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Once again, Rory wondered how he got here. When people usually die, they do not manifest at the end of time and space. But what is life and death to someone like him? Here he stands in front of the abyss, where it all ends and begins. He just quietly watches the stars dying out and the darkness swallowing whatever light is left, waiting for the burst to reignite the fire of the universe. He’s been here before and it is only a matter of time before he begins to displace back into the time stream. He wondered what made him so special. After all, he was just an unremarkable nurse, but that was before the Doctor. Why his wife was not here instead of him was beyond his comprehension. She was the one with fire in her soul, but perhaps that is not what the universe wants.
He has no way of telling how long he was lost in thought, after all there is no time here. It was silent, until the familiar sound of the TARDIS materializing resonated in the emptiness. Rory stared and the familiar blue box appeared, wondering which incarnation of the Doctor will come stumbling out of that blue box. Over his long life, Rory befriended each version. It was not too hard encountering the Doctors. Each version inexplicably seemed drawn to him. Yet, the crazy, sad man with floppy hair, wearing a fez would always be his Doctor. As if on cue the TARDIS door bursts open and out flies the Doctor, his doctor, as elegant as a flailing swan.
The silence was broken. It would only return when the Doctor let the darkness swallow him, or when time decided to release Rory. The Doctor was dressed just like he was when he had first shown up on the Wave Rider, with Clara in tow. The Doctor could not figure out why he was at this point in time, but eventually Rory catches his eyes. He wonders if looks like the young man that the Doctor had originally met all of those years ago. Or did they meet yesterday? Clean-shaven, undistinguishable and awkward. All of the time that had passed and the Doctor can still see the determination and strength hidden behind the timid smile.
The awkward sheepskin Rory wore for so long was familiar, as was the fierce determination of the last Centurion and Time Master. Even the exhaustion that marred Rory’s face was familiar. How many lives was Rory forced to endure? How many regrets did he accrue as a result of those long years? In a sense, it was like looking at a reflection of himself, a broken man hidden behind unexpected strength. However, Rory always seemed so much warmer than the Doctor, freer with his emotions.
“Oh… Oh brilliant, beautiful, brave Rory.” The Doctor says, coming over and embracing his ex-companion, the man he came to inexplicably love, the one that could tear him apart.
“Hey Doctor.” Rory mumbled, relaxing into the familiar body that was cooler than his own. “Are you traveling alone again?”
The Doctor gave a small, weak smile. So different from the ones Rory had seen him give to Amy. It was the one that had been stripped of all the walls and what remained was a broken smile from a lonely man. It was a smile all the Doctors had reserved specially for him. Unfortunately Rory never figured out why, but he cherished the rare privilege.
The smile was for Rory because he was a constant in the Doctor’s universe. No matter what monster he saw that lurked underneath the Doctor’s persona, he accepted the Doctor and the monster. After everything the Doctor has done, did, will do, to hurt him, Rory was still there. Rory, fucking, Williams knew the depths of his madness, but even after it all, he still cared for the Doctor. Rory was an anomaly. He was paradoxically selfish as he was selfless. The man wanted to mend space and time, to ease the suffering of those he came across, but would risk the timelines for his wife. He had even risked timelines for the Doctor. The Doctor wanted to lie and say he would not risk the same for Rory, but he knew if it came down to it, Rory was worth the universe. Because, with Rory, the Doctor had learned he was allowed to be weak, since Rory would be strong enough for the both of them.
“No, no. Clara is here, but she’s asleep…” The Doctor began, as he pulled away from the Time Master. “You know, you can travel with me…. And Clara, of course!” He added, a small blush beginning to crawl across his face.
Rory smiled, eyes crinkling with unbridled affection, yet he shook his head. He had his adventures with the Doctor, it was time to let someone else care and love the man like he and his wife had… Like he still does. Unfortunately, the lives of time travelers are complicated and messy. They were not going to be able to travel together again.
“We both know I can’t Doctor.”
“I mean, we can always return to this point. It wouldn’t risk the universe!” the Doctor said. Inside he wanted to beg for Rory to remain with him. “Although, not the first time either of us had risked it for one reason or another.”
“No, I suppose not.” Rory huffed, remembering their misadventures.
It would be easy to, but they know better. Or rather, they should know better. They both were too old to get swept up in whatever kept drawing them together, too tired or scared to deviate from the timeline they know. The Doctor was no longer alone in his eternal vigil. After all Rory Williams, the boring Leadworth nurse, had changed quite a bit from their first encounter. He grew more comfortable with himself and his own strength. He even did the stupidest thing and stole a time machine. Rory became a faux Time Lord, trying to prevent the universe from collapsing and explaining fixed points to companions. He died to save them… Right, he’s dead… Again. Even if he chose to travel with the Doctor, he already knew he would be ripped away once he had finished displacing from time and space.
Plus he was not an actual Time Lord. He could not regenerate and there was no way of knowing when he would stay dead. The older Doctors never told him about his own future, spoilers, so he assumed that he must stay dead one of these times. It would be naïve of him to assume the Doctor standing in front of him does not already, will not know, or has known the exact moment in time and space that he remains dead. Amy had told him, many times how much his deaths had hurt the Doctor. The mad man in a box had remembered him even when the whole world had forgotten. Those two factors kept whatever temptation to disregard all he had learned about time and space to travel with the Doctor once more. He would do everything in his power to protect the Doctor, even if it was from his own permanent death.
“Rory?” The Doctor probed, brining the last centurion back to him.
Rory’s hands began fading, golden cracks forming on his skin. It was the start to the process of returning to time and space. Somehow, even in the timeless void, the pair continued to run out of time together.
“Doctor?” Rory said, closing the distance that had come between them.
He placed his head on the alien’s shoulder, listening to the Doctor’s quiet breathing. Shaggy hair tickled the Doctor’s neck. They stayed like that until Rory began fading at a faster rate; the cracks letting pieces of the human fall away. It became harder and harder to hear the Doctor’s breathing. Even his eyesight became blurry, as he no longer was just seeing what was in front of him. These moments before returning were the worst, it felt just like when he was dying.
“Rory!?” The doctor asked, searching the figure frantically trying to hold on to the disappearing man.
“Hey Doctor,” Rory’s voice was barely audible. “It was good seeing you.”
And Rory was gone. The Doctor was holding his arms around an empty space. His clothing cooling as the void leeched the warmth that Rory had left him. Somewhere, Rory Williams was being born and living out his life. Perhaps this time the Doctor crashed into the unassuming Rory’s backyard, and he would be the first person this face had met. Or maybe he is back on the Wave Rider, since people never seem to stay dead in that universe. As much as it broke the Doctor’s hearts, maybe this time Rory was with Amy and they managed to have the boring, picturesque life they planned together before he had rudely interrupted them. Finally, the Doctor dropped his head, arms falling to his side as he looked down into the nothingness.
Or maybe this was just one point he kept revisiting since that was Rory’s final farewell.