipstick was combat ready, and I was packing cleavage that could fell an ox at twenty feet..."
"Doctor, you're doing it again." Amy muttered, growing frustrated at listening to him.
"I'm reading!"
"Aloud. Please could you not?"
The Doctor lowered his book, turning to face Amy, "there's something different about you, isn't there?"
"What's the book?" Rory called, peeking an eye open to look at them.
"Melody Malone." The Doctor replied, "She's a private detective in old town New York."
"She's got ice in her heart and a kiss on her lips, and a vulnerable side she keeps well hidden." Amy recited sarcastically.
"Oh, you've read it?" The Doctor started to smile.
"You read it. Aloud. And then went 'yowzah!'"
"Only you could fancy someone in a book." Rory chuckled.
"I do not fancy her!" The Doctor defended, pulling a face at the accusation.
Thea pushed herself upright, "I think I do."
"Thea!" The Doctor exclaimed.
"Okay, only Thea could fancy someone in a book." Rory amended with a laugh.
"It's not my fault!" Thea defended, "I love a good slow burn or enemies to lovers and don't get me startee on your enemy pushing you against the wall with a knife to your throat," she whistled, "I'd probably ask them to marry me!"
"Thea!" The Doctor shouted.
"What?" She blinked in innocence, "I am ready to be married." She tucked her knees to her chest, "I so expected to be married by now."
"It's your hair!" The Doctor sniffed Amys hair, if anything to get the topic away from Theas (thankful) lack of love life, and there really was something different about the woman, "Is it your hair?"
"Oh, shut up." Amy rolled her eyes, pointed at the round glasses she wore, "It's the glasses. I'm wearing reading glasses now, on my nose, see? There you go."
"I don't like them." The Doctor scrunched his face, "They make your eyes look all liney," he lifted the glasses up to see her face before setting them on her nose again and looking away, "No, actually, sorry. They're fine. Carry on."
"Okay," Rory stood, "I'm going to go and get us some more coffee. Who wants more coffee? Me too. I'll go!"
"Rory," Amy called, making him pause, "do I have noticeable lines on my eyes now?"
"Yes." The Doctor answered promptly.
"No." Rory said.
"You didn't look." Amy caught him out.
"I noticed them earlier." Rory winced at his slip up, "Didn't notice them. I specifically remember not noticing them."
"You walk among fire pits, Centurion."
Rory smiled back at her, "Do I have to come over there?"
"You can if you like." She teased as Rory walked back over.
"Well, we have company."
"I'll get a babysitter." Amy joked as Rory leaned down and kissed her.
"Oh, do you know, it is so humiliating when you do that." The Doctor grimaced, turning back to his book to not watch the humans kiss.
"You're going to bring out the green-eyed monster in me." Thea agreed, "just because you're happily married." She sulked.
"Good thing your eyes are brown, then." Rory glanced at Thea.
"Not for eternity."
Rory shook his head, "Coffee?" He asked around.
"Coffee." Amy nodded, waving him off.
"And a cake." Thea added as Rory headed off, "or pastry. Something sweet." She called as he held up a hand signalling he had heard her.
"Can I have a go?" The Doctor asked Amy, taking her glasses and putting them on himself, "Oh, actually, that is much better. That is exciting."
"Read to us." Amy said, resting her head on the Doctors shoulder.
"I thought you didn't like my reading aloud."
"Shut up and read me a story. Just don't go 'yowzah.'"
"Can I 'yowz?'" Thea asked.
Amy smiled as she closed her eyes, "absolutely not." The Doctor chuckled, tearing out the last page as Amy peeked an eye open at him, "Why did you do that?"
"So, it's a never ending story." Thea sighed, unlike him she didn't mind ending, especially happy endings. She didn't really like cliffhangers though. She snatched the last page from his hand, folding it up and putting it in her sleeve to finish later.
"I always rip out the last page of a book." The Doctor added, "Then it doesn't have to end. I hate endings. Don't fall asleep." He warned Thea before clearing just throat and reading aloud again, "As I crossed the street, I saw the thin guy, but he didn't see me. I guess that's how it began. I followed the skinny guy for two more blocks before he turned, and I could ask exactly what he was doing here. He looked a little scared, so I gave him my best smile and my bluest eyes..."
