And here it is! The next chapter (new stuff! wooh) - The Big Bang!
I'm a bit rusty, so apologies if it isn't great.
The next chapters will be the Planets in the Sky two-parter, then i'm going to chose one of my favourites for chapter 50 and decide what to do with the 15th Doctor situation (though I will be asking your opinion on a few options soon).
Hope you enjoy, and thank you for sticking with me!
Enjoy!
The whole room watched impatiently as the screen turned black and the next title appeared, sharing concerned glances at the title.
"The Big Bang?" Bill read out.
"Not a promising sign." Ryan groaned. It certainly had strong implications for the video they were about to watch.
"Please tell me there are no more explosions?!" Clara sighed, turning a questioning look at the Doctor. The explosion they'd ended the last video on was bad enough, the last thing they needed was more.
"Only one big explosion." The Doctor promised with a small smile, effectively reassuring the group to a degree. The tension of the last video's disastrous ending not completely dismissed. She was watching the group, curious that they hadn't noted the other implication of the title. Sharing a small glance with Amy, Rory and River showed they appreciated the title a bit more.
1,894 years later, only one stars still burns brightly in the night sky. The red pinwheel in the garden spins and upstairs a little re-haired girl is saying her prayers
"Little Amy?" Rose frowned curiously at the screen. That wasn't where she'd expected this to start.
Little Amelia addresses her prayers to Santa, thanking him for her presents and saying it is Easter so she hopes she didn't wake him but it is an emergency. There is a crack in her wall and it isn't normal as there are voices at night, so could he send someone to fix it. (Her prayer from Eleventh Hour)
"You are adorable." Bill grinned, laughing fondly at little Amy's prayers.
Amy rolled her eyes in good humour as the rest of the group chuckled along. Rory squeezing her hand fondly and offering a soft smile, both of them bracing themselves for everything to come.
A strange wind whistles outside, and Amelia says she'll be back in a moment, running to the window only to find nothing but the moon hanging in a starless sky
"Wait, isn't this where the Doctor comes in?" Mickey narrowed his eyes at the screen confused, he definitely recalled seeing that.
"It should be." Amy nodded nonchalantly, sharing a knowing look with the Doctor as the pair purposely ignored the concerned looks from the rest of the room.
[Living room]
In the living room, a psychiatrist (Christine) is looking at a painting of the moon and stars. Christine says it is a lovely painting but asks what the stars are
"Erh, stars?" Ryan offered, perplexed by the psychiatrist's question. "I know it's a child's drawing but I think that's pretty obvious."
Amelia says stars and her aunt Sharon sighs. Christine suggests they go outside
"What's wrong with the stars?" Dan asked, very glad that others seemed equally confused for once.
Clara, however, had narrowed her eyes at the screen before giving the Doctor a curious look. She settled on a frown, "They're disappearing again, aren't they?" The Doctor's frown was the only answer she needed.
The group collectively ignored Dan's confused mutter of, "Again?"
Outside the house, she asks what Amelia sees. Amelia says the moon, and when asked what else, she adds just the dark
"Are we in an alternative universe or timeline?" Martha asked the Doctor, immediately alert and tense. She didn't have good experiences with those.
"Of a sort." The Doctor shook her head contemplatively, offering Martha a reassuring smile. "It's complicated."
"I'm getting that feeling." Donna snorted, also having tensed up at the mention of an alternative timeline.
Christine agrees but says no stars as if there were stars up there, they'd be able to seem them, wouldn't they. She gets Amelia to look at her, sayings he knows this is all a story, right? There is no such thing as stars
"I don't like this alternative world." Bill declared; arms crossed. The idea of no stars was just strange and not appealing.
Amelia listens to the adults talking downstairs from the top of the stairs. Christine is saying Amelia is a good person but she's bound to be feeling alone
"Ah, listening in on adults talking about you." Yaz nodded approvingly. Adults weren't nearly as sneaky as they thought, or the kids as stupid as the adults thought they were.
Christine continues it is common actually, people throughout history have talked of seeing stars in the sky, God knows where it comes from
"Erm, reality?" Rose declared with a frown at the screen. No one liked the idea of this alternative reality where stars didn't exist – or the further implications for life outside Earth.
Sharon replies she doesn't want her growing up and joining those star cults, she doesn't trust Richard Dawkins. They walk across the hallway to living room. Amelia's attention is caught as someone in a red fez puts a leaflet through the door, she runs down and gets it. It is titles 'The Anomaly' and features the Pandorica at the national Museum. Someone has written 'Come along, Pond' in red ink
"Doctor?" Clara narrowed her eyes at the screen, the fez far too familiar to ignore. The Doctor's little smirk revealed to the group that they had a plan – whether it was a good one was still to be decided, but a vague plan was better than nothing. It also strongly suggested the Doctor had somehow escaped the Pandorica.
Amelia drags her aunt Sharon through the National Museum, hurrying her on. Sharon points something out saying it is good but Amelia says not that, pulling her a certain way. Sharon protests they aren't looking at anything
"She's following a leaflet and instructions posted through the door by a mysterious person." Yaz grinned a little, "As you do." If she was being honest with herself, she likely would have done the same.
Sharon calls after her as Amelia moves with purpose to the Anomaly Exhibition. She stops to look at the exhibit of petrified Daleks
"That should not be there." Mickey pointed at the frozen dalek wearily. Knowing their luck, it wouldn't stay frozen long.
She pushes past people standing looking at the Pandorica, someone snatched her drink from her and when she turns back to look at the Pandorica a post-it note is on the box in front of her saying 'Stick around, Pond'
"How is she going to hide from her aunt?" Graham asked worried, both for Amy who had to hide from everyone and her poor aunt who would be going out of her mind with worry if Amelia accomplished it.
Sharon calls for Amelia who runs to hide. Flash forward to closing time and Sharon is still calling for Amelia unable to find her
"Poor woman." Donna shook her head in a bit of sympathy for how scared Amy's aunt must have been at losing her niece.
A tannoy calls for Amelia to go to reception as her aunt is there, but she doesn't move. Even later, in the closed museum, Amelia creeps out from the penguin display, knocking some over
"How did no one find you?" Martha asked Amy, "What did you aunt think?"
Amy shared a quick glance with Rory before shrugging, "I imagine she thought I went home." It's not like she could ask seeing as they basically restarted the universe so that this didn't really ever happen for anyone outside the four of them.
Amelia apologises to them then returns to the Pandorica and removes the post-it note. She puts her hand on the Pandorica and it starts to open, she backs away. It reveals the older Amy in the seat who tells young Amelia this is where it gets complicated
"You don't say." Bill blinked at the sight of the older more familiar Amy sitting in the Pandorica. She had a funny feeling that complicated was going to be a firm understatement.
1,894 years previous at Stonehenge. Rory has Amy's body lying across his lap as he talks to her about the universe ending, she missed that in 102 AD. He says please laugh, remembering how the Doctor said the universe was big and ridiculous and sometimes there are miracles and he could really do with a ridiculous miracle now
"Oh Rory." Amy murmured, squeezing her husband's hand tight. She'd never known what happened while she was dying outside of a brief overview, but she didn't want to imagine what Rory was feeling in that moment.
The Doctor pops out from thin air, wearing a red fez and carrying a mop
"Well, I wouldn't call the Spaceman a miracle but he might be the closest you're gonna get." Donna snorted, incredibly amused at the sight of Chinny with his fez and mop.
"That's certainly a choice, Doctor." Rose grinned with a laugh many of the others joining in.
The Doctor tells Rory to listen, she's not dead, well she is dead but it is not the end of the world. Well, it is, actually it is the end of the universe. Oh no, hang on
"Off to a good start." Clara raised an eyebrow at her first Doctor's ramblings.
He vanishes again and Rory calls for him, he reappears without the mop
"You're time jumping." Jack realised with a glance at the Doctor.
The Doctor just winked in response.
The Doctor says he needs to get him out of the Pandorica, Rory argues he isn't in the Pandorica
"The one in front of him isn't, but the one in Rory's time is." Yaz perked up, eyes lighting up as she glanced quickly between the Doctor and the screen.
"Bingo." River grinned proudly at the younger woman.
The Doctor counters yes, he is, well not now, but he was back then. Back now from his point of view which is back then from his view. Time travel, hard to keep straight in your head. He tells Rory it is easy to open from the outside, just point and press
"Wibbly wobbly, timey wimey." Martha grinned even as she rolled her eyes at the Doctor's inability to just explain anything simply.
He gives Rory his sonic screwdriver telling him to go. The Doctor vanishes and returns, adding to leave the sonic in her top pocket when he's done, good luck. He vanishes again and Rory asks what he means, done what?
"Honestly Doctor, why can't you ever just explain?" Rose sighed, shaking her head fondly.
"Where's the fun in that?" The Doctor grinned, earning annoyed groans from the rest of the group.
Rory opens the Pandorica with the sonic releasing a confused Doctor from the chair. The Doctor asks how he did that and Rory replies he have him this, holding up the sonic. The Doctor takes his sonic from his own pocket (double sonic)
"The joys of time travel." Nardole muttered.
The Doctor argues he didn't, Rory counters he did, look. The Doctor touches his screwdriver to Rory's and they spark. He explains it is temporal energy, same screwdriver at different points in its own time stream. That means it is him that gave it to Rory, him from the future, nice to know he has a future
"Always good to have the reassurance." The Doctor nodded along with her past self.
He then points to the fossilised Dalek sating that's not nice. Rory asks what they are. All the beings in the chamber when the universe ended have been fossilised
"Fossilisation. Lovely way to go." Ryan grimaced at the sight.
The Doctor explains history has collapsed, whole races deleted from existence, these are just the echoes, fossils in time, the footprints of the never-were. Rory asks what that mean and the Doctor continues it is total event collapse, the universe literally never happened
"Very casual way to explain the universe has collapsed." Bill rolled her eyes, "And it doesn't explain how Earth is still here."
"Focus point of the destruction." Jack answered for the Doctor, "It would take time for it to reach Earth. Right?"
"Ten points for Jack." The Doctor grinned.
"A time limit, just what we need." Donna sighed; nothing was ever easy.
Rory asks how they can be there then, what's keeping them safe. The Doctor replies nothing, eye of the storm, they're just the last light to go out. Then he realises Amy is missing, asking where she is
"Glad to see you finally noticed." Amy raised a teasing eyebrow at the Doctor who held her hands up in surrender - they had been a bit busy getting trapped in the Pandorica.
Rory states he killed her
The Doctor sighed at the blunt words, so much guilt from Rory for something he couldn't control.
Amy leaned her head against her husband's shoulder, "It wasn't your fault." Rory opened his mouth to argue, but Amy shook her head, "Nope, no guilt. Not your fault."
