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Settling in to their new home was difficult. Of course Rory was happy beyond relief to have Amy with him, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t sad about everything else that he’d lost. He wouldn’t see his father again, or the Doctor, or any of his patients or other friends. It felt tragic to lose so much, even though he and Amy were alive and well, and so was everyone else. But knowing that they were alive (or would be at some point in the next few decades) did nothing to stopper the pain the loss.
It was a good thing that Amy and Rory had spent so much time learning how to be a team, because they worked together perfectly when it came to getting their bearings and figuring out how they were going to survive. Eventually they had settled into a nice little house, and they’d obtained the proper papers needed to prove their existences, and they fell into a pretty nice routine.
There were still days where one of them would suddenly look out the window, so certain that maybe they’d heard the sound of the TARDIS coming to take them off on yet another adventure. But it could never happen, and they both accepted that. It was still difficult, though, to know that their lives were going to be the slow path the whole rest of the way forward. No more exciting breaks to interrupt their daily routines.
Rory thought that things would never change, and he started to get comfortable with that idea. After so many years of settling in to his new life, he found that he could even accept that things were the way they were.
Rory flipped through one of Amy’s manuscripts while she was out on a playdate. It was nice to have the peace and quiet of a house to himself. Obviously they couldn’t tell anyone where (and when) they were really from, but it was easy enough to explain that they had moved to America from England, and were therefore not always fully aware of the way things worked here. It should have felt worse to build their friendships on the basis of lies, but maybe they’d just gotten too used to lying to the people they cared about during their time traveling with the Doctor.
Just as Rory reached a particularly action-packed part of the story, he froze when he heard the loud, familiar wheeze of the TARDIS. But that was impossible, wasn’t it? He had to just be imagining it because Amy’s story had made him nostalgic for times long past.
Still, it wouldn’t hurt to at least look, so that he could tell himself that he’d imagined it, and just go on with his day. So he turned around and pulled back the lacy curtains so that he could peer out into the backyard, where the noise had come from.
And like he’d already known, there was no blue police box waiting out there. It had sounded so real- but there was no point in dwelling. Rory already knew that he wasn’t going to tell Amy about this. Because he knew that as much as he missed the Doctor, it was even worse for Amy. The Doctor had been her very best friend for so long, and she had left him behind so that she could be with Rory. He knew that she didn’t regret the decision, but he also knew that she would probably never stop missing her dear old friend.
Rory sighed, and was about to let the curtain drop back into place, but then he paused, eyes scanning across the backyard again. He couldn’t say what it was that he was looking for, but he couldn’t ignore the feeling that something was… different.
He thought about how many times alien problems had taken place on Earth, and it occurred to Rory that there must have been problems with aliens long before the twenty-first century. Of course there was nothing that Rory could really do if there was some kind of invasion, but after all his time traveling with the Doctor, an undeniable sort of curiosity had been built up inside of him.
So Rory popped into the kitchen to grab the biggest knife they owned (and he really hoped that he wouldn’t end up having to stab anyone, because it was his favorite for chopping vegetables), and then slowly pushed open the kitchen door that led out back.
He stepped outside, and looked around. Everything seemed to be in its proper place, but Rory’s instincts told him that something was off. He continued moving forward, knife out in front of him, and he hoped that none of the neighbors were going to glance over the fence and see him.
Rory was quite startled when the knife suddenly pushed into a solid object, even though there didn’t appear to be anything in front of him. He hadn’t expected that, so he’d kept moving, and the handle of the knife dug uncomfortably into his stomach before he quickly stepped back.
It took a fairly solid yank to get the knife free from whatever it had stabbed into. Maybe it was foolish, but Rory reached out and pressed his hand flat against the invisible object in front of him. His eyes widened when he felt smooth painted wood. “Doctor? Is that you?”
Rory waited with baited breath to find out what would happen next. What if the Doctor had figured out a way to come back for them? Or what if it was the Doctor from the past or the future? Or what if-?”
Before he could drive himself crazy with his speculations, a door swung open, and even though the object itself was still invisible, Rory could see inside. It was definitely the interior of the TARDIS, even if it looked a bit different than the one he was used to.
Then he heard the sound of someone clearing their throat, and Rory blinked once before he angled his head down. There was a young woman with bright blonde hair, and her arms were crossed over her chest. “Did you seriously just stab my TARDIS? What is wrong with you?”
Rory dropped the arm holding the knife. He didn’t know who this woman was, but he certainly wasn’t going to attack anyone unless he had to. “Uh, sorry, I didn’t mean to- I just- sorry, but did you just say this is your TARDIS?” That plus the fact that she clearly sounded British (which felt almost comforting to hear after getting used to just hearing Amy’s Scottish accent, and the American accents all around them) had to mean something, didn’t it?
The woman arched one eyebrow. “Yeah. And you just stabbed her for no reason. You hurt her feelings, you know.”
