Never let me go [2]

Chapter 14 - The Girl Who Waited

Author’s note: I'm still writing this story and I’m also writing the au story. I hope its not confusing for you all.

~0~

“Apalapucia.” The Doctor told them all inside of the Tardis.

Amy frowned. “Say it again?”

“Apalapucia.” Maddie replied this time.

“Apalapu...” Amy trailed off.

“Chia.” The Doctor finished.

Rory deadpanned. “Apalapucia.”

“Apalapucia.” The Doctor repeated.

“Apalapucia.” Amy comment. “What a beautiful word.”

“Beautiful word, beautiful world.” The Doctor told them. “Apalapucia, voted number two planet in the top ten greatest destinations for the discerning intergalactic traveller.”

“Why couldn’t we go to number one?” Rory asked confused.

“Everyone goes there already.” Maddie replied to him.

The Doctor agreed with her. “It’s hideous. Everyone goes to number one. Planet of the coffee shops. Apalapucia. I give you sunsets, spires, soaring silver colonnades. I give you...” Then he opened the Tardis door to reveal a white space with a door.

“Doors.” Rory comment flatly.

Maddie looked at him. “You don’t say.”

Then they all walked out of the Tardis as the Doctor spoke up. “Doors. Yes. I give you doors. But on the other side of those doors, I give you sunsets, spires, soaring silver colonnades.”

Then Amy went back in the Tardis as then moments later her head poked out. “Have you seen my phone?”

“Your phone?” The Doctor scoffed, looking in disbelief.

“Yeah.” Amy replied.

The Doctor looked at her. “Your mobile telephone? I bring you to a paradise planet, two billion light years from Earth, and you want to update Twitter.”

“Oh, don’t be rude.” Maddie comment to him.

The Doctor walked over towards her as then he kissed her temple. “I’m not ginger.” He placed his hand on her stomach.

“Flirt.” Maddie muttered to him.

Just then Amy spoke up. “Sunsets, spires, soaring silver colonnades. It’s a camera phone.”

“On the counter, by the DVDs.” The Doctor told her.

“Thank you.” Amy thanked him as then she walked into the Tardis.

Rory frowned. “How do we get in?”

“I don’t know.” The Doctor shrugged. “Push a button.”

There was a choice of two – Green Anchor and Red Waterfall. Rory pressed the Green.

~0~

They walked into the Green Anchor room. Still stark white decor, with a glass table and three avante guarde chairs. Maddie looked at the room. “Lovely room.”

The Doctor sighed. “Okay, so rain check on the soaring silver colonnades.”

“Yeah.” Rory nodded. “It’s a magnifying glass.” And it was in the middle of the table.

Just then Amy came out of the Tardis with her phone. “Hey? Hey, it’s locked.” She called.

“Yeah, push the button.” Rory called back. Of course, she pressed the Red Waterfall button. It was taking long as he called. “Come on, Amy.” Then he opened the door. “Where is she? Where on wherever we are is my wife?”

Maddie pressed the green button on the magnifying glass. Amy looked into the glass in her room and the Doctor and Maddie saw her. “Rory, I think I’ve found her.”

“What do you mean you’ve found her?” Rory asked confused. “Whoa. No, but, she’s not, she’s not here.” He looked in the glass. “I can see her, but she’s not here.”

“Where am I?” Amy was confused. “In fact, where are you?”

A white robot entered. It had a blank face, one red and one green button on its torso and was holding up a hand. “Whoa.” Rory exclaimed.

The Doctor pulled Maddie behind him. “Hands. Hello, hands. Robot with hands, Rory.”

“Welcome to the Two streams facility. Will you be visiting long?” Handbot asked them.

“Er, Doctor, Maddie, something’s happening.” Amy told them confused. The image in the glass started to wiggle.

The Doctor looked at her. “Er, Amy? Stay calm. Stay still. Ah, time’s gone wobbly. I hate it when it does that.”

“Will you be visiting long?” The Handbot asked.

Rory looked scared. “Good question. Bit sinister. What’s the answer to not get us killed?”

“It’s okay, I’ve got you, you’re fine.” The Doctor replied to him as then he glanced at Maddie.

“Will you be visiting long?” The Handbot asked them.

“No.” Maddie replied.

“Doctor? Maddie? A little help, Doctor, Maddie.” Rory asked to them.

Amy looked angry in the glass. “And where have you been?”

Rory looked at the Doctor and Maddie. “What do I tell it?”

“I don’t know.” Maddie replied.

“I’ve been here a week.” Amy told them.

“A week?” The Doctor asked confused.

“What?!” Maddie exclaimed.

“A week?” The Doctor frowned. “I’m so sorry. Ah-ha. Same room, different times. Two different time streams running parallel but at different speeds.”