Rory asks what he is, and the Doctor says he's a Nestene duplicate, a lump of plastic with delusions of humanity
"Delusions of taking over humanity." Rose snorted, they'd firmly failed during her first interaction with the Doctor and from his stories they'd failed every time before too. Hopefully they would fail this time too, but without Rory dying.
Rory argues he's Rory, whatever was happening stopped, he's really him
"Yes, you are." Jack agreed, "And you have to keep thinking that, keep fighting."
The Doctor replies that I the software talking before Rory asks if he can help Amy, is there anything he can do
"Please." Bill muttered, eyeing Amy in the room with them. "Surely you did something as we just saw young Amelia get her out … The box! Oh, will that help her?"
The Doctor gave her a grin, "On the right tracks Bill."
The Doctor says yeah, probably, if he had the time
"Doctor." Martha berated, raising a pointed eyebrow at the alien.
"The universe is ending. You have a lot of time and no time." Yaz snorted.
Rory asks about time and the Doctor tells him all of creation has been wiped out, does he know how many lives now never happened, all the people who never lived? His girlfriend isn't more important than the whole universe
"Please tell me you didn't let that lie." Mickey turned to Rory, shooting the Doctor a glare on the way. The rest of the room was grumbling and shooting glares at the Doctor who rolled her eyes at them, Amy grinning at it. She leaned forward on her seat, morbidly curious to see what had happened while she was 'dead', the pair had told her but not the details, but she knew Rory wouldn't take that insult, not now.
"Save the animosity for a moment." Rory sighed, taking pity on the Doctor for once. It seemed bad, but for once it hadn't been meant.
Rory punches the Doctor shouting she is to him
"Get him Rory!" Amy squeezed his side as the room cheered him on. "Thanks Roman."
"Nice swing." Jack nodded with a proud grin.
The Doctor mumbled something under her breath, River squeezing her, "You deserve it sometimes, sweetie."
The Doctor welcomes him back, saying he's sorry but he had to be sure and that's a hell of a gun-arm he's packing. He continues they need to get her downstairs, and take that look off his plastic face, he's getting married in the morning
"You were checking it was really him." Donna realised, sighing, "Honestly, spaceman you go about these things in the worst ways sometimes."
"It worked!" The Doctor protested, her word being swallowed by the rooms cheers at Rory being Rory.
They place Amy in the Pandorica
"Which explains why it is Amy and not the Doctor in the box in the museum in the future." Yaz summarised.
"But does not explain how they stop the end of the universe." Graham chimed in.
"Or how they get to said future. I mean isn't the Tardis gone?" Ryan added, looking between Rory and the Doctor. The pair shared a look, not meeting anyone's eye which was telling enough.
Rory says he has a plan then?
"Would be nice for once." Nardole mused.
The Doctor says a bit of one yeah. Memories are powerful and Amy is no ordinary girl growing up with a time crack in her wall and the universe pouring in her dreams every night. He explains the Nestene took a memory print and got more than they bargained for – like Rory, not just his face but his heart and soul
"So, you're going to kind of use what they did against them?" Bill puzzled, "Like you're going to get Amy to do something?"
"Kinda?" The Doctor tilted their head considering before shrugging, "Just watch."
"I don't like those words." Dan grumbled,
"None of us do, you'll get used to it." Yaz replied, entirely unsympathetic.
The Doctor mind melds with Amy saying he's leaving her a message so she knows what is happening when she wakes
Bill flinched at the mind-meld, her own mind replaying the Doctor's message to her on that massive spaceship, it was so clear in her mind after watching it so recently. The Doctor winced and offered a sympathetic smile but Bill waved her off, glad when no one said anything and the video continued
The Doctor seals Amy in the Pandorica and Rory protests asking what he's doing
"Good question. How is the Pandorica going to save her?" Rose questioned.
The Doctor just pointed to the screen earning a groan from Rose and the other curious folk. Amy squeezed her husband's hand, a silent comfort and thank you and reminder they were both safe and together.
The Doctor explains he's saving her as the box is the ultimate prison and you can't even escape by dying, it keeps you alive
"Sounds like a fun place." Bill mumbled earning a snort from Yaz and Ryan.
Rory counters she's already dead and the Doctor tells him she's mostly dead and the Pandorica will stasis-lock her in that state. All they need is a scan of her living DNA will restore her
"Something that is hard to come by almost 2000 years in the past." Donna declared, raising a pointed eyebrow.
"Which is why you need little Amelia." Martha realised, nodding as she started putting the pieces together.
"Either way, mostly dead is between than fully dead." Clara said, glancing at the other members of the dead-not dead club. Maybe she'd need to ask Rory about joining in the next break.
"Small victories." Graham sighed. Why was that so often a win in their books?
Rory asks where they're going to get that and the Doctor replies in about two thousand years
"No time at all!" Mickey snorted. "And don't forget the end of the universe currently happening too."
Back in the anomaly exhibition in the future, Amy falls out of the Pandorica gasping as little Amelia asks if she is alright and who is she?
"Little Amelia is remarkably calm considering everything happening." Yaz commented, giving big Amy in the room a considering look.
"I mean, she's already seeing stars and used to people calling her crazy." Bill shrugged.
The Doctor smiled at the both after grinning at Amy. "Kids usually do better with crazy things. And Little Amelia, especially, was already dealing with the crack and her dreams. Older Amy was nothing for that little Scottish girl."
Amy says she's fine and supposed to rest according to the Doctor. Amelia asks what Doctor and Amy taps her head
"Because that's a normal response." Ryan snorted.
"Way to go." Yaz laughed, "Really helps with the 'not crazy' thing."
Amy shrugged, chuckling. "Little me has seen weirder."
Amy continues he is in her head; left a message like she is an answerphone. She asks where she is then works out it is the National Museum, and she was there when she was little – the penny drops
"And you've figured out it is baby you." Rose grinned.
Amy says it is complicated, remembering it's what, 1996?
Ryan and Yaz shared a look, another reminder of how much older some of the group were. "We weren't even born then." Ryan declared.
Amy groaned, "Please don't say that. Makes me feel far too old."
"I'm with her, Yaz." Dan complained, "I feel old enough around you, don't remind me!"
"Not as old as me." Rory muttered in her ear making her laugh and earning confused looks from those that hadn't heard or understood what he meant. They'd see soon.
Amelia asks who she is
"Boy, is that a long story." Nardole muttered.
Amy tells her it is a very long story
"A two-thousand-year-old story give or take a few years." Jack said, turning to give the four curious looks, "Amy's presence in the future is explained, but not Rory or the Doctor's." And that wasn't even asking about River trapped in the exploding Tardis
A display board shows the Pandorica's journey, taken to Rome under armed guard in 118AD, raided by the Franks in 420AD, prized possession of the Knights Templar in 1120 and then donated to the Vatican in 1231
"You've had a journey and a half." Clara raised an eyebrow at the information board.
"Not that I remember it." Amy shrugged, her own eyes drifting to her husband with a frown. She loved his so much and was honoured by his time protecting her, but she always wished he hadn't had to go through those hard long years alone.
Back in the past in the Pandorica chamber, the Doctor pulls out River's vortex manipulator from her bag and straps it to his wrist.
"So that's how you both get to the future." Rose grinned, happy to see the vortex manipulator.
Rory looked away from the group, Amy sighing, "It's how one of them got to the future."
Jack frowned, "What does that mean?"
She didn't explain anymore, worry brewing in the group at the implications.
Rory asks she'll be in the box for two thousand years? The Doctor replies yes but they'll take a shortcut, use River's vortex manipulator. He says it is a rubbish way to time travel but the universe if tiny now so they'll be fine
"A bumpy ride but will do the job." River sighed, already knowing her father wouldn't take it. Something she both admired and hated him for. He hadn't needed to go through that pain, but he had and would again for Amy's sake. Sometimes the love her parents had for each other overwhelmed her.
"I don't like the universe being tiny comment." Bill held up her hand, "Anyone else?" There was grumbled but no one said anything else, eager to hear what was about to happen.
Rory says their future is still out there then, their world. The Doctor says a version, not quite the one they know as Earth is alone in the sky. They'll go have a look, he just needs to put his hand on the strap, and don't worry it should be safe
"A world with no stars." Donna muttered, glazed eyes drifting to the ceiling as if she was outside with Wilf and his telescope. "Terrible world."
Rory counters that's not what he's worried about, the Doctor reassures him she'll be fine as nothing can get in the box
"Oh Rory." Amy muttered, practically pressing herself against her husband. One of his arms curled around her shoulders while she squeezed his other hand in her own.
Rory argues he got in there
"I mean that's a good point." Martha sighed, already hating what she guessed was about to happen, "We've seen you're not the only idiot with a sonic device. What's to stop someone else coming along and opening it or even stealing it?"
The four of them avoiding ye contact was the final nail in the coffin for her and a few other's suspicions.
The doctor says there's only one of him, he counted
"Thank everything for that." The Master muttered with a dark scowl. He absolutely did not care about anything happening on screen, not at all. The Doctor would fix the universe collapse and the Tardis was obviously fine. He had no reason to worry, none.
Jack grimaced, "You know normally I'd hate to agree with anything he said, but this time I do agree."
"Hey!" The Doctor pouted even as she agreed that was likely a good thing. It was bad enough when she ran into other versions of herself.
Rory declares the box needs a guard as he killed the last one
"My man." Mickey swore under his breath, unable to stop himself glancing at Martha. "Full respect. For just everything."
"I love you so much." Amy murmured in Rory's ear, "But, please never again."
"We stay together." Rory whispered back, squeezing her hand, eyes locked on her and shining with sincerity.
"Together." They'd fallen off that hotel roof together, gotten trapped in the past together, made a life together.
The Doctor tells him not to think about it as Rory argues she'll be all alone, the Doctor counters she won't feel it
"You don't think she'll feel it." Clara muttered, giving the Doctor a pointed look.
"Did you feel it?" Bill asked curiously.
Amy shook her head, "It was like being asleep, I remember the Doctor's message and then waking up but nothing before." She hesitated, "But sometimes it felt like I was dreaming, but I never felt alone." She gave Rory a soft expression.
Rory says he bets she won't. The Doctor warns him it is two thousand years and he won't sleep, he'll be conscious every second and it would drive him mad
"You'll need a long nap after that." Dan glanced at the man in the room who chuckled.
"Once I was me again, I did sleep for like a whole day just from the memory." Rory admitted, Amy snorting as she nodded along. Both eager to latch on to the humour instead of lingering on the reality, they've already been through it and dealt with it, they didn't want to linger on it again.
Rory asks if she will be safer if he stays, tells the Doctor to look him in the eye and tell him she won't be safer. The Doctor avoids his eyes and tries to say something but Rory interrupts shouting for him to answer him
"So stubborn." The Doctor sighed, glancing at River, "Its times like this it's clear he is your father."