"Beware the yowzah." Amy muttered, running her fingers through Theas hair, "Do not, at this point, yowz." She pointed at them in turn, "either of you." But the Doctor was just staring at the page, "Doctor? What did the skinny guy say?"
The Doctor swallowed, "he said, 'I just went to get coffees for the Doctor, Thea and Amy. Hello River.'"
Thea jumped up at that, gasping, "Angels!"
"TARDIS, now!" The Doctor ordered, quickly pulling Amy to her feet and running back to the TARDIS.
Thea snatched the book, her eyes skimming the page, reading that River and Rory were shoved into the back of a car.
"What's River doing in a book?" Amy asked as they raced across the park to where they had parked the TARDIS, "What's Rory doing in a book?"
"He went to get coffee." The Doctor replied, "Pay attention."
"He went to get coffee and turned up in a book. How does that work?"
"Angels..." Thea breathed, glancing back at a water fountain. New York had a lot of stone statues...
"Where did you get this book?"
"It was in my jacket." The Doctor huffed, pulling out his key and quickly unlocked the doors to the TARDIS.
"How did it get there?"
"How does anything get there. I've given up asking. Date, date. Does she mention a date? When is this happening?"
"Yes, hang on." Amy took the book from Thea, skimming ahead in the book, "Oh, April 3rd, 1938. However Rory got there, she says it couldn't have been by TARDIS."
"Why not?" Thea frowned.
"She said the city's full of time distortions." Amy quickly read, "that it'd be impossible to land the TARDIS here. Something like a plane and blizzard." She glanced over at Thea, "she says that even you couldn't do it despite having read the manual."
"She said what?" Thea demanded, "Oh I'll show her..."
"Don't you two fall out, she's only in a book."
"I don't care if she's in a book, that sounds like a challenge, and I'm taking it personally."
"1938." the Doctor muttered, reaching for a knob, "Easy one." And pulled a lever.
Everything went to chaos as the TARDIS violently jolted, lights flashing, sparks flying from the console as 'Temporal Distortions Detected' flashed on the monitor before 'No Signal' appeared and the monitor went dark, the TARDIS coming to an abrupt stop.
"What was that?" Amy gasped.
"1938." Thea frowned, "We just bounced off it. Extractor fans!" She called, wanting to clear away some fires and stepping out to wherever they had landed for the TARDIS to calm down before trying again, because they would try again. River said they wouldn't be able to land, she had to prove her wrong.
"River got there by Vortex manipulator." Amy told them as she and the Doctor followed out into a graveyard, present day.
"Rory must have been sent back by the Weeping Angels." Thea reasoned.
"It makes sense." The Doctor had to agree.
"It makes what?" Amy shook her head.
"That's what happened to Rory. That's what the Angels do. It's their preferred form of attack. They zap you back in time, let you live to death."
"Well, we've got a time machine. We can just go and get him."
"We tried that," the Doctor turned to her, "if you've noticed, and we are back where we started in 2012."
Amy gestured to the graveyard, "We didn't start in a graveyard. What are we doing here?"
"It'll be casually linked somehow." Thea waved her off, she couldn't get much of a feeling, all those time distortions, it was interfering with whatever feelings she could get.
"Well, we're going to get there somehow." Amy reasoned, "We're in the rest of the book."
"Doing what?" The Doctor asked.
"Page 43, you're going to break something."
"I'm what?"
"'Why do you have to break mine', I asked the Doctor." Amy read, "but it was Thea who answered, 'blame your mother, she read it in a book, and now we've got no choice'."
Thea ran over, "Amy no!" She cried, whacking the book to the ground. "Do not keep reading." Thea told her.
"But we've already been reading it." Amy pointed out.
"What's parallel to us. That's all we can read."
"But it could help us find Rory."
"And if you read ahead and find that Rory dies?" the Doctor countered. "This isn't any old future, Amy," he looked at her, "it's ours. Once we know what's coming, it's fixed. I'm going to break something, because you told me that I'm going to do it. No choice now."
"Time can be rewritten." Amy frowned.
"Not once you've read it." Thea said quietly, "what we have read has already happened, is happening and now will happen. What we've read is now set."
"But what about your feelings."
"They are dangerous. Foreknowledge is dangerous. Why do you think I never say anything."