“Amy, you’re in a faster time stream.” Maddie added.

“Doctor, Maddie, it’s going again.” Amy told them as the glass was going funny.

“Doctor! Maddie!” Rory called.

“Amy!” Both the Doctor and Maddie called.

“Doctor! Maddie!” Amy called.

Then the Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver. “Come on.” He pointed at the glass. “Gotcha. There. Stabilised, settled, shush.”

“Thank god.” Maddie breathed out.

Just then Rory looked at the Handbots. “Why has this got hands?”

“Organic skin.” The Doctor replied to him. “Ultimate universal interface, grown and grafted, not born. I mean, it’s actually seeing with its fingers, scanning the room. But why not just give it eyes?”

“Will you be visiting long?” The Handbot asked again.

“As long as it takes.” The Doctor snarled.

Then Maddie looked at Amy. “Amy, what exactly did you do?”

“I just, I came in and I pressed the door button.” Amy replied to her.

“Oh.” Rory groaned. “Amy, there are two buttons. The green anchor and the red waterfall. Which one did you push?”

“I pushed the red waterfall.” Amy replied.

“Great.” Rory sighed. Then he went outside, lets the door close and presses Red Waterfall. The door opened on an empty room. “Amy?” He stepped back, the door closed and he pressed Green Anchor. “I pressed Red Waterfall, and she wasn’t there.”

The Doctor looked at the Handbot. “Okay, so you can’t follow her directly. You know, it’s never simple. Did you hear that, Handbot?”

“She pressed the wrong button, that’s all. We’re aliens, we didn’t know.” Maddie added.

“Statement rejected.” The Handbot replied. “Apalapucia is under planet-wide quarantine. This is a kindness facility for those infected with Chen7.”

The Doctor covered his mouth and nose with his coat lapel. “What?”

Rory and Maddie did the same. “Chen7, hmm?”

“The one day plague.” The Doctor replied.

Rory looked confused. “What, you get it for a day?”

“No, you get it, and you die in a day.” The Doctor replied to him.

“There are forty thousand residents in the Two streams Facility. Please remain in the sterile areas. Visiting hours are now.” The Handbot beamed itself away.

“Sterile area. We are safe.” The Doctor comment, looking at Maddie.

“What about me?” Amy asked to them.

“Chen7 only affects two-hearted races like Apalapucians.” The Doctor replied to her.

“And Time Lords.” Rory added.

The Doctor nodded. “Yeah, like me and Maddie and our unborn son. Walk into that facility, I’m dead in a day.” He told her. “Time moves faster on Amy’s side of the glass.”

“Amy, you said you’d been here a week. What did you eat?” Maddie asked to Amy.

Amy shrugged. “Nothing. I wasn’t hungry.”

“No, because that Red Waterfall time is compressed. That’s the point. The Time Glass syncs up the two time streams for visits. You could be in here for a day, and watch them live out their entire lives.” The Doctor told them.

Rory looked at him in disbelief. “And watch them grow old in front of your eyes? That’s horrible.”

“No, Rory, it’s kind. You’ve got a choice. Sit by their bedside for twenty four hours and watch them die, or sit in here for twenty four hours and watch them live. Which would you choose?” The Doctor pulled the Time Glass out of the table. Amy’s one vanished.

Amy had her eyes widen. “Doctor? Maddie? Doctor, Maddie, no, don’t leave me.”

“I’m here.” Maddie replied.

“I’m here, Amy. I’m right here.” The Doctor added.

Amy frowned. “Where are you? Am I looking at you?”

“Turn left just a fraction.” The Doctor replied to her as then she moved. “Bit more. Stop. That’s it.”

“Eye to eye?” Amy asked.

“Eye to eye to eye.” The Doctor replied.

“Lovely, not that many eyes.” Maddie muttered.

“Hello.” Rory comment.

“Amy, I’m taking the Time Glass back to the Tardis. Like satnav, I’ll use it to get a lock, then smash through using the Tardis to get you out. Until then, you’re on your own.” The Doctor sonicked the glass.

Rory frowned. “Er, what are you doing?”

“Locking it on to Amy. Small act of vandalism. No one’ll mind.” Maddie replied for the Doctor.

Just then an alarm sounded. The Doctor looked around. “Ah, that’ll be the small act of vandalism alarm. Amy, I need you to go into the facility just for a bit. Find somewhere safe and leave me and Maddie a sign. Remember, you’re immune to Chen7, but don’t let them give you anything. They don’t know you’re alien. Their kindness will kill you. Now go.”

Amy pressed a button labelled Check In. “Rory, I love you. Now save me. Go on.”