Rory blinked a few times, and wondered if there was any appropriate way to respond to something like that. You’d think after all the time he’d spent with the Doctor he’d be used to dealing with unusual situations, but Amy had always been the one who’d been great at learning to just roll with it. “If you have a TARDIS, does that mean you’re a Time Lord? I thought the Doctor was the last one.”
The woman’s eyes widened in surprise, and she dropped her defensive stance. “You know the Doctor? Is he around here? I could tell that there was something messed up about this time, so I figured he’d be at the heart of it, but-”
There was so much hope on the woman’s face that it made Rory feel like a jerk when he cut her off. “The Doctor isn’t here. I don’t think he can come here. The last time I saw him was Manhattan in 2012.” It felt almost strange to say those words out loud, but the fact that this woman had arrived in TARDIS meant that she must know about time travel, so he wasn’t worried about her calling him a nutter. All of the hope in her eyes disappeared as soon as the words were out of Rory’s mouth, and he scrambled to think of something to say that would make her look less devastated. “Well, if I give you the date I last saw the Doctor, you could just…”
He trailed off when he saw that the woman was already shaking her head. “No, that wouldn’t work. You clearly didn’t see me that day, which means I wasn’t there. And as much as the Doctor may spout off about how time can be rewritten, we all know that that’s pretty much bullshit. A few small details can be changed here or there, but the big things always end up…” She took in a shuddery breath, and then straightened her posture. “The last time you saw the Doctor was in 2012, which means that he didn’t drop you off here, and you clearly don’t belong. If you need a lift anywhere, I can help you with that.”
Rory thought about it, for a moment. Jumping into another TARDIS with another complete stranger, traveling everywhere and every time and seeing more than he ever could have possibly imagined. Maybe even seeing the Doctor again, if everything worked out right. And oh, Amy would love that. And the Doctor deserved to be with people, not to be lonely forever. But as much as Rory missed all of it, he had a very good reason that they couldn’t go. “I- we have a son. And we can’t uproot him from his life.” Anthony was with Amy, the two of them spending time with one of the families they knew that had a son around Tony’s age.
The woman didn’t look terribly surprised, she just nodded once. “That’s understandable. Anyways, I should be-”
“I’m Rory,” he suddenly blurted out. He wasn’t sure why he felt the need to introduce himself to a complete stranger that he was probably never going to see again. “Rory Pond.” He didn’t know why he said that, either, when he and Amy and Tony all went by Williams, but somehow it just felt right. “When you find the Doctor, will you make sure that he’s not alone? He’s rubbish by himself.” There were a lot of things that he’d like to say to the Doctor if he got the chance, but most of it felt too personal to spill to this nameless woman. But if he could, he’d probably apologize for leaving the Doctor behind, and thank him for showing Rory the universe, and maybe finally ask the same question that had been rattling around in his head for so many years, ‘why him?’
She blinked once, and then gave him a soft smile, far too fond to come from a stranger. “I promise.” She only hesitated for a moment before continuing. “It’s nice to meet you, Rory Pond.” Her warm brown eyes seemed to stare right through Rory and into his soul, but it wasn’t as uncomfortable as it should have been for a stranger to look like she was learning all of his secrets. She leaned forward, and spoke in a whisper. “Do you want to know a secret? I happen to have it on a very good account that the Doctor only ever takes the best.”
Something in Rory’s heart ached, but he was grateful to hear that. “What’s- what’s your name?” He wasn’t sure if she was from the Doctor’s past or future, and he couldn’t deny that he was curious.
The woman sighed, and crossed her arms over her chest again, though this time it seemed less defensive and more sad. “I don’t think it would be a good idea to tell you. You know how it is with time stuff.” And even though he didn’t really, he also did get it on some level, so he just nodded. “Hey, what did the Doctor look like when you saw him?”
Rory furrowed his eyebrows at the strange question, but decided to answer it anyways. “Um, pretty much the same as always? You know, bow tie, tweed jacket, the whole nine yards.”
The woman frowned. “Did he have spiky brown hair and high tops?”
“No, black hair and dress shoes.” Her shoulders slumped down, and she looked so defeated. It made her seem younger, and it suddenly occurred to Rory just how young the woman looked. Certainly younger than Amy or him (though they had lost track of their official ages at some point while traveling with the Doctor). “How old are you?”
She seemed surprised by the question, and then she let out an almost bitter sounding laugh. “You know, I’m not sure. I think somewhere around a hundred-fifty, but I haven’t tried to track my linear age in forever. I know, I know, I look good for my age, don’t I?”
“So you are a Time Lord, then,” Rory confirmed. Though if she was still so young compared to the Doctor, maybe that meant he didn’t know she was alive. Maybe she’d never even met him, and that was why she was looking, since they were the last of the Time Lords. It would explain why she was so confused about what he might look like.
But before he could keep thinking along those lines, she shook her head. “What, me? No, no, nothing like that. Well, I guess technically just the tiniest bit like that. But no, I’m not a Time Lord. I was born human, and lived nineteen very human years. And then I met the Doctor, and, well, I’m sure I don’t need to tell you how much he changes your life just for being a part of it.”