"What if you have those feelings to show you can changed what's happening?" Amy questioned.
"And what if they are the opposite? What if I get them to ensure of the established timelines, to ensure what I feel happens. I won't risk it."
She couldn't risk it.
She wouldn't risk it.
"We need to get to 1938." The Doctor cut in, running a hand through his hair, "Is there anything that can help get a beacon going?"
Thea picked the book back up, flicking to what Amy had already read. "Er...there's a vase!" She gasped, "in Mr Grayles home, "Early Quinn Dynasty!"
He grinned, "Bingo!"
~.~
Thea ran around the console, helping the Doctor pilot, getting closer to breaking through to 1938 now that they had landing lights. Well, a vase really. A quick hope back China, 221 BC, getting the men creating the vases to inscribe the words 'hello sweetie'.
"Landing lights." The Doctor cheered as the words appeared on the scanner, "We have a signal."
"Locking on." Thea nodded, pulling down a lever on her half the console.
"Doctor!" Amy gasped, having taken the book back from Thea, reading as parallel as she could so they'd know what to expect when they landed, "Grayles got an angel."
"We've almost got it." Thea struggled to keep the TARDIS stable, hearing the groaning as they struggled to land, "Come on old girl, nearly there."
"It means Mr Grayle," They heard River's voice outside the doors, "just you wait till my family gets here."
The TARDIS landed with a thump, the sound of China breaking outside.
"Come on!" Amy called, rushing to the doors, eager to find her husband.
"Just a second!" Thea replied.
"Seriously?" The Doctor nearly scoffed, seeing her checking her reflection and fixing her hair in a brass plate. "Not like you're married."
"And I'm going to ensure that is the worst decision on her extended life." Thea smiled sweetly.
He rolled his eyes as they ran out after Amy into the hallway, seeing multiple locks on the door.
Amy ran up the stairs, "Rory? Rory? Rory?"
Thea turned and leaned on the doorway of the study where River Song was standing in, her wrist caught in the grip of an Angel chained up, "sorry we're late."
"Traffic was hell." The Doctor added, pausing to crouch besides the unconscious Mr Grayle on the floor, "Shock. He'll be fine."
"Not if I can get loose." River muttered.
"So where are we now, Doctor Song? How's prison?"
"Oh, I was pardoned ages ago. And it's Professor Song to you."
"Pardoned?" Thea grinned.
"Mmm." River smirked, "turns out the person I killed never existed in the first place. Apparently, there's no record of him. It's almost as if someone's gone around deleting themselves from every database in the universe."
"You said I got too big." The Doctor tapped her nose.
"And now no one's ever heard of you. Didn't you used to be somebody?"
"Weren't you the woman who killed the Doctor?"
"Doctor who?"
Thea eyed the Angel holding River, "She's holding you very tight. She's not strong enough to send you back in time."
"Well, I need a hand back, so which is it going to be?" River asked them, "Are you going to break my wrist or hers?" The Doctor looked at her solemn, "Oh, no. Really?" She glanced at Thea who didn't meet her gaze, "Why do you have to break mine?"
"Blame your mother," Thea sighed, nodding back to Amy as she came up to the doorway, "she read it in a book, and now we've got no choice."
"You see?" The Doctor looked back at Amy.
"What book?" River asked.
"Your book." Thea replied, holding up the cover, "Which you haven't written yet, so we can't read."
"I see." River nodded slowly, "I don't like the cover much." She smirked over at Thea, "I'd love to see you wear something like that."
Thea flushed red, "Well if you'd married me I'd wear it for you."
River rolled her eyes at that.
"Stop it." The Doctor muttered.
"But if River's going to write that book, she'd make it useful, yeah?" Amy cut in, trying to be helpful and make up for her mistake and maybe try and fix the fact that her daughter was going to have to break her wrist because of her.
"I'll certainly try." River agreed, "But we can't read ahead, it's too dangerous."
"I know, but there must be something we can look at."
"What, a page of handy hints, previews, spoiler free?" The Doctor shook his head.
Thea opened the book and handed it over to him, "you mean the chapter titles?" She grinned.
"Ha!" He laughed, "you are brilliant!" He kissed her head as she grimaced but laughed all the same.
The Doctor skimmed over the chapter titles.