River shrugged, sharing a grin with said father, "At least I get it honestly."
The Doctor admits yes, obviously. Rory asks how he could leave her then?
"You're a very good husband and friend." Martha nodded approvingly at Rory, also glancing at Amy.
Rory blushed at the praise, stuttering a little as Amy grinned wider, "He's the best."
DOCTOR: Why do you have to be so human?
"It's what you like about us." Bill grinned at the Doctor who rolled her eyes but didn't deny it.
The Master grumbled something under his breath but everyone ignored him, rightfully guessing it was something derogatory about humans.
Rory replies because at the moment he's not
"A very good point." Clara sighed, "You have to hold onto humanity especially when you don't have it."
The Doctor tells him to listen as this is the last advice he'll get in a long time. He is loving plastic but not immortal, he doesn't know how long he'll last and he's not indestructible. Stay away from heat and radio signals when they arrive as he can't heal or repair, damage is permanent. So, for god's sake, however bored he gets, stay out of – he vanishes. Rory puts on his helmet, draws his sword and settles down for a long time guarding the box
"Doctor!" Donna groaned, "Bloody typical space man, disappearing before you're done!"
"That's a long time to not get hurt." Graham grimaced.
"And a lot of terrible history to survive." Mickey added, with a concerned glance at Rory. Clearly, he'd survived it, but what had he seen and experienced in those long years alone?
NARRATOR [OC: According to legend, wherever the Pandorica was taken, throughout its long history, the Centurion would be there, guarding it.
"My Centurion." Amy murmured to her husband, both holding each other tight.
"An amazing story and legend to leave behind." Rose said, even as she frowned. Like most actual stories, they were partially a tragedy.
In the anomaly exhibition, an audio-visual presentation of the Lone Centurion's role in the Pandorica's story is shown on a screen. It talks of several documented accounts of his appearances and warnings to those trying to open the box before its time. The last account was during the London Blitz in 1941 where the warehouse the box was stored in was destroyed by incendiary bombs but the box itself was found the next morning a safe distance from the fire. Eyewitnesses talk of a figure in Roman dress carrying the box from the flames and since then there has been no sightings of the Lone Centurion, and some speculate he died that night if he ever existed, one last act of devotion to the box he had pledged to protect for nearly two thousand years
"1941, huh?" Jack mused, glancing at Rose and the Doctor, "That's the same year we met."
Rose shuddered, "I'm never going to forget those gas masks."
Yaz glanced at the two curiously but didn't ask, instead focusing on what they'd just seen/heard, "Fire. Wasn't that something you had to stay away from?" He hadn't died, or they desperately hoped he hadn't, but seeing as the universe was ending something big must have been happening.
Rory sighed, "Some things can't be avoided and I'd do it again." He turned his eyes on Amy whose expression was so soft and sad. They'd talked about his long years on rare occasions, and it was rarely pleasant.
Amy says oh, Rory as she sees. They're interrupted by a Dalek shouting exterminate
"Typical." Ryan groaned, "Now you have Daleks to worry about."
"But why and how?" Yaz frowned, "Weren't they fossilised? Did the Pandorica opening resurrect them too?"
They turned to the Doctor who winked and nodded to the screen to the pair's annoyance. No one commented on Amy's reaction to finding out what her husband had done, leaving the redheaded Scot to have her moment in peace.
Amelia asks what it is
"Danger." Nardole declared as the tension in the room rose.
The Doctor appears as the Dalek repeats exterminate, getting closer
"Thank god." Martha sighed in relief, "Please do something!"
"Planning to Doctor Smith." The Doctor gave her a small smile in reassurance.
The Doctor says trouble, spotting the two of them and declaring it complicated
"You're used to complicated sweetie." River smiled at her wife, "We've seen you deal with five of yourself after all." The Doctor grimaced at the reminder but nodded. At least little Amelia was cute and helpful, she couldn't say the same for many of her past selves.
The Dalek's weapons system is restoring as the Doctor says come along, Ponds
"You were just waiting to say that." Amy shook her head fondly at the Doctor who levelled a wide grin at her.
"No idea what you're talking about Pond."
They run to a Middle Eastern display where the Doctor steals a fez from a dummy
"Not the darn fez." Amy muttered, though she grinned at the reminder of its fate. The Doctor pouted, also remembering.
Clara chuckled, "He did like a fez in that face." The two grinned knowingly at each other.
"It also explains where the fez came from with the future Doctor." Bill pointed out.
"Just got to find a mop apparently." Yaz snorted, wondering what on Earth the Doctor would use that for. Knowing them, there was an actual reason.
Amy asks what they're doing. The Doctor replies they're running into a dead end, where he'll have a brilliant plan that involves not being in one
"So normal, run and hope." Donna shook her head. "You'd think you'd actually have a plan considering everything going on."
"In my defence." The Doctor held her hands up, "I only had like a minute from the past to figure out stuff."
A man appears asking what is going on? The Doctor shouts at him to get out, to run
"The guards." Mickey cursed under his breath, "Oh no." No one wanted to see an innocent guard killed for just doing their job. In their worry, no one noticed Amy, Rory, the Doctor, and River grin at each other knowingly.
The Dalek tells the man to drop the device, which is just a torch
"Oh no." Rose grimaced at the screen. The poor man.
The Doctor protests it isn't a weapon, telling it to scan it as it isn't a weapon and it doesn't have the power to waste. The Dalek scans and finds the intruder unarmed.
"C'mon Doctor, keep the Dalek's attention on you, let the man escape." Martha urged.
"Wait, what do you mean it doesn't have the power to waste?" Yaz latched onto the Doctor's words, "Is it not at full power?" That was very good news for the Doctor, Amelia, and Amy. She didn't get an answer.
The man drops his torch, revealing it is Rory in a museum guard uniform
"Rory!" Jack grinned, "The Roman legend himself." He laughed, several others joining in and cheering at seeing the man.
"Smart, getting a job at the museum." Dan mentioned.
Rory shrugged, blushing again under all the praise, "Best way to keep an eye on the box without arising suspicions."
"I imagine full Roman regalia can be quite suspicious in modern times." Mickey laughed.
Rory asks if it thinks? Shooting it with his Auton hand weapon
"Get him!" Bill cheered at seeing him fire at the Dalek. "So much for unarmed."
The Dalek shouts its vision is impaired, then stopping
"One less thing to worry about." Graham sighed in relief at seeing the Dalek dealt with.
"For now." Ryan shrugged, "There was definitely more in the display."
"Thanks, Ryan for that cheerful reminder." Yaz rolled her eyes at her friend.
Ryan grinned, unrepentant. "Any time."
Amy and Rory have a joyful reunion
The group all grinned at the reunion. Glad the pair had even a minute to enjoy being back in each other's company. For Rory who had waited two thousand years, and for Amy who'd lost him to non-existence. They all knew the happiness couldn't last, not with the end of the universe still happening and River in danger.
Rory apologises saying he couldn't help it; Amy tells him to shut up and kisses him
"You tell him Amy!" Clara grinned, laughing. The pair's joy infective.
The Doctor chimes in to shut up as they have to go, come on
"End of the universe and all that still happening." The Doctor added with a grin to her past self's interruption.
"Oh, shut up, you just hate the PDA." Amy rolled her eyes, giving the Doctor a pointed look as they pouted.
Rory tells her he waited, waited for two thousand years for her. Amy says no, still shut up
"Sorry dad, they're really not giving you a chance." River grinned at her father.
"I'm used to it." He sighed, grin still on his face. They hadn't really had the time there, but they'd had plenty after it was all over.
The Doctor says break, and breathe, muttering somebody didn't get out much for two thousand years
"Doctor!" Donna groaned, "Give the love birds a minute."
"We barely had a minute!" The Doctor protested weakly.
Amelia says she's thirsty, asking if she can get a drink
"Oh, right. Little Amelia is still there." Rose blinked having almost forgotten the little girl in the chaos of everything happening.
"And being better behaved than the Doctor." Mickey chuckled.
"Not hard." Martha added, making the Doctor pout again.
The Doctor says it is all mouths today, then realises the light from the Pandorica must have hit the Dalek
Yaz grinned proudly at the confirmation of her theory, "I knew it!"
"No one said otherwise Yaz."
"Shut up, Dan. Let me have my moment.
The Dalek's weapons start to move and the Doctor shouts out!
"Reunions over folks, time to start running again." Jack sighed, good mood in the room plummeting as the Dalek started to activate again. They really had no luck with these things.
They run to the museum reception. The Doctor asks what he did for two thousand years and Rory replied he kept out of trouble
"Something you're unable to do apparently." Rory raised a pointed look at the Doctor.
The room all 'oh-ed' like teenagers and Amy slapped a hand over her mouth to frantically try and stop the laughter threatening to escape.
"Wow, didn't know you had that in you handsome." Jack winked at the man.
River just gave the Doctor a look very similar to her father's, "He's right, you know."
The Doctor just sighed, "I know."
The Doctor asks how and Rory admits unsuccessfully. He then spots the Doctor holding a mop now and says that's how he looked all those years ago when he gave him the sonic
"I mean two thousand years; that's a lot of trouble to keep a box secure through." Graham pointed out, "And you did it all without really getting seriously hurt. I'd say you'd mostly succeeded."
"What is with the mop?" Clara gave the Doctor a raised eyebrow, "How is it going to help you here?"
The Doctor shrugged, not really having an answer.
The Doctor says no time to lose then, teleporting to the past and repeating his earlier interaction with Rory about Amy not being dead
"And that explains that whole thing." Bill nodded, satisfied for at least part of the mess to be resolved.
"Now just to deal with the Daleks in the museum, River in an exploding Tardis, and the whole end of the universe thing." Yaz sighed, why couldn't things ever be easy?
Back in the museum reception, the Doctor reappears and puts the mop through the door handles to the Anomaly exhibition
"At least it's got one use." Rose muttered at seeing the mop used, "However temporary to give you a moment to think." She doubted it would survive against the Dalek for long but they needed all the time they could get.
The Doctor apologises and Amelia asks how he can do that, is he magic?
"No. Just an idiot." Donna declared bluntly.
"Thanks Donna." The Doctor sighed, small grin sneaking onto her face despite the insult.
"Any time Martian."
The Doctor jumps back and tells Rory to get him out of the Pandorica, he is then back in the museum before realising he doesn't have the sonic now as he gave it to Rory two thousand years ago
"The joys of time travel." Jack nodded along in sympathy. The group's attention intently on the screen as they were shown the other side of the conversation with Rory from the start of the video.
He jumps back into the past to tell Rory to leave the sonic in Amy's top pocket, reappearing in the museum and retrieves his sonic from Amy
"Which gets you the sonic back." Martha sighed as she shook her head at his antics.