Rory couldn’t help smiling slightly at the affection in her voice. “No, you don’t. I wish you the best of luck with finding him. And, uh, until you do, make sure you’re not alone. I don’t really have a large sample size, but I’m pretty sure that anyone traveling the universe alone for so long would be rubbish.”
“You could come with me,” she offered again. “Not for long, not long enough for you to look older, anyways. Just for a bit, and then I’d bring you right back home.”
It was so very tempting, but Rory couldn’t imagine going off like that without Amy, even if he’d be back before she knew it (assuming that this woman was a better driver than the Doctor, anyways). And he didn’t want to leave Tony with a sitter or leave him alone, so he couldn’t bring Amy along for the ride. No, as nice as the idea was, Rory was old enough to understand that that part of his life was over. It had to be (because he was afraid that if he traveled the stars again, he might never want to stop). “I can’t, but you’ll find someone. Soon, hopefully.”
“Yeah. I, uh… Anyways, have a wonderful life, Rory Pond.” Then she ducked back into her TARDIS without waiting for a response. As soon as the door closed behind her, the entire thing was invisible again, and Rory took a step back as he waited for the familiar noise of it leaving. It was a much softer sound than the one he’d gotten used to with the Doctor, but recognizable all the same. He waited out in the backyard until the sound and brief wind were entirely gone, and then he reluctantly went back inside. He hoped that that girl found the Doctor someday, because nobody deserved to be alone.
,,,
Tony laughed at something his father said, and then reached out to squeeze the old man’s hand. “Alright, alright, that’s enough out of you.” He did his best to keep any sorrow out of his voice. He knew that his father was only getting older, and had been getting weaker and weaker over the years. Tony’s mother was still able to go out and about on her own (and Tony’s persona theory for it was that God was too frightened of Amy Williams to dare try to stop her). But still, the older they got, the more Tony felt weighed down by everything.
There was a knock on the front door, and Tony motioned for his mother to stay sitting while he went to answer it. He pulled the door open, and looked in confusion at a young woman with blonde hair braided into a little strand on either side of her head. “May I help you?”
She held out her hand, and Tony automatically took it to shake. “I’m looking for Rory Pond?”
Tony frowned. “Pond?” He’d long ago learned of all of his parents’ adventures with the Doctor (though sometimes he still thought that they were all just stories in his mother’s books), and he remembered that the Doctor had supposedly always referred to Rory as a Pond once Tony’s parents had gotten married. But even if those stories were true, that was part of a different life from ages ago. “Who are you?”
The woman gave him a long look, and then her eyes widened. “Oh, you must be the son! This is probably going to sound untrue, but I met your father many, many years ago when I was looking for someone else. Is he here? Can I see him?”
“You haven’t even given me your name.”
The woman grinned. “Right, sorry, yes, I’m Rose.”
Tony knew he should probably ask more questions, or send the woman away for acting like a loon, but for some reason he did neither of those things. Instead, he pulled the door back farther so that she could step inside, and he wondered what it was about her that seemed so trustworthy.
He led her down the hall to his father’s room, and stepped inside. “Father, there’s someone here to see you. A young woman who says she knew you a long time ago.”
Amy reached over to lightly smack Rory’s shoulder. “You better not be going around with other girls.”
Rory snorted. “As if I’d ever be so bold.” Then Tony glanced back, and Rose stepped into the room. She walked over to the bed, and gave Rory a smile. It was smaller than her previous one, but seemed more genuine. “Good afternoon, Rory Pond. I don’t know if you remember me, but-”
“I do,” he cut her off. He stared at her with wide eyes, and Tony could only look back and forth between them as he wondered who exactly Rose was. He could see the confusion on his mother’s face, which meant that she had no idea what was going on either. “Never got your name, though.” He said it like it was supposed to be a joke, and Rose laughed.
She leaned forward a bit so that she was at a more direct eye level with Rory. “I can just be so rude sometimes. I suppose you know where I’d get that from, though.” She held out her hand, and Rory took it. “My name is Rose Marion Tyler. I just wanted to tell you that I kept my promise. He’s not alone. Not anymore.”
Rory smiled. “Thank you.” Tony just watched as Rose leaned over to whisper something into Rory’s ear, and it made his smile grow even more. Then she walked away, leaving them all as abruptly as she’d appeared, and Tony looked back over at his father.
Despite the teariness of his eyes, Rory looked more content and at peace than he had in a very long time. Tony suddenly turned and ran down the hallway, and he burst out the front door, not caring if the neighbors thought he was strange for it.
He was just in time to watch Rose step into a blue police box that was across the street. Then the door closed gently behind her, and there was a loud groaning noise that sounded just like Tony’s parents had always described. All of it was true, every story that his parents had ever told him about the Doctor and time travel, and seeing alien planets, and, and all of it.
Tony slowly shuffled back inside and to his father’s room. He paused just outside the door when he heard his mother’s voice gently ask, “What did she say?”
Even without looking, Tony could tell that there was a big smile on Rory’s face when he answered. “And they all lived happily ever after.”