Chapter 9, Calling the Time Lords.
Chapter 10, The Roman in the Cellar.
Chapter 11, Death at Winter Quay.
"He's in the cellar." The Doctor called.
"Gimme!" Amy held her hand out as the Doctor quickly threw the sonic to her and she ran off down the stairs.
"Careful of the babies!" Thea yelled in warning.
The Doctor moved to follow when he caught sight of the last chapter title.
Chapter 12, Amelias last farewell.
"Dad?" Thea breathed, seeing his expression change, "What's wrong?"
"Doctor? Doctor, what is it?" River asked, seeing him starting to get angry and upset, which was never the best of things, "What's wrong? Tell me. Doctor? Doctor, what is it, tell me."
"Dad," Thea reached out, resting a hand of his arm, seeing the last chapter. The reason for the sudden change, "Oh. Well, that could mean anything, a farewell to...to Rory or the TARDIS...please calm down." She pleaded.
"No!" He snapped, glancing at her, "Get her wrist out. You get her wrist out without breaking it!"
"How?"
"I don't know. Just do it. Change the future."
"Nobody has that right." She frowned.
"If anyone does, it'll be you!" He told her before heading out to help Amy.
"Is that why I have them?" Thea asked River quietly.
She wasn't sure if the feelings she had were because they were established events and had to happen or if she saw them and could change them. If she could change what she saw, then brilliant! If not, then her abilities were definitely more of a curse than a gift.
"It's...complicated." River offered.
~.~
"Rory?" Amy shouted, as she tried to run into the basement, seeing burnt out matches on the floor, Cherub statues staring at them.
"No!" The Doctor pulled her back before she could walk down, "They're Angels. Baby Angels."
"Did they get Rory?" Amy stared, wide eyed, "Where is he? Did they take him?"
"Yes, I think so, yes." He quickly shut the door, locking it as they hurried back into the entrance hall.
"So, is this what's going to happen?" Amy looked at him, tears in her eyes, "We just keep chasing him and they keep pulling him further back?"
"He isn't back in time." River remarked as she and Thea stepped out of the study, River holding a scanner, "I'm reading a displacement, but there are no temporal markers."
"He's been moved in space, not time." Thea elaborated, knowing Amy didn't understand their techno babble. She glanced at the reading on the scanner, "not too far from here."
"You got out." The Doctor smiled, relieved.
"So, where is he?" Amy asked impatiently.
"Well, come on, come on, come on, where is he?"
"If it was that easy, I'd get you to do it." River rolled her eyes as Thea laughed seeing the Doctors pout.
"How did you get your wrist out without breaking it?" The Doctor eyed her.
"You asked." Thea shrugged, "Well, you shouted, so I did it."
"You just changed the future." The Doctor beamed.
"If anyone has the right to do so, it's me, isn't it?"
"Now, hush," River cut in, "I'm working."
"She's good, have you noticed?" The Doctor asked, "Really, really good. Both of you," he looked between them, "brilliant."
"I can only do my best." Thea mumbled, tense.
"Ah, wherever it is, it's within a few blocks." River remarked. "There's a car out front. Shall we steal it?"
"Show me!" The Doctor jumped up, grabbing Thea's hand, the girl accidently knocking into River's arm as they moved, making the woman hiss in pain.
Thea closed her eyes as the Doctor pulled back River's coat, seeing her wrist bruised and swollen. Clearly broken.
~.~
The Doctor paced the room, sonicking the scanner to find Rory faster as both River and Thea sat on the steps, both knowing the Doctor was not impressed and rather hurt they had lied to him and so easily at that, while Amy stood to the side leaning on the wall.
"Okay," the Doctor handed Amy the scanner, not wanting to deal with that when his daughter, and his best friends daughter, had both lied to him, "when all those numbers on both units go to zero, that's when we've got a lock, okay? It's how we find Rory."
"Got it." Amy nodded, eyes on the scanner.
The Doctor sighed, moving to sit on the steps besides Thea, "you lied to me."
He expected it from River, she had to lie to keep the future from them. He knew mostly whenever she lied it was for the best and to prevent spoilers, but Thea...she never lied to him. Or maybe she did, and he just never realised it.
"You shouted at me." Thea murmured.