The Doctor says off they go before stopping them as he asks little Amelia how she knew to come there. Amelia shows him the leaflet and post-it note
"More time jumping to get little Amelia there." Yaz nodded along, the pieces of the picture easily slotting together now for this part at least.
The Doctor recognises his handwriting, grabbing a new leaflet and post-it note from reception and vanishing, he returns with the drink he took from Amelia earlier
Clara sighed, "Did you seriously steal her own drink to give to her later?"
The Doctor shrugged, "More hygienic than stealing a random drink." Clara couldn't argue against that as much as she wanted to, and she wanted to.
Amy asks how he's doing that and the Doctor tells her about the vortex manipulator, and how it is cheap and nasty time travel and he's trying to give it up
"But it works while the Tardis is, erh, out of commission." Jack grinned, faltering slightly at the reminder of River's current situation.
Amy asks where they're going and the Doctor replies the roof. As they approach the stairs, a second Doctor appears further up, without his fez, and falls down the stairs with smoking clothes
The tensions rose drastically in the room at the sight of the smoking future Doctor.
"So … that's not a good sign, right?" Dan asked in the shocked silence of the room.
"Shut up, Dan." Yaz muttered, eyes never leaving the screen except to glance at her Doctor in the room who was smiling serenely like nothing was wrong. She would have been reassured if not for River holding her wife's hand tightly with a scowl at the screen.
Rory says it is the Doctor; how can it be him. Amy chimes in asking if it is him. The Doctor replies it is him, him from the future
"Hate time travel sometimes." Donna scowled. Just as things were looking alright with all the reunions, they had to have this happen.
The future Doctor wakes and whispers in the Doctor's ear before falling back down again
Amy, Rory, and River shared a look at seeing the future Doctor whisper in the current Doctor's ear.
"What secrets are you being told?" Martha narrowed her eyes at the screen.
Rose snorted, "As if she's going to tell us. Or tell Amy and Rory in the video."
"True." Martha sighed.
Amy asks if he is dead? The Doctor replies what, dead? Yes, of course he is dead. He has twelve minutes, that's good
"Better than nothing?" Ryan winced. Why did there always have to be deadlines and time limits?
"You're dead?" Bill frowned, turning to the Doctor in the room, "How can you be dead?"
The Doctor didn't look away from the screen but Amy sighed, taking pity on the tense room, "Rule 1."
The doctor lies. The realisation light up in most people's eyes, relief clear as they sat back a bit, tension lessening slightly.
Dan leaned closer to Yaz, "There's rules?" She waved him off, too tense to explain right now.
Amy replies how is having twelve minutes to live good? The Doctor says you can do a lot in twelve minutes – suck a mint, buy a sledge, have a fast bath, come on, they need to get to the roof
"We saved the world in twenty minutes the first time we met." The Doctor reminded Amy nonchalantly.
"Doctor." Amy sighed, glaring at him. That was not the point and she knew it.
Rory protests they can't leave him there dead. The Doctor replies is he in charge now? So, tell him, what are they going to do about Amelia?
"Amelia?" Clara asked, eyes wide as she looked round the screen, "Where did she go?"
Jack curse under his breath, "The event horizon is closing, it's getting too close, there's nothing else is there?"
The Doctor gave him a rueful smile and nodded to the screen. In a way it was good she'd vanished, it meant they didn't have to drag her into the danger that followed.
Amy and Rory look for her asking where she went. The Doctor tells them there is no Amelia and from now on there never was as history is still collapsing
"Multiple time limits." Donna sighed, "Lovely."
Amy asks how she can still be there is Amelia isn't? The Doctor explains they're all anomalies, hanging on in the eye of the storm but the eye is closing and if they don't do something fast reality will never have happened. Today just dying is a result, so come on.
"Good day to be an anomaly." Bill snorted. "But you really should get on with fixing the whole collapsing universe thing.
"Thanks Bill." The Doctor grinned as she rolled her eyes, "We'll get right on that."
Amy argues he won't die as time can be rewritten, he'll find a way, she knows he will
"So much belief in your brave righteous Doctor." The Master mocked, smirk curling at his lips as he clicked his tongue, "How the mighty will fall and disappoint you."
Amy stubbornly ignored him but the Doctor looked at him curiously. She didn't miss the way he gripped the arms of his chair tightly – seeing her 'death' had shaken him more than he would admit. She looked ways with a hidden smile.
Rory covers the dead Doctor with his jacket as the Doctor shouts for them to move. The Dalek is restored
Several members nodded approvingly at Rory covering the 'dead' Doctor with his jacket, knowing they also wouldn't have felt right about just leaving him there.
"Time for more running." Graham sighed as the Dalek was restored. "Why is it always the running?"
They reach the roof and Amy asks how it is morning already. The Doctor repeats that history is shrinking, is anyone listening to him? The universe is collapsing they don't have much time
"We never do." Martha sighed.
The Doctor sonics a satellite dish off its pole as Rory asks what he's doing, he replies he's looking for the Tardis
"The one that is exploding in the heart of the explosion?" Donna said pointedly. "That Tardis?"
"Yeah, that one." The Doctor grinned.
Rory points out the Tardis is exploding and the Doctor corrects himself that he's looking for an exploding Tardis then
"If you want to be pedantic." The Doctor muttered with a look at Rory who threw his hands up in exasperation as Amy grinned
Amy doesn't understand, the Tardis blew up and took the universe with it but why would it do that and how?
"You know that is a good point." Yaz frowned. "We know it is exploding but not why or how. I'm pretty sure that's not a normal thing."
Ryan shrugged, "I think it's better to deal with the exploding Tardis then figure out the details later."
"Exactly." The Doctor snapped her fingers and pointed at Ryan with a grin, "Three points to Ryan!"
The Doctor says that's a good question for another day, the question for the moment is that the total event collapse means every star in the universe never happened, and so if all the stars that ever were are gone, what is that - a large burning ball in the sky
"Who needs a sun when you have an exploding Tardis." Bill snorted.
"At least it makes finding the Tardis easier?" Clara grimaced, trying to look on the bright side.
The Doctor repeats he's looking for an exploding Tardis as Rory protests that's the sun. The Doctor argues is it, as this is the noise it is making right now – pointing the satellite at it as they hear the Tardis noise
"She's screaming." Jack muttered with a wince at the sound, glancing at River who was trapped within it.
The Doctor says his Tardis burning has been keeping the Earth warm
Bill frowned, "I don't know how to feel about that." On one hand it was good to know the Earth was surviving on its warmth, but on the other and exploding Tardis was a terrible thing. And that wasn't mentioning River.
Rory points out there is something else, they hear River's voice saying she's sorry, my love
"River." Rose winced, before frowning as she sat up, "But does that mean she's alive still and you can get her out?"
The Doctor winked at her and looked back to the screen in answer.
Rory hears the voice but Amy can't, he says to trust the plastic
"A completely normal sentence." Ryan snorted, "Seriously, what are our lives?"
River repeats her words as Amy realises it is River; how can she be up there? Rory says it must be a recording or something
"I wish." Rory sighed; it would have been kinder for River to not be trapped in the exploding Tardis but they had needed her to help stop it. River gave her father a small smile for the comment, the pair sharing a long look.
The Doctor explains it is the emergency protocols, the Tardis sealed off the control room and put her in a time loop to save her, she's at the heart of the explosion
"But she is alive!" Donna grinned, "And you have time before the end of the universe to get her out." That was better than how things went half the time.
"Now to get her out." Martha nodded with a stern look at the Doctor who chuckled and nodded her head back to the screen in a reminder it was the past.
River is forever running to the doors, opening them and seeing the rock wall as she repeats her words, only this time the Doctor is standing there in the Tardis
The group all cheered at seeing the repeat of River's scene interrupted by the Doctor's arrival.
"You used the vortex manipulator." Clara grinned in realisation.
"Easier to do when you know where she is." The Doctor nodded along.
The Doctor says hi honey, he's home. River asks what sort of time does he call this?
Jack chuckled, "Got to keep him in check River, even at the end of the universe."
River grinned back with a wink, "And don't you know it, Handsome."
"I hate you two meeting." The Doctor grumbled, the pair grinning on either side of her.
He brings River back to the rooftop; she greets Amy and then is surprised by the plastic Centurion being there
"Right, she missed most of that story." Yaz winced.
"And we don't have time to cover it all." Rose sighed, "End of the universe is still happening and all that."
The Doctor says it is okay as he's on their side, River asks really, and the Doctor says yeah
"That's all you really need to know right now." Mickey nodded, "Now enough chit chat, more saving the universe."
River says she dated a Nestene duplicate once, swappable head, which kept things fresh. The she gets down to business, as question number one is what in the name of sanity has he got on his head?
"Who haven't you dated, River?" Amy sighed with a pointed look at her daughter.
"Oh, plenty more to see and explore mother." River grinned back.
"River." The Doctor sighed.
"It's okay, Sweetie, you're still my favourite."
The Doctor says it is a fez, he wears them now, fezzes are cool
"No, no they really aren't Doctor." Clara sighed.
"They are!" The Doctor protested.
"No. Opposite of cool." Amy argued, turning to Clara, "River and I made it our mission to destroy every fez he could get his hands on."
"So much horrible fez slaughter." The Doctor mumbled as the three women sighed at her.
Amy snatches the fez and throws it into the air where River shoots it to pieces.
"Great that fashion mess is dealt with." Donna crossed her arms with a pointed look at the group, "Please can we get on with saving the universe?"
"It was important." River shrugged.
"My poor fez." The Doctor mourned.
The Dalek rises up above the parapet shouting exterminate. The Doctor shouts run, move and Rory hurry's them up. The Doctor uses the satellite dish as a shield as they escape back into the museum
"Time is up." Ryan winced.
"Even more running." Graham sighed.
River hurries the Doctor on but he shushes her as it is moving away to find another way in. He explains the Dalek needs to restore itself to full power before the next attack which means they have exactly four a half minutes until it is at lethal power
Bill opened her mouth to ask how he knew that before her eyes lit up in realisation, "Because that's how long you have left to live right? Before you become the future Doctor you saw."
"Gold star for Bill." No one bough the Doctor's fake cheer, levelling her with concerned looks. None of them had shaken the image of the Doctor falling down the stairs yet, and likely wouldn't until they knew how they got out of it.
Rory asks how he knows and the Doctor replies because that's when it is due to kill him
"How do you know that's what's going to kill you?" Dan asked the Doctor in the room, "I mean how do you know something else won't happen?"
Yaz answered before the Doctor could even open her mouth, "Because it's the clear danger in the room and the Doctor was smoking as if hit by a Dalek weapon?"
"Alright, just asking." Dan held his hands up in surrender as the Doctor shrugged in answer, gesturing to Yaz when he glanced her way for answers.