~0~

In the Tardis, the Doctor explained it to Rory. “This is locked onto Amy permanently. Play the signal into the console, the Tardis’ll follow it.” He was looking for something. “Now then, I know you’re in here.” He rummaged through a tool box. “Er, er, ha ha! How do I look?” Then he had found a pair of thick rimmed glasses.

“Cool.” Maddie comment happily.

Rory rolled with his eyes. “Ridiculous.”

“Glasses are cool, see?” The Doctor put them on Rory. “Oh, yes. Hello, handsome man.”

“Doctor!” Maddie exclaimed. He was being a child.

Rory blinked. “Oh, hello.”

“Hello, Rory-cam.” The Doctor told them.

Poor Rory was confused. “Huh?” The image of the Doctor was on the Time Glass. “Oh, you can see what I see.”

“Yep, cool though.” Maddie comment as she sat down on a chair.

“We’re breaking into Two streams.” The Doctor looked at him. “Now, me and Maddie can’t go in there. The Chen7’ll kill us, no regeneration. You will be our eyes and ears.”

Rory nodded. “Rory-cam. Rescue Amy. Got it.”

“That’s the spirit.” The Doctor beamed. “Now, smashing through a time wall could get a bit hairy.”

Rory looked worried. “Is it safe?”

“Well, I’m safe.” Maddie replied as she fastened herself.

The Doctor looked over to her, knowing she and the baby were safe. “Don’t know.” Then he looked at Rory. “Never tried. Best hold onto something.”

~0~

The ride was bumpy and rough, but they made it. They landed as Rory spoke up. “Red Waterfall. We made it.”

“Good old us.” The Doctor comment to them.

Maddie freed herself as then she walked over to the men. “Good luck, Rory.”

Then Rory walked of the Tardis, closed it and asked. “How do we know that we’re in the same Red Waterfall as Amy?”

“Focus on the positive.” The Doctor replied to him.

“Please, focus on that.” Maddie added.

Rory looked at a topless Greek-style statue of a lady. The Doctor and Maddie saw it too. “We locked onto Amy’s time stream.” The Doctor told him.

“Eyes front, soldier.” Maddie added.

Rory was embarrassed. “Right, yes. Sorry.”

“Apalapucians are the great cultural scavengers, Rory. This gallery’s a scrapbook of their favourite places.” The Doctor informed.

Mona Lisa on a pedestal. Rory looked around as they saw it through the glass. “Bit of Earth, bit of alien, bit of whatever the hell that is.” Then he asked to them. “Where is everyone?”

“Right, Rory, switch the Time Glass on and sonic it.” The Doctor replied to him. “I’m sending a command signal to the screwdriver. Amy’s here somewhere, if I can just get a lock on her.” Then he did something. “I wonder what happens if we mix the filters?” Lots of blurry people appeared in the Time Glass, and via Rory-cam on a screen in the Tardis. “Oh, there they are. Forty thousand time streams overlapping. Red Waterfall isn’t one time stream, it’s thousands.”

“That’s giving me a head ache.” Maddie comment.

“Are they happy?” Rory asked.

The Doctor sighed. “Oh, Rory. Trust you to think of that. I think they’re happy to be alive. Better than the alternative.”

Then Rory lowered the Time Glass and was confronted by a red haired female Samurai warrior. He fell backwards. “I come in peace. Peace, peace, peace, peace.”

“I waited.” She said.

Rory was confused. “Sorry, what?”

“I waited for you. I waited for you.” The warrior raised her helmet. She was an older Amy.

Rory blinked. “Amy.” Then he asked to the Doctor and Maddie. “Doctor, Maddie, what’s going on?”

“It went a bit bumpy.” Maddie offered.

“Er...” The Doctor stuttered.

“Amy.” Rory breathed out.

“I think the timestream lock might be a bit wobbly.” The Doctor finally replied.

Amy raised her sword. Rory looked confused. “No, please. Please.”

“Duck.” Amy’s katana went straight through a Handbot’s head. “Handbots carry a black box in case they go offline. I’ve changed the cause of termination from hostile to accidental.” She explained. “Easy to re-programme. Used my sonic probe.”

Rory looked at her. “Amy.”

“Rory.” Amy comment.

Rory frowned. “Why?”

“Because I’ve survived this long by making the Handbots think I don’t exist.” Amy replied to him. “Don’t touch the hands. There’s anaesthetic transfer on the skin. If they touch you, you go to sleep.”

Rory was confused. “But you’re still here?”

Amy looked at him. “You didn’t save me.”

“But, this is the saving.” Rory exclaimed. “This is the us saving you. The Doctor and Maddie just got the timing a bit out.”

“Sorry.” The Doctor said sheepishly.