The Doctor never shouted, raised his voice, yes, even sometimes actually get have a stern tone when telling her off, but he never shouted. It had startled her actually, to hear him shouting at her.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done."
He knew it wasn't even the shouting that got to her. It was him expecting her to change the future despite knowing it was impossible. He knew it when he said it and hadn't even expecting them to try to get River free without breaking her wrist but then they had come back, and River had hidden the fact it was broken and they had both agreed to lie to him about it.
"I'm sorry I lied." Thea returned.
"Why did you?" He asked.
"When one cares an ageless god who insists on the face of a 12 year old," River answered instead, "one does one's best to hide the damage."
"It must hurt." Thea murmured, reaching her hands over River's broken wrist.
"Yes. The wrist is pretty bad too." She looked down, feeling a warmth to see her wrist glowing with regeneration energy, Thea transferring some of her own to heal her wound. "No." She tried to pull her hand away, "No. No, stop that. Stop that. Stop it!"
Thea ignored her, healing her hand completely, "There you go." She kissed the back of her hand, "all better."
River glared at her, "That was a stupid waste of regeneration energy. Nothing is gained by you being a sentimental idiot."
"River!" Thea frowned.
"No, you embarrass me!" River stood and stormed and the doors.
"River!" Thea shouted, quickly running after her, "River," She grabbed her hand and turned her to face her, "Why shouldn't I heal you?"
"Because it was a stupid waste!" River snapped, "it would heal on its own."
"Well, I know that." Thea rolled her eyes, "it's my fault you haven't got any regeneration left."
She had been the one to mention that 10 regenerations was enough to cure the Juda's Tree poison. It had been her ides to both give the Doctor five of their own to save him, but she had insisted River went first knowing the woman would simply give him all her remaining regenerations. She had made her do it because, well, the woman had to run out of regenerations for when she would go to the library and sacrifice herself for the Doctor.
She honestly scared herself how cruel she could be to those she loved.
"I gave them up willing." River argued.
"You gave them up because I mentioned it."
"You said to split, to use half each, I was the one that decided to use them all to save him."
"Because I told you to go first." Thea huffed, "knowing that you wouldn't bother to let me waste them." She nudged her, "You love me too much to risk me running out of regenerations."
"I hate you sometimes." River muttered.
"Only sometimes?" She smirked. "Are we good? Because I can always break your wrist again."
She laughed as River quickly pulled back both her arms, not wanting to go through that again.
"You are the worst and sneakiest and secretly evilest person I have ever me." River told her.
"And you are the only person to realise that." She smiled. "Shall we get the car started?" She suggested, getting a feeling the scan was nearly done.
A moment later the Doctor ran out the house, with Amy, the woman holding the scanner, "Got it!" He shouted, "He's in a place called Winter Quay. The car, yes?" He grinned seeing they had already gotten it started, "Let's go!"
He and Amy scrambled into the back as River took the wheel, Thea in the passenger seat.
Thea glanced back as they drove off, catching sight of a Weeping Angel and Cherub watching them. She blinked and they were gone.
The door to Mr Grayles house left wide open.
He would be in for a surprise when he woke up.
Good.
No one messed with her River Song!
~.~
River frowned as they pulled up outside the Winter Quay Apartment, "Why would they send him here? Why not zap him back in time, like they normally do?"
"We'll know that when we know what this place is." The Doctor determined as they got out.
"Winter Quay." Amy read the sign outside the building. They ran inside, taking the lift up to the 8th floor. "Rory?" Amy called as they stepped put into the corridor.
"He's close." River checked the scanner.
"Rory?" Thea frowned.
"Where is he Thea?" Amy asked her.
Thea frowned, not even wanting to complain when she could help them find Rory quicker. She spun around before seeing the door to room 802 wide open.
"Rory!" Amy gasped seeing him standing inside.
"Amy." He sighed in relief, pulling her into a hug.
"Doctor, look at this." River called, seeing an Angel at the end of the corridor, grinning, "Why is it smiling?"
"Because of that." Thea breathed, seeing the name plate on the door reading 'R. Williams.'
"Amy." The Doctor eyes widened, leaving River with her eyes on the Angel, "Rory! Get out of here! Don't look at anything. Don't touch..."