"Plus, none of us want to think of more danger arriving to make the situation worse." Ryan shrugged taking pity on the very confused man.
River asks what he means about it killing him but the Doctor says shut up and never mind, asking how the Dalek can even exist as it was erased from time and then came back
"Right, River didn't get that memo." Clara winced, she's missed his dramatic fall down the stairs and collapse.
River gave the Doctor a pointed look, having now seen the context and hating it. "Don't think I didn't notice your distraction technique."
"Never thought you hadn't." The Doctor offered a weak smile, squeezing River's hand to remind them they were both find, none of them had really died here.
They move along an upper corridor as the Doctor ask how. Rory reminds him he said the light from the Pandorica
"Which restored it." Martha nodded slowly, "But didn't keep it alive to begin with, right?"
"So, what wasn't affected by the ending of the universe?" Rose continued, sharing a look with Martha as they were along the same line of thought. "The Pandorica? Is this more memory stuff like with Rory and the Nestene?"
"Please no more weird memory stuff." Mickey sighed, already resigned to having his wishes broken.
The Doctor rocked her hand in a so-so motion, "You're on the right lines."
"Great. Just great." Mickey grumbled, earning chuckles from Martha and Rose near him.
The Doctor corrects him that it is a restoration field not a light but sure call it a light, one that brought Amy back, but how did it bring back a Dalek when the Daleks never existed?
"Light is simpler." Donna nodded, "And you don't have time for complicated."
"However much that hurts you Doc." Jack grinned in agreement with Donna.
"Jack!" She protested giving him a pointed look, he returned it with an innocent look she didn't believe for a second.
Amy says to tell them and he does, saying when the Tardis blew up it caused a total event collapse, an explosion that blasted every atom in every moment in the universe. Amy finished except in the Pandorica
"This box is nothing but problems." Nardole scowled.
"It saved Amy." Bill reminded him, "But it is still the cause of like 97% of problems."
"97%?" The Doctor shot her a confused look to which her former student just grinned and shrugged.
The Doctor continues it is the perfect prison and inside perfectly preserved, a few billion atoms of the universe as it was and you could theoretically extrapolate the whole universe from a single one like cloning a body from a single cell, and they have a family pack
"No cloning." Graham immediately protested. "Please no cloning."
"Even if it is needed to save the universe?" Yaz grinned at him in question.
"Maybe then." Graham allowed.
Rory protests it is too fast, he's not getting it
"Same here mate." Mickey nodded in sympathy. The Doctor's explanations were often like that sadly.
The Doctor simplifies that the box contains a memory of the universe and the light transmits memory, so that's how they're going to do it
"Great plan." Clara spoke up, "But aren't you on a very strict time limit?" She eyed the screen nervously; the Dalek hadn't appeared yet but the group surely couldn't have more than a couple minutes left. The rest of the group tensed at the reminder of what was still to come, even if they were hopeful about the plan to save the universe.
Amy asks do what and the Doctor says relight the fire, reboot the universe. River cuts in he's being ridiculous, as the Pandorica partially restored one Dalek, if it can't reboot a single life form properly how will it reboot all of reality?
"She raised a very good point." Martha sighed, "I'm not sure I'd trust a faulty lighter to light a fire to keep me warm. Let alone a box to relight the universe."
Jack frowned, mind swirling as the pieces together. "The universe started with a bang though, so …. No!" His head snapped to the Doctor and River next to him, "Tell me you're not going to?"
The Doctor's grin and River shaking her head with a grimace was all the answer he needed as he sat back with a groan. Others watched the interaction, not having quiet put the pieces together but now too scared to ask.
The Doctor proposes giving it a moment of infinite power, transmitting the light from the Pandorica of every particle of space and time simultaneously. River says that would be lovely, but they can't as it is completely impossible
"When is anything truly impossible with the Doctor?" Rose snorted. She could think of more than one so called impossible thing that she'd experienced with the Doctor and she's sure the others would all agree, and by the nods and hums they did.
The Doctor argues it isn't, it's almost completely impossible, all they need is one spark
"Doctor." River sighed at his attitude.
"You love it." The Doctor grinned, the smile only getting wider as River couldn't argue.
"But what has that kind of power?" Donna asked, "To get the light to everywhere it needs to, surely you need some kind of massive … explosion. No!"
The group had put the pieces together, danger forgotten as they turned to the Doctor.
"The Tardis? That's why it is exploding?" Bill asked.
The Doctor winked and gestured to the screen to the audible groans of frustration from several in the group.
River asks for what and the Doctor says for big band two, listen. The Dalek reappears and shoots him.
The room cried out, the Doctor's imminent death and the Dalek's hunt forgotten in the drama of piecing together the Tardis' explosive fate. The Doctor wouldn't meet anyone's eyes, gaze looked on the screen as Amy, Rory, and River shared a long look.
The Dalek shouts exterminate as Rory shouts for River to get back
River shot her father a thankful smile for defending her, even as she clutched the Doctor's hand tightly to remind herself that he was fine and had lived despite his own stubborn stupidity.
Rory shoots the Dalek and it powers down again
"That finger gun of yours is certainly handy." Dan grinned.
Yaz scowled at him for the puns, "Really?" Dan shrugged unrepentant, they all needed a break from the tension and it was too good to pass on.
River falls to the Doctor's side reassuring him it is her and asking if he can hear her, and what does he need? The Doctor activated the vortex manipulator, vanishing
River scowled, remembering how her heart had fluttered and fallen in those terrible moments. She shuffled in her seat, just enough to punch the Doctor in the arm.
She wined, rubbing the spot her wife had attacked, "What was that for?"
"You know exactly what that was for." River scowled, turning stubbornly back around to watch the screen even as her grip tightened on the Doctor's hand.
The Doctor sighed but turned towards the screen, eyes catching on the Master as he also scowled in her direction, but the second he saw her looking his eyes darted back to the screen. She frowned, was he annoyed with her actions on screen or for the interaction with River? Knowing him it could be either or very likely both.
River asks where he went, worried as he could be anywhere. Amy tells her he went downstairs, twelve minutes ago
Amy winced at having had to break that news to River, it was better now knowing he hadn't actually died, but it still hurt to hear and see her daughter's reactions.
River demands to be shown as Amy breaks it to her that he died. The Dalek's systems are restoring
"Grief later, running now." Clara winced; it was always horrible having to compartmentalise these things but the Dalek was still a very big worry.
Rory says they have to move as it is coming back to life. River tells them to go to the Doctor, she'll be right with them
"River." The Doctor said lowly, "What did you do?"
"What I had to." River replied bluntly, a stubborn tilt to her chin as she refused to look at her wife.
The Doctor opened her mouth to argue again, she knew River had done something but not the details like she was sure she was about to find out. Jack caught her arm, shaking his head lightly in warning, a tense look to his eyes that said he would have done exactly the same as River. The Doctor sighed but shut her mouth.
Amy and Rory leave as the Dalek turns on River saying she will be exterminated. River replies not yet, its systems are restoring so its shield density is compromised. One alpha mezon burst to its eyestalk will kill it permanently
The group was tense and eager, they wanted to see River deal with the Dalek once and for all and finally solve that problem, but they were also tense to see what had happened to the Doctor. A few winced from how cold River was being, but they'd all seen worse, and many of them had done worse. As much as they'd like to forget sometimes.
The Dalek's records indicate she will show mercy as an associate of the Doctor's
Jack snorted, "And you're a fool for believing that counts when you've just killed the Doctor."
River introduces herself, saying to check its records again. It asks for mercy, and River makes it repeat it
"River." The Doctor mumbled, wincing as she made it beg for mercy. Her eyes darted to Clara, unable to not think about her time on Skaro with Missy and Clara, especially after seeing it relatively recently. This Dalek may not have deserved it, but still.
"Don't Doctor." River spoke quietly but stubbornly.
The Doctor opened her mouth to argue but shut it quickly as her eyes latched onto a faint glow of her hands, the regeneration might be paused but it was still simmering beneath her skin and showing signs. She quickly hid her hands before River could look, not meeting Yaz's knowing gaze despite feeling it.
River gets it to say it again. Back at the museum reception, Amy and Rory find the latter's jacket but the Doctor's body is gone
"And now the Doctor's gone wondering." Donna grumbled, "Where on Earth have you gone?"
"A good sign that he's not dead." Mickey shrugged.
Rory asks how he could have moved as he was dead, shouting for the Doctor. Amy protests he was dead, but River joins them asking who told them that
"All done with the Dalek?" The Doctor grumbled under her breath.
"Oh definitely." River smirked back, unbothered.
Martha ignored them, shaking her head, "Rule one; the Doctor lies."
Amy said the Doctor did, and River chimes in with rule one – the Doctor lies. Amy asks where the Dalek is, and she replies it died
"Painfully I hope." The Master drawled, a maniacal glint to his eye that made River grimace even as she nodded. She did not regret it, not one second, but the Master had a way of getting under your skin in the worst way.
They return to the Anomaly exhibition where the Doctor is in the Pandorica
"Is he healing himself or causing more problems?" Bill tilted her head at the sight, curious.
Clara chuckled, "Knowing him, both."
Amy calls for him as Rory asks why he told them he was dead
"So, you wouldn't focus on what he was up to." Rose grimaced, "He needed time."
"Distraction duty." Mickey sighed, "Lovely."
Amy realises they were a diversion and as long as the Dalek was chasing them, he could work here. River calls to him asking what he was doing
"A constant question with the Doctor." Martha shook her head, a fond smile slipping onto her face now that the danger of the Dalek was gone and the Doctor had not been killed.
"Why am I constantly bullied here?" The Doctor pouted as she looked round the room.
"You deserve it." Donna shrugged, "Keeps that big head of yours manageable."
"Thanks, Donna." She sighed.
"Any time space man."
The light from the Tardis is getting brighter and Rory asks what is happening. River says reality is collapsing, its speeding up, juts look at the room
"Now would be a great time to get on with the plan and fix things." Ryan grimaced, glancing between the group to urge them on.
Amy shrugged, "I mean reality still exists so I think we're good." Though she could admit it was nerve-wracking seeing reality disintegrate gain, even knowing they stopped it in the end.
Amy asks where everything went as things vanish round the room, River explains history si being erased and they're running out of time. She shouts at the Doctor demanding he tells them what he's doing. He says big bang two
"Massive explosion." Mickey grinned, "Fun way to solve things."
Rose rolled her eyes at him, turning to Martha, "You chose to marry him?"
Martha chuckled as Mickey protested, neither of them missing Rose's teasing grin, "I did."
Rory says the Big Bang was the start of the universe and Amy asks if the Doctor means the second one will bring them back
"Why do I feel like this is too easy?" Bill frowned.
"Easy?" Clara raised a pointed eyebrow, "They survived a Dalek, Amy died, and Rory guarded a box for two thousand years, how is this easy?