“I’m sorry, Amy.” Maddie added.

“I’ve been on my own here a long, long time.” Amy looked at Rory. “I’ve had decades to think nice thoughts about him and her. Got a bit harder to stay charitable once I entered decade four.”

Rory blinked. “Forty years? Alone?”

“Thirty six years, thanks.” Amy replied to him.

“No.” Rory stuttered a little. “Right. I mean, you look great. Really, really.”

Amy smirked. “Eyes front, soldier.”

“Still can’t win then.” Rory comment.

“In fact, I think I can now definitely say I hate him.” Amy told him. “I hate The Doctor more than Maddie. I hate him more than I’ve ever hated anyone in my life, and you can hear every word of this through those ridiculous glasses, can’t you, Raggedy Man?”

“Er, yes.” The Doctor looked defeated. “Putting the speaker phone on.” Maddie grabbed his hand for comfort.

“You told me to wait, and I did. A lifetime.” Amy told him.

“Amy...” The Doctor trailed off.

“You’ve got nothing to say to me.” Amy scoffed.

“Amy, behind you.” Maddie warned her.

Two more Handbots. Amy throws her katana to Rory and touched the Handbots hands together. “Feedback. Knocks them out. Learned that trick on my first day.”

Rory and Amy walked. “Okay, so we just take the Tardis back to the right time stream, yeah?” Rory asked. “We can stop any of this happening.”

“We locked on to a time stream, Rory. This is it.” The Doctor replied to him.

“I’m sorry. I’m so so sorry.” Maddie comment sadly.

Rory shook with his head. “This is so wrong.”

“I got old, Rory.” Amy told him. “What did you think was going to happen?”

Rory looked at her. “Hey, I don’t care that you got old. I care that we didn’t grow old together.” Then he grabbed her arm. “Amy, come on, please.”

“Don’t touch me. Don’t do that.” Amy hissed.

Rory looked in disbelief. “It’s like you’re not even her.”

“Thirty six years, three months, four days of solitary confinement. This facility was built to give people the chance to live. I walked in here and I died. Do you have anything to say? Anything, Doctor? Maddie?” Amy asked to them.

“Where did you get a sonic screwdriver?” The Doctor asked to her.

“I made it. And it’s a sonic probe.” Amy replied to him.

“Clever.” Maddie complimented.

They saw Amy and Rory walking into a room. “You made a sonic screwdriver?” Rory asked impressed.

“Probe.” Amy replied to him.

~0~

Rory followed Amy into the place she had made her home. There was a Handbot with a smiling face drawn on its head and hooks instead of hands. Maddie and the Doctor watched through the Rory-cam. “Oh.”

“Don’t worry about him. Sit down, Rory.” Amy comment. The Handbot sat as did Rory.

Rory blinked. “You named him after me?”

“Needed a bit of company.” Amy nodded.

“So he’s like your pet? Is it safe?” Rory asked to her.

Amy got the remains of her lipstick from a box and looked at it. “Yep. I disarmed it.”

Rory looked confused. “How? Oh, you disarmed it.”

Amy shrugged. “Oh, don’t get sentimental, it’s just a robot. You’d have done the same.”

Maddie yawned as the Doctor looked over to her. Then he comment. “I don’t know that I would have.”

“And there he is. The voice of God. Survive, because no one’s going to come for you. Number one lesson.” Amy told them bitterly. “You taught me that.”

“Is that really all I taught you?” The Doctor asked to her.

“Don’t you lecture me, blue-box man flying through time and space on whimsy. All I’ve got, all I’ve had for thirty six years, is cold, hard reality. driver because I’m not off on a romp. I call it what it is. A probe. And I call my life what it is. Hell.” Amy replied.

The Doctor sighed heavily. “Amy Pond, I am going to put this right. You said you learned from an Interface. Can I speak with it?”

“Doesn’t work in here.” Amy shook with her head. “Two twenty three. The garden will be clear now.” Then she looked at Rory. “Stay or go?”

“Sorry, me?” Rory blinked. “No, I’m coming with you.”

“Then try not to get killed. Or do. Whatever.” Amy comment.

~0~

Not much later, the Doctor looked at the sleepy Maddie. “Why don’t you go to bed, dear. I can handle this on my own.”

Maddie yawned. “You sure, sweetie?”

“I’m sure.” The Doctor replied to her.

“Okay.” Maddie nodded as then she walked out of the console room and to bed.

~0~

Much later, they had saved Amy as then the Doctor left them alone and went to Maddie, who was still sleeping in their bed. The Doctor smiled softly and walked over to her. Then he sat by her and put his hand on Maddie’s small stomach. He was glad his friends save again and that his soon to be family were save as well.