"Who's that?" Amy frowned, spotting a figure in bed as Thea and River backed into the room. Shutting the door behind them to hold the Angel back.
"Amy." The old man in the bed wheezed, "Amy, please. Amy, please. Please."
Amy slowly walked closer to the beside as the old man reached for her. She gasped, recognising him up close, "Rory? He's you."
"Amy." The older Rory smiled, letting out a long breath, before closing his eyes, dead.
"Will someone please tell me what is going on?" Rory demanded.
"I'm sorry, Rory," Thea whispered, stepping closer to him, "but you just died. Again."
"This place is policed by Angels." The Doctor explained, "Every time you try to escape, you get zapped back in time."
"So, this place belongs to the Angels?" Amy shook her head, "they built it?"
"Displacing someone back in time creates time energy, and that is what the Angels feed on. But normally, it's a one off, a hit and run. If they could keep hold of their victims, feed off their time energy over and over again. This place is a farm. A battery farm." He turned to River, "how many Angels in New York?"
"It's like they've taken over every statue in the city." She answered.
"The Angels take Manhattan because they can, because they've never had a food source like this one. The city that never sleeps."
They all turned, hearing a loud crashing sound from outside, "what was that?" Rory frowned.
Thea moved to look out the window, unable to see anything. She could guess what was causing such a noise, "it's heading this way."
"What?" Rory shook his head, "What does that mean? What is going to happen to me? What is physically going to happen?"
"The Angels will come for you," the Doctor told him, "They'll zap you back in time to this very spot, thirty, forty years ago. And you'll live out the rest of your life in this room, until you die in that bed."
"And will Amy be there?"
"No." Thea stated.
"How do you know?" Amy frowned at how firm her answer was.
"Because he was so happy to see you again." She said softly, "because he hadn't seen you for 40 years."
"Okay." Rory swallowed, "Well, they haven't taken me yet. What if I just run? What if I just get the hell out of here? Then that never happens."
"It's already happened." The Doctor sighed, "Rory, you've just witnessed your own future."
"Doctor, he's right." River cut in.
"No, he isn't."
"But if Rory got out, it would create a paradox." Thea agreed with River.
"What is that?" Amy turned to the window hearing the noise again.
"This is the Angels' food source." River turned to the Doctor, it was easier to convince him when Thea was on her side, "The paradox poisons the well. It could kill them all. This whole place would literally unhappen."
"It would be almost impossible."
"Almost." Thea smiled.
"But to create a paradox like that takes almost unimaginable power. What have we got, eh? Tell me. Come on, what?"
Amy took Rorys hand, "I won't let them take him." She said, determined, "That's what we've got."
"Stubborn and Scottish." Thea smirked.
"Whatever that thing is," Rory paused, hearing the noise getting louder, "it's getting closer."
"Rory, even if you got out, you'd have to keep running for the rest of your life." The Doctor warned him, "they would be chasing you for ever."
"Well, then." Amy nodded, "Better get started." She opened the door to see an Angel right outside.
"My eyes are on it." Thea stared at the Angel, giving the humans time to escape.
"Husband, run!" Amy shouted, the pair squeezing past the Angel and running down the corridor.
"I'm not sure this can work." The Doctor admitted as the lights flickered and three more Angels appeared inside the room.
"So much for the man of hope." Thea scoffed.
"Shut up." River agreed.
The lights flickered again, and the Angels entered the room completely.
"We can't keep doing this." The Doctor remarked.
"Any ideas?" River asked, not daring to take her eyes of the Angels.
"Run!" Thea shouted, grabbing River's hand as they made a break for the corridor and for the stairs, only to see Angels making their way up. "Fire escape!" She led the way, knowing that Amy and Rory would have gone to the roof.
The Doctor quickly sonicked the window open as Thea scrambled out first, followed by River, the Doctor bringing up the rear as they climbed up to the roof, where Amy and Rory were standing on the edge, holding each other.
"What the hell are you doing!" The Doctor demanded, seeing them.
"Changing the future." Amy smiled at Rory as the three of them ran over, "It's called marriage." Before letting themselves fall of the edge.
"Amy!" The Doctor yelled, rushing to the edge, seeing them fall, "Rory! Amy!""
"What's happening?" River gasped seeing odd balls of light starting to appear, electricity surrounding them.