"No, she has a point." Yaz chimed in, frowning thoughtfully, "It feels too easy to blow up the Tardis with the Pandorica and restart the universe. Isn't the Tardis already exploding and that's half the problem?"
They turned to look at the four present on screen who pointedly looked to the screen in answer.
River realises what he means – the Tardis is still burning and exploding at every point in history, if they throw the Pandorica right into the heart of the explosion
"But how?" Rose muttered.
"Sounds like fun." Dan said quietly earning an elbow to the side from Yaz.
Amy asks then what as River continues the light from the Pandorica would explode everywhere at once like the Doctor said earlier. Amy asks if it would work, if it would bring everything back
"It's the only idea you have and time is very low." Donna sighed, "It better work."
River says the restoration field powered by an exploding Tardis happening at every moment in history, it's brilliant and might even work. He's wired the vortex manipulator to the box, Amy asks why, and River continues it is so he can take it with him, fly the Pandorica into the heart of the explosion
Graham frowned, "Right, I might be misunderstanding something, but doesn't that involve the Doctor also entering the explosion?"
Bill grimaced, "And there's the catch." There always was one.
Shortly later, Rory asks if she is okay, Amy asks if he is, he isn't, so she replies shut up then
"Healthy communication." Jack grinned, "Congratulations."
"Oh, you can shut it too handsome!" Amy grinned back, as Rory sighed next to her.
River approaches telling Amy the Doctor wants to speak to her. Amy asks what happens to them with the explosion
"Is this one of those non-existence things or you also die kind of things?" Clara asked with a wince, eyes darting unconsciously to Donna who they'd just seen go through something similar ish.
No one answered her.
River explains they will wake up where they are supposed to be, none of this would have ever happened and they won't remember it. Amy asks her to say the Doctor comes back to. River just replies he'll be at the heart of the explosion
"You self-sacrificing idiot." River glared the Doctor next to her down. She'd been calm back then because she'd had to be for her parents but it had killed her inside knowing.
"You're one to talk." The Doctor shot back, eyes once again catching the golden shine to her skin and darting to hide her hands.
She wasn't quick enough this time. River snatched her hand, gaze latching onto the familiar glow. "Doctor, what was happening when you were brought back to this room?" The Doctor looked away, "Doctor, tell me."
The Doctor pulled her hand out of River's grip, "Not now River."
"Later." River conceded, glancing to Jack who'd watched the quiet exchange with a knowing glint to his eyes. He nodded once; he'd help her later.
Amy asks so, and River continues all the cracks will close but the Doctor will be on the wrong side, trapped in never-space. All memory of him will be gone from the universe, he would bever have been born. She adds, please, he wants to talk to Amy before he goes
"Tell me you didn't Theta." The Doctor winced at the metal contact from the Master, his glare burning into her as she refused to look at him.
"I'm still here and you remember me, don't you?" She snarked back in non-answer.
"I can never forget you." She winced at the weight of the declaration, the link between them shutting closed as she forced her attention back to the screen.
"Thank you, River." Amy muttered to her daughter, the scene had a whole new weight to it knowing River's time line and relation to both them and the Doctor. Here River was being brave for her parents and husband, and they had no clue who she really was.
"Always mother." River nodded solemnly, meaning every word no matter how much it had pained her.
Amy asks not her? River admits he doesn't really know her yet, now he never will
"You're so strong River." The Doctor sighed, meeting River's eyes with sorrow in her own, "I'm so sorry that you've had to be."
"It wasn't your fault sweetie." River replied but at the Doctor's pointed eyebrow raise she sighed, "I wouldn't have it any way regardless."
Amy goes to the Pandorica where the Doctor is very weak. She says hi, and he calls her the girl who waited all night in her garden, asking if it was worth it?
"Yes." Amy spoke clearly, eyes locked on the Doctor, "It was then, and it still is now. And I doubt anyone in this room will say otherwise."
To prove her point the group all nodded or muttered quiet agreements, they'd all been quiet, trying to take in what was happening and process it considering the Doctor was very much alive and they knew of them still. Something was still to happen.
Amy tells him to shut up, of course it was. The Doctor admits when she asked why he was taking her with him, he said no reason and he was lying
"You always do, sir." Nardole muttered. This video was only another example to join the long list.
"Shut up Nardole."
Amy protests it isn't important but the Doctor argues it is the most important thing left in the universe. It is why he is doing it, her house is too big, a big empty house and just her
"So much space for one little girl." Clara frowned, "Even with your aunt. It doesn't make much sense." There was still so much that didn't make sense.
Amy adds her aunt was there. The Doctor asks about her parents, where was everyone else in the house? Amy replies she lost her parents but when the Doctor asks what happened to them, she realises she doesn't know
Martha shifted, not the only one uncomfortable with the line of questioning, "Doctor is this really the time?"
The Doctor shared a look with Amy who nodded, the Doctor's face softening into a faint smile, "Trust me Martha, it was important."
The Doctor tells her it is okay, don't panic, it isn't her fault. Amy can't remember and the Doctor explains the crack in time in the wall of her bedroom has been eating away at her life for a long time. Amy Pond, al alone, the girl who didn't make sense, how could he resist?
Rose frowned, "It was eating away at her life for all that time? That's horrible."
"But big bang 2 will fix it right?" Bill chimed in, nodding in agreement with Rose's point. The group just gestured to the screen.
"You do like your mysteries." Clara sighed giving the Doctor a pointed look. She'd been a mystery too after all, one he hadn't been able to resist trying to solve.
Amy asks how she could have forgotten but the Doctor counters nothing is ever forgotten, not really, but she has to try. River shouts to warn them that it is speeding up
"You're out of time." Ryan grimaced, the room tensing as they realised things were about to happen.
Amy puts the Doctor's sonic screwdriver in his pocket as he tells her there is going to be a very big bang, so try and remember her family and they'll be there
"Find the happiness in tragedy." Jack mumbled quietly to himself. Eyes darting between River and the Doctor, desperate for something to happen so that the Doctor wouldn't do what he was about to. Surely something happened, otherwise she wouldn't be in the room with them, right?
Amy asks how she can remember if they never existed? The Doctor points out she is special, the crack in her wall, the universe pouring into her head, she brought Rory back, she can bring them back too. She just has to remember and they'll be there.
"A real life, a real childhood." Donna smiled softly at Amy. It felt like the opposite of her situation, she'd been forced to forget everything about the Doctor and their travels and Amy had lost her normal life. Neither was very fun. Amy's return smile wobbled, eyes shining as she exchanged a long look with the Doctor.
Amy says he won't be there. The Doctor says she'll have her family back; she won't need her imaginary friend anymore. Amy pond, crying over him, hey, guess what?
"You idiot, of course I'd cry over you." Amy told the Doctor, tears shining in her eyes but not falling. She hadn't expected for this to get her, but the memories were blurry due to rewriting history and it was different to see it, to know what the Doctor had been willing to do.
The Doctor smiled sadly at her, "Oh there are so many better things to cry over, best not to waste your tears."
"They're never a waste." Amy stared back stubbornly, "Never." River tightened her grip on the Doctor who refused to meet her eyes.
Amy asks what, and he replies gotcha. The Pandorica closes
"Oh Doctor." River muttered as she watched the screen. She wasn't sure she wanted to see this again.
Yaz frowned at the screen, forehead crinkled, "Wait, if Amy just has to remember to get her family back why can't she bring the Doctor back too? Hasn't the last video and this one been all about stories and memory."
The Doctor winked at her and a spark of hope went across the room, breaking the tension that had been rising as no miracle arrived to stop the Doctor being a self-sacrificing idiot. Maybe, just maybe.
River pushes them back as the Pandorica takes off, she gets a text message, telling the other two it's from the Doctor
"Of course, you leve a text even as you blast off to your death." Rose groaned, "What does it say?"
Martha grinned, "What's the bet it's something stupid."
Rose laughed, "Like that's even a doubt."
Amy asks what it says, and River replies geronimo
A round of groans went up across the room at the Doctor's predictability, but none of them were able to fully relax yet, wincing as the end got closer and closer. Amy rolled her eyes pointedly at the Doctor, but she only grinned, sticking out her tongue back at the Scot.
The Pandorica reaches the Tardis, with a bigger explosion that reverse back to the start of last episode
"Got to say, that's an impressive explosion." Dan sighed, even as he winced at the sight, knowing the Doctor was in the heart of it all. Said Doctor was pointedly not meeting anyone's eyes, and definitely ignoring the dark glare the Master was sending her.
The Doctor sits up on the floor of the Tardis, surprised he escaped but declaring it brilliant and he loves when he does that. He checks he still has legs, his cool bow tie and then decides he could buy a fez
"Priorities Doctor." Donna scolded even as she smiled at seeing him alive and seemingly in the Tardis.
"But is this real?" Clara asked, eyes narrowed at the screen. This felt far too easy, and things with the Doctor could rarely be described as easy.
The Doctor hears himself talking with Amy about a beach with automatic sand, realising that was them last week when they went to Space Florida, he realises he is rewinding, his time stream is unravelling, erasing
"Not that easy." Bill grimaced, answering Clara's earlier question as they watched the Doctor realise what was happening.
The group kept glancing at the Doctor, worried about what was happening and praying their theories about Amy would come true, otherwise they weren't sure how the Doctor was going to get out of this.
"Doctor." She felt the Master knocking on their mental link, like calling through a half-open door. She didn't acknowledge him, just pulled the metaphorical door closed. It didn't stop her from hearing the frustrated "Theta!" The weight of his gaze was heavy enough.
Still, he'd have to wait like the others.
The crack on the scanner closes and vanishes. He says hello universe, goodbye Doctor. Then he calls for Amy
Amy was holding Roy's hand tightly, hand turning white from the force and despite his wince, Rory didn't say a word or pull away. They all needed to see this, see what had happened to the Doctor.
"At least the cracks are gone?" Bill offered, trying to find something good about the situation. Still, even she couldn't smile at the universe being okay in the face of the Doctor not existing, so many things wouldn't have happened without him, so many lost, they'd seen it before in other videos.
Stil moving back through time (through the Lodger), the Doctor recognises it as three weeks ago when she put the card in the window. He calls for trying to tell her something, and notices she can hear him. A crack in the road heals
"C'mon, please." Yaz muttered, everyone leaning forward in their seats getting more and more hopeful at the idea that Amy could hear him.
Back during Flesh and Stone with the weeping angels, down in the maze of dead the Doctor of the time wishes people luck and says Amy cannot open her eyes, moving over to use River's computer and leaving Amy alone with her eyes shut. The current Doctor approaches saying she needs to start trusting him, it's never been more important
Amy's eyes widened drastically, "But you … that was you …" She trailed off.
The Doctor nodded with a weak smile, "Me but not the right me."
Others looked between them confused about what exactly they meant (and more than a little curious about the glimpses of other adventures they were getting).
Martha frowned thoughtfully, "You find it easier to hear when you can't see."
Amy shrugged, "Only sense you have left to trust, I guess."
Amy argues he doesn't always tell her the truth and he counters that if he always told the truth he wouldn't need her to trust him
"You raise a point, but I still dislike it." Bill declared, pointing an accusing finger at the Doctor who shrugged.
Amy asks how the crack in her wall can be there, and the Doctor admits he doesn't know yet but he's working on it. He asks her to listen, tells her to remember what he told her when she was seven
"You've closed it, but you don't know what made it in the first place." Rose summarised.
Amy shrugged, "Not really at this point, eventually though. As normal with the Doctor it's kind of circular."
"Wibbly wobbly timey wimey." Martha sighed, "Of course."
Amy asks what he told her but he says that isn't the point, she has to remember. She asks remember what, calling his name as he leaves
"You're trying to help her remember you." Jack realised, looking at the Doctor for confirmation. "You know she's your only hope of surviving this mess."
The Doctor just shrugged and gestured to the screen. Jack narrowed his eyes, refusing to look away until the Doctor sighed and gave a quick nod. Only then Jack was satisfied and turned back to the screen a little lighter.
Her eyes caught Amy's, the pair sharing a look as a few things made more sense between them.
He's back at Amy's house, when she was seven, the night he arrived and she was left waiting
"The very beginning of this Doctor." Clara smiled fondly at the memories of her original Doctor. She may have seen his ending, but Amy had been present for his beginning.
He's outside the house, spotting little Amelia who'd fallen asleep outside, lying on her suitcase. He declares her the girl who waited, muttering for her to come here as he lifts her inside
"I still can't believe you let a little girl sleep outside in the cold all night!" Donna shot a glare at the Doctor.
The Doctor held up her hands in surrender, "I didn't make her do anything! Besides, her family didn't notice!" She gestured to the screen, "And, as you're about to see, I didn't leave her alone all night!"
"That's not as good a defence as you think it is, sir." Nardole chimed in, earning a glare of his own from the Doctor.
"You came back after all." Amy mused quietly.
The Doctor nodded sadly, "Just far too late."
Amy shook her head, a bittersweet smile breaking across her face, "It's never too late."
He carries little Amelia back into her house and puts her in bed.
The Doctor gestured pointedly to the screen, looking at Donna who rolled her eyes in answer, "Yeah, yeah, space man." Amy chuckled lightly to herself, that explained how she'd gotten to bed that night, though it had only helped make the whole thing feel more like a dream.
The Doctor tells sleeping Amelia it's funny, he thought if she could hear him, he could hang on somehow, silly Doctor
"Hopeful." River whispered softly to her wife, "And hope is never a silly thing, my love." The Doctor just looked away.
When you wake up, you'll have a mum and dad, and you won't even remember me. Well, you'll remember me a little. I'll be a story in your head. But that's okay. We're all stories in the end. Just make it a good one, eh? Because it was, you know. It was the best. The daft old man who stole a magic box and ran away. Did I ever tell you that I stole it? Well, I borrowed it. I was always going to take it back. Oh, that box. Amy, you'll dream about that box. It'll never leave you. Big and little at the same time. Brand new and ancient, and the bluest blue ever. And the times we had, eh? Would have had. Never had. In your dreams, they'll still be there. The Doctor and Amy Pond, and the days that never came.
Several members of the group were holding back tears at the Doctor's quiet words to the younger version of their friend.
"Boy, did I dream about that box and those adventures." Amy laughed wetly; gaze locked on the Doctor.
The Doctor attempted a weak smile, having never expected anyone to hear that. "Explains the dolls and drawings. Poor Rory playing dress up."
"Oh, stop it you silly raggedy man." Amy said, not letting her get away with a distraction, "I could never forget you, even if you were only a brilliant story it would never leave me."
The Doctor smiled softly at her, unable to stop herself from glancing quickly to Donna who had forgotten, whose memory she had taken.
He tells her the cracks are closing but can't close properly until he is on the other side, he doesn't belong there anymore. He thinks he'll skip the rest of the rewind, he hates repeats. The Doctor tells her to love well, love Rory, and then says his goodbye
"You say you hate a lot of things." Jack mumbled quietly to the Doctor, "This time, the rewinds might have given you more time."
The Doctor just shook her head, "It didn't matter if I had all the time in the world Jack, some things have to end, but that doesn't mean it has to be sad." She met Clara's gaze, her doe eyes shining with tears as she nodded once, remembering his real ending upon Trenzalore. A story had ended that day, but another began.
The Doctor goes through the crack in the wall and it closes behind him. Amelia wakes up, looks around then goes back to sleep while stars shine in the sky
"None the wiser." Bill mumbled at the sight of young Amelia sitting up then going back to sleep, she didn't even know what she'd missed.
"The stars are shining again though." Ryan noticed, "It worked."
"But at what cost." Yaz sent a worried look at the Doctor, knowing better than anyone how close to the end this Doctor's story was coming.
An adult Amy wakes to bright sunshine, her Doctor doll sits on the chest of drawers and her wedding dress hags from the open wardrobe door. A woman enters with a tray
"It seems you did remember, even if it was only in your dreams." Rose smiled at Amy who nodded. The Doctor had never really left her, and she'd made sure Rory stuck with her too.
Tabatha greets her and Amy realises she's her mother
"That's going to confuse the poor woman." Martha chuckled, the group's joy at seeing Amy get her family back still tempered by the loss of the Doctor.
"I was confused, let alone her!" Amy chuckled, able to see the humour now better.
Tabatha replies of course she is her mum asking what the matter is with her. She hands her the breakfast saying her father made it so throw it out the window if it is awful. She tells her to be downstairs in ten minutes as it is a big day before leaving
"You're getting married!" Donna grinned, "Big day, and one I doubt the Doctor will miss." If he was going to return any time it would be Amy's wedding. He'd shown for hers after all, and she didn't even remember.
Amy says of course she's her mum, asking herself why that is surprising
"A lot has happened and that leaves an impression." Jack smiled gently, Amy giving him an acknowledging nod.
She enters the living room where her father – Augustus – fears he's been using the same joke book as the best man. She says he's her tiny dad
"He is short." Ryan blinked at Augustus, looking back at Amy who was very much not.
Amy shrugged, "Got my height from my mum apparently."
Tabetha asks why she is acting as if she's never seen them before, Amy doesn't know
Amy sighed, sharing a soft look with Rory. It had been a brilliant day for multiple reasons, but it had started as a very confusing one, at least things made more sense now.
Rory gets a phone call as he's in his house, cleaning his teeth. He greets Amy happily and she asks if he feels like he's forgotten something really important?
"That is very concerning for a man to hear on his wedding day." Mickey raised an eyebrow to Ryan who sighed, nodding.
"You don't know the half of it man."
Amy continues asking if he feels like there is some big thing in his head and he feels like he should remover it but can't, Rory replies yep
"A wedding maybe?" Clara chuckled.
"Though that is not what Amy means." Bill shrugged. They were all still holding out hope for Amy to come through and rescue the Doctor.
Amy asks if he is just saying that because he's scared of her, yep, she says she loves him, he automatically says yep again
"What a great relation you two have." Martha chuckled, poor Rory groaning in embarrassment as the group laughs at his automatic reply to Amy
Rory scrambles to say he means he loves her too
"Saved it." Dan grinned teasingly.
At the wedding reception, the master of ceremonies introduces Augustus who asks for another two minutes as he's looking over his speech. Tabetha tells Amy he'll be the death of her, unless she pre-emptively strikes
"It looks like a beautiful wedding." Donna smiled at the pair.
Amy smiled back, "It was." She shared a look with Rory, fond memories of that day, before her gaze drifted to the Doctor and River, for more than one reason.
Amy sees River walk past the window, standing up
"That must be confusing when you can't quite remember." Rose frowned, leaning forward, eager to see the Doctor return (and curious to see Amy and Rory's wedding reception).
Rory asks if she is okay, she says she is, Rory pushes that she's crying
"It's a wedding, that's not necessarily concerning." Ryan offered.
"Maybe, but in this case, I doubt it is for those reasons, Ryan." Graham replied.
"Why can't it be both?" Ryan doubled down. Amy just grinned at him making him wave at her to emphasises his point, Graham just sighed.
Amy agrees asking why she is doing that. Rory suggests it is because she is happy, happy Mrs Rory
"Mrs Pond." Amy argued back, grinning wildly.
"I blame the Doctor for that." Rory sighed, gesturing to the time traveller.
"Wait." Bill blinked, "I just realised that Pond is Amy's last name, but the Doctor always calls Rory Pond too."
"Yep." Rory grimaced, lips twitching as he held back his smile, "Should be the Williams', and to most people we are, but not the Doctor."
"Pond is a fairy tale!" The Doctor protested, Amy nodding along. Rory turned to his daughter for support but she just grinned, matching her daughter's expression.
Amy replies no, she's sad, really sad. Rory mutters great
"Not what anyone wants to hear on their wedding day." Mickey winced.
"At least Amy has an actual reason." Martha tried but still she couldn't help wince along side her husband at Amy's words.
"You know I didn't mean it like that." Amy muttered quietly to her husband.
Rory smiled softly, "I know, I know."
Amy asks why she's sad. Rory tells her a woman left something for her – a book with a Tardis design cover
"Like River's diary." Yaz latched onto the sight, turning to River. "You were trying to help her remember."
River smiled with a nod, "Couldn't let the idiot be self-sacrificing without doing something to get him back."
Amy says it is blank and Rory says it is a present. Amy asks why, and Rory replies she knows the old wedding saying thing, Amy is distracted and he notices
"Something new, something old." Donna started.
Martha grinned at her friend as she continued the saying, "Something borrowed, something blue."
"That definitely counts." Rose laughed, "Blue, and hopefully bringing something old back." If they could get the Doctor back through Amy's memories.
Augustus is now ready, starting his speech as Amy spots a guest wearing a bow tie, then another with braces, a tear falls on the book
"You're remembering." Jack breathed out, excitement building in the room. This was it; this was the Doctor's return; it had to be.
Augustus talks about Amy at age six announcing the head teacher looked like a cartoon when Amy tells him to shut up
"C'mon." Bill bounced excitedly.
Rory and Augustus call her name worried. Amy apologises but tells them to shut up, please. Someone is missing, someone so important
"Endlessly important." Amy smiled softly at the Doctor, "Someone I'd dearly want at my wedding and in my life." The Doctor smiled back, weaker than the Scot's as she turned back to the screen.