"The paradox is working!" Thea cheered, grabbing River's hand in one of hers and the Doctors in her other as the light surrounded them.
~.~
"Rory!" Thea cried as they found themselves back in the graveyard just outside the city. Amy and Rory sitting up as Thea lunged at Rory hugging him tightly, knocking him back down.
Rory laughed, hugging her back as she pulled back, moving to hug Amy, "where are we?" He looked around.
"Back where we started." The Doctor grinned, "You collapsed the timeline. The paradox worked. We all pinged back where we belong."
"What, in a graveyard?" He frowned, getting to his feet.
"This happened the last time." Amy commented as Thea helped her up, "Why always here?"
"Does it matter?" The Doctor laughed, "We got lucky. We could've blown New York off the planet. We can't ever take the TARDIS back there. The timelines are too scrambled." He hugged them both tightly, "I could have lost you both. Don't ever do that again."
"What did we do?" Rory shook his head, "We fixed it. We solved the problem."
"I was talking to myself." He kissed them both on the head, turning to the TARDIS as River stepped out with a bucket and a rag.
"It could do with a repaint." River remarked, eying the damaged paintwork.
"We've been busy." The Doctor waved her off.
"Does the bulb on top need changing?"
"We just changed it." Thea told her.
"Is it screwed on properly?"
"Yes!" She huffed, "I know how to change the light."
"I was more thinking if you can reach." River joked, seeing Theas face reddening, "so. Rory and Amy, then."
"Yes." The Doctor nodded, "I know, I know."
"I'm just saying. They're going to get terribly bored hanging round here all day."
"Doctor?" Rory spoke as he and Amy walked over, "Look, next time, could we just go to the pub?"
"I want go to the pub right now." The Doctor spun to them, "Are there video games there? I love video games."
"Right." River laughed, "family outing, then."
"River and I shall drive." Thea joked as the Doctor pointed at her before following River inside to check the console was alright. She looked back at Amy and Rory, smiling, faltering as she looked past them to a gravestone behind them.
"Thea!" The Doctor called inside the TARDIS.
She shook her head. No, it was sorted now, the paradox worked, and Rory was safe. She headed into the TARDIS, grinning to see River slapping the Doctors hand away from a knob only to stiffen, "Rory!" She turned as Amy screamed.
They all ran back out to see Amy staring at a Weeping Angel, its hand stretched out towards her, Rory nowhere to seen.
"Where the hell did that come from?" River gasped.
"It's a survivor." Thea breathed, stepping closer, able to see the gravestone marked for 'Rory Brian Williams' who died age 82, "Very weak, but keep your eyes on it."
"Where's Rory?" Amys voice shook.
"1938."
"No." Amy wept, trying her hardest not to blink, "No, we can just go and get him in the TARDIS. One more paradox."
"Would rip New York apart." The Doctor told her, solemn.
"No, that's not true. I don't believe you."
"Mother, it's true." River called.
"Amy, what are you doing?" The Doctor eyed her as she stepped closer to the Angel.
"That gravestone," Amy breathed, "Rory's, there's room for one more name, isn't there?"
"What are you talking about? Back away from the Angel. Come back to the TARDIS. We'll figure something out."
"The Angel, would it send me back to the same time? To him?"
"I don't know." The Doctor shook his head, desperate. They had already lost Rory, he couldn't lose Amy as well, "Nobody knows."
"But it's my best shot, yeah?"
"No!"
"Thea." Amy held her hand back as Thea stepped over and took it.
"Yes, Amy?"
"You said you always saw me and Rory growing old together."
She swallowed, knowing exactly where Amy was going with it. She wouldn't stop her, she knew if she was in Amys position she would do exactly the same, "Yes."
"Do you still feel that?"
"Yes." She whispered.
"Thea!" The Doctor yelled.
"Well, then." She let out a shuddering breath, squeezing Theas hand, "I just have to blink, right?"
"No!"
"It'll be fine. I know it will. I'll be with him, like I should be. Me and Rory together. Thea, promise me something."
"Anything." Thea swore.
"Look after him, yeah? Don't go causing him too much stress, alright."
Thea sniffled, nearly laughing at that, but couldn't quite manage it, too close to tears to laugh as she squeezed Amy hand, "I promise. Give Rory a hug from me."