Rory asks what is wrong as Amy apologies again, saying when she was a kid, she had an imaginary friend. Tabetha mutters not this again
Donna chuckled, "Oh, it sounds like she's heard a lot about the Doctor."
"Probably likes me as much as Sylvia does." The Doctor chuckled with a knowing look at Donna.
Amy continues about her raggedy Doctor, he wasn't imaginary, he was real. Tabetha continues too about the psychiatrists they sent her to
"Can't escape that apparently." Clara gave Amy a sympathetic look, knowing how crazy you could seem to people who didn't understand, "In one reality you're crazy because you see stars, and here because of an imaginary friend."
"No winning." Amy shrugged, unbothered. It was a long time ago.
Amy declares she remembers him, she remembers and she brought the other back so she can bring him home too. Raggedy man she remembers and he is late for her wedding! Glasses rattle gently
"A terrible crime that I would be horrible to not rescind." The Doctor grinned at Amy, "My fairy tale little Amelia."
"My raggedy Doctor." Amy grinned back, eyes shining in her eyes again.
The rest of the room was cheering at Amy's declaration, watching the screen carefully for the sight of the Doctor returning. The Doctor ignored the look digging into her from the Master, focusing on the screen and the ending of the mess.
Amy continues she found him, found him in words like he knew she would. That's why he told her the story of the brand new, ancient blue box. A string wind blows balloons around
"Laying the roots for your return." Jack shook his head, a few fond chuckles escaping, "Always with the crazy plans and schemes, Doc." The Doctor just winked in return, not going to get into how she'd doubted it would work near the end, fearing River and the other's wraths.
Amy says clever as Rory asks what it is, she continues with the wedding saying – something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.
"The Tardis." Bill shouted as she came to the realisation, eyes widening, followed by laughter. The Tardis ticked all the boxes, where else would the Doctor reappear than my and Rory's wedding?
"Though we all know that was more stolen than borrowed." River gave the Doctor a pointed look.
"Same thing."
The Tardis materialises in the middle of the room. Rory now remembers, saying it is the Doctor, how did they forget him? Rory was plastic, the Doctor was the stripped at his stag, a long story
"What a wild ride of emotions." Mickey blinked at Rory's remembrance. "I have so many questions mate."
"You don't want to know." Rory sighed, shaking his head, "Though I'm sure I won't get a choice in the matter." The memories had been both easy and difficult to get used to, converging the different realities and lives into one.
Amy knocks on the Tardis door asking is she surprised him this time. He appears in top hat and tails
"Yes and no." Clara smiled knowingly, "He hoped but didn't know, but he still prepared."
"For once." Yaz snorted, the sight of him in top hat and tails an entertaining one. Now the party could really start, the Doctor was back!
The Doctor lies that he is completely astonished, never expected it. How lucky eh happened to be wearing this old thing. He turns to the room greeting everyone and introducing himself as Amy's imaginary friend, but he came anyway
"Those poor confused party guests." Donna shook her head; they had no idea what was going on and knowing the Doctor they'd never get a real answer.
"Not fun to explain, yeah." Rory grimaced in memory; they'd mostly waved it off but some people had been persistent.
"Rule one, the Doctor lies." Amy smiled fondly at the Doctor, rolling her eyes at his obvious lie about being surprised. What else should she have expected?
Amy declares he definitely may kiss the bride. The Doctor counters from now on he will be leaving the kissing duties to the bran new Mr Pond. Rory argues he isn't Mr Pond; that's not how it works
"That's absolutely how that works." The Doctor grinned unrepentant, "The cooler name wins."
"River, control your husband." Rory begged his daughter.
"Sorry dad but I'm with the Doctor on this one." Rory just sighed at River's stance, what else should he have expected.
"You love it really, Mr Pond." Amy grinned cheekily at her husband who had no option but to throw up his hands in frustration and accept it, smile sneaking onto his face.
The Doctor says it is, Rory agrees
"Glad we all agree." The Doctor grinned, just to rub it in.
The Doctor turns back to the room saying he'll move his box as they need the space, he only came for the dancing. Later, in the disco part of the party, the Doctor is dancing (badly)
"You are a terrible dancer and I am embarrassed to know you." Bill pointed an accusing finger at the Doctor.
"So, you're not going to invite me to a club anytime?" The Doctor raised an eyebrow.
Bill shudders at the idea as River shook her head fondly, "You would hate a club."
"Probably." The Doctor accepted, at least a normal Earth one with no mysteries attached.
Amy says he's terrible and embarrassing. The Doctor keeps going, instructing the little kids surrounding him on the dancing
"Of course, the kids are the only ones enjoying it." Martha smiled fondly at seeing the Doctor surrounded by kids, it was endearing even with the terrible dance moves.
Later, the tempo is slowed as the Doctor watched Amy and Rory dance slowly together. He says two thousand years, the boy who waited, good on Rory
"The pair who waited." The Doctor smiled softly, "Waited and fought for each other, each step of the way."
Amy and Rory were too distracted smiling at each other to really notice. The Doctor shared a look instead with River who had been watching her parents with love burning in her gaze, tinged with a slight bitterness and sorrow.
Outside Amy's house, the Tardis is parked. The Doctor talks to River, she asks if he danced, saying he always dances at weddings
"Never well though." River teased her wife, who sighed at all the bullying.
The Doctor says she tells him, River replies spoilers
"Our least favourite word." Clara muttered.
Amy snorted, "Think how we feel having already constantly heard it." Clara nodded in ascent, at least they usually got an answer relatively quickly.
The Doctor gives back the book and vortex manipulator saying the writing is all back and he didn't peak
"Ah so that's why it was blank." Yaz looked at River, it worked to being Amy's memories back and none of River's secrets were revealed, clever.
River thanks him, he asks if she is married
"Yes." River grinned, both in answer and in remembrance of what was to come next. The Doctor pouted at her, also remembering.
"Early days then." Jack nodded, even though that had already been made obvious, this just helped show exactly how early it was.
River replies is he asking? He is, she says yes. The Doctor catches up, saying hang on, did she think he was asking her to marry him or asking if she was married?
The group was all chuckling at the poor Doctor's confusion.
"Did you really have to torture him, River?" Amy sighed fondly at her daughter.
"Of course I did mother." River shrugged, wide grin on her face.
"Oh, she got you good Martian." Donna snickered at the poor Doctor who was hiding her face in her hands.
River says yes, the Doctor pushes was that a yes, or yes? River replies yes
The group was still laughing, the Doctor sinking further into her seat in embarrassment.
"Love you sweetie." River grinned down at her just getting a groan back.
The Doctor asks who River is and she admits they will find out very soon and she's sorry but that is when everything changes. She vanishes
"Got to keep him guessing." Rose shook her head.
"What a fun thing to hear after barely surviving saving the universe yet again." Martha sighed with a grimace, why couldn't things ever be simple? At least they all knew parts of what happened and what River meant.
"What does she mean?" Dan whispered to Yaz who waved him off.
"I'll explain next break." She finally gave in, as entertaining as his confusion was the poor man did deserve an explanation. Dan looked very relieved at that news.
Amy and Rory arrive, Amy shouting where the Doctor is off to, they haven't even had a snog in the shrubbery yet
"What is your obsession with kissing him?" Rory sighed exasperated at his wife.
Amy shrugged, unrepentant, "I was happy."
Rory protests, she tells him to shut up it is her wedding. Rory protests it is their wedding
"It takes two to tango." Mickey grinned.
"At least." Jack added earning both exasperated looks and curious ones.
The Doctor says sorry, he shouldn't have slipped away, bit busy. Rory says he just saved the whole of space and time, suggesting he take the evening off, maybe even a bit of tomorrow
"Maybe even a few days." Ryan suggested.
Bill snorted, "The Doctor? Take a break? Never."
"Oh, he goes even more insane than normal when he has a break." Amy snorted, giving the Doctor a pointed look. She decidedly remembered the cube incident.
The Doctor replies space and time isn't safe yet, the Tardis exploded for a reason. Something drew the Tardis to that particular date and blew it up, why and why now?
"The Silence." Clara frowned, "Which I'm guessing you worked out eventually." They all knew why after all having already seen those messes, and for her, having lived part of it.
"Eventually." Rory muttered.
The phone starts ringing as the Doctor continues the Silence, whatever it is, is still out there and, excuse him a moment. He answers the phone
"Who's on the phone?" Rose asked curiously, there weren't a lot of people that had that number after all.
The Doctor just grinned and winked.
The Doctor apologises for the bad line as he greets the being on the other side. He says something isn't possible, she was sealed into the seventh Obelisk, an Egyptian loose on the Orient Express in space, give us a mo. He turns to Amy and Rory saying something has come up, this will have to be goodbye
"Wait, the Orient Express?" Clara sat up curious, shooting a look at the Doctor.
"Ah, so you're the one that actually dealt with that phone call." Amy nodded, "Weirdly enough we never ended up there."
"That's a good thing, trust me." Clara grimaced, sharing another look with the Doctor, it had not been a pleasant or relaxing trip in anyway.
Amy agrees she thinks it is goodbye, asking Rory is he thinks so, he definitely does. Amy goes to the door and shouts goodbye to Leadsworth
The group all whopped and cheered as the pair said goodbye to Leadsworth.
"Not been put off by the end of the universe?" Jack joked to the two.
Amy shrugged, grinning, "Nah, wouldn't be the first or last time anyway." There was a scary amount of near end of the world stunts.
The Doctor returns to the phone call telling them not to worry about a thing, they're on their way
"Eventually." Clara snorted, it had been Eyebrows that responded to the call with her after all, so not anytime soon.
The screen faded to black as the video ended.
"Gosh, that was certainly a pair of videos." Donna muttered with a sigh, stretching her arms. It felt like it had taken a long time and no time at all.
Small conversations broke out between groups, no one wanting a real break since they'd had one recently but taking advantage of the few minutes between videos to chat.
River spun on the Doctor, Jack also raising a pointed eyebrow. "Spill. Where were you taken from?"
"River." the doctor muttered, eyes scanning the room and eventually locking on Yaz across the room. Her latest companion met her gaze, took in her situation and they threw the Doctor a grin and turned back to her conversation with Ryan and Bill. The meaning was clear, she was on her own.
Jack shrugged, "It's probably best to just tell her Doc."
"Don't call me Doc." She mumbled back, but sighed and nodded, "Fine, I'm just before regeneration. I can still feel it buzzing beneath my skin but the Tardis has frozen it."
"You're putting it off again." Jack frowned, noticing the slight shimmer of gold under her skin.
"Not by choice." The Doctor protested, "Besides there isn't much we can do about it now. Please, just drop it?"
"Fine." River conceded, "Let's see what the Tardis has in store for us next."
"Hopefully not more end of the world stuff." Jack joked, wincing under the glare the Doctor and River sent him for his comment. He'd just jinxed it.