"I will." Amy nodded, "Melody?"
"Stop it." The Doctor begged, "Just, just stop it!"
River stepped up and took Amys over hand, kissing it, "You look after them both. You be a good girl, and you look after them."
"Always." River swore.
"You are creating fixed time." The Doctor cried, "we will never be able to see you again."
"I'll be fine." Amy nodded, believing that, "I'll be with him."
"Amy, please," The Doctor started to cry, "just come back into the TARDIS. Come along, Pond, please."
"I'll miss you," Thea sniffed, "both of you."
"We'll miss you too, kiddo. Raggedy man," Amy turned around, "goodbye!"
And with her back to the Angel, she allowed it to touch her, vanishing before their eyes.
The gravestone before them changed, adding Amys name below Rorys as the Doctor broke down, falling to his knees in the grass.
Thea looked over at River, her eyes on the Angel and moved to hug the Doctor, keeping her promise to Amy to look after him and well...right now she just wanted a hug from her daddy.
~.~
Thea stood, silent, by the console, staring blankly at the rotor. She had never lost anyone before. Sure, she had lost her friends and family and entire planet, but that was different, that lot still didn't fully click in her mind. She hadn't known own about it and had been first told by a human, it was different knowing you'd never see them again and seeing them disappear before your eyes.
But Gallifrey was still in a Time Lock, technically some of the family she had could still be alive and fighting Daleks but Amy and Rory were gone.
Dead. Having died of old age sent back in time by the Weeping Angel. They had dealt with it off course.
Well, she had.
They had taken their chance to see how weak it was, and it hadn't sent them back. River had helped get the Doctor in the TARDIS while Thea had gone at the Angel with a mallet. You couldn't kill stone but it was a good way to get your anger out by smashing it to dust.
"River," the Doctor glanced up at her from where he sat on the steps, "they were your parents. I'm sorry, I didn't think."
"It doesn't matter." River waved him off as she got them into the time Vortex.
"Of course it matters." Thea scoffed, finally looking away from the time rotor and over to her.
"What matters is this. Doctor...don't travel alone. And I don't mean that 'I've got Thea' nonsense."
"Then stay with us." Thea suggested.
"Whenever and wherever you want," River agreed, "I'll even get Jenny to tag along. But not all the time. One psychopath per TARDIS, don't you think? Okay. This book I've got to write. Melody Malone. I presume I send it to Amy to get it published?"
"Yes."
"I'll tell her to write an afterword. For you. Maybe you'll listen to her."
"Before you go." Thea called, making River pause as she turned to the doors, "there's someone you should meet."
~.~
Thea stood before Brian in the Ponds home, the man on the sofa, hunched over, his head in his hands over the news that his son and daughter-in-law were dead.
With River mentioning that she would make Amy write an afterword she realised it would be the last page. Amy already knowing that the Doctor tore that page out and probably remembering Thea had kept it. She had given it to the Doctor to read before leaving him alone with his thoughts as she came to tell Brain the horrible news.
She knew what the Doctor was like, he would have just left the man on Earth, watering the plants, never knowing the fate of his son and daughter-in-law. She was better than that.
"I am so, so sorry, Brian." Thea murmured, unable to look up from the floor, even as River took her hand.
They hadn't even told him who River was yet. As far as the man knew she was just a friend, like Riddel and Neferitti someone else who occasionally came for adventures in the TARDIS. She knew Brian deserved to meet his granddaughter now he knew about time travel and such, but she just didn't know how to actually tell him.
"I just..." Brian lifted his head up to look at her, "they're gone."
"They lived happily together." Thea offered, knowing it wasn't much, but it was better than nothing.
At least they had gone peacefully having enjoyed a long life together and it wasn't death by extermination. "Um...I know you're new to time travel and such, but um..." She glanced to River who nodded and stood up.
"I'm Melody Pond." She smiled, seeing Brian frowning, almost like he was figuring out the importance of her name.
"Williams." Thea corrected quietly, "time travel and such...er..." She hesitated not really sure how to explain the whole situation that his granddaughter appeared to look a similar age to her parents, or the fact that she was half Time Lords.
But Brian was just as brilliant as Rory was, able to figure it out. "Are you..."
River nodded, smiling, "I'm your granddaughter."