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They were having a picnic on the garden planet of Nelkon 5 in the Silfrax galaxy. After the debacle that the honeymoon cruise had turned into, the Doctor announced he owed them one more quiet trip before getting into another “hair raising predicament”. So here they were - arranged together on a large plaid blanket to protect them from Indigo grass stains, eating and drinking on a lovely, quiet, pleasant, uneventful planet. There were native trees and birds, and even little chipmunk-like creatures scurrying all over the place. It was all terribly Disney.
Amy knew the Doctor was bored out of his skull. In fact, he was probably hoping that the chipmunks were capable of organizing into some sort of mass army soliciting for scraps. And despite the exotic scenery, she was bored too, and a mad chipmunk brigade might be a fun diversion, she imagined.
But this trip was a nice gesture on the Doctor’s part, surprisingly thoughtful, to be sure. Maybe it would be all right to have some quiet...family time. Ease Rory back into things. He still remembered dying, remembered shooting her; he confessed to her that night on the ship, looking ashamed but in need of comfort. As always, he had turned towards her, just like he was now - surrounded by dark blue grass under an expansive golden sky. Her husband. Her one and only, Rory Williams. Rory Pond, she snickered to herself.
The man lounging on her right returned her smile so quickly it was like they were on the same mental wavelength, and her heart skipped a beat at the feeling of connection. She had never been as in love with him as she was at that moment. He made her heart swell and break with a few stupid looks from his big blue eyes, and every day he just surprised and impressed her more. He was as amazing as the purple sun shining down on them that the Doctor swore was really red - like a confounding kind of crazy magick.
And sometimes, she could even forget her guilt over how long it had taken her to look at him this way. It wasn’t fair that he had to live thousands of years alone, for her to be able to live with him for the rest of hers. So many nights this devoted man was plagued by nightmares of delivering the ultimate betrayal, of murdering her in her sleep. A fear whose basis was a memory that she barely gave two thoughts to. So meaningless and far away, like it happened in another life, and technically it had.
It was so confusing, trying to sort it all out. In her mind, just like in Rory’s, she had two lifetimes worth of memories, overlapping like pictures on a computer screen. One where she was happy with her mum and dad, and a whole life filled with family, and no crack in her wall and no raggedy doctor that spat out food like a baby and acted like a lunatic.
But she could also remember endless evenings of loneliness when her aunt was at work. And no mum, and no dad, and no comfort from the dark. She could easily recall sleepless nights of listening to the whispers from the voices beyond her wall. Voices that didn’t belong anywhere in her world. She remembered being cold and frightened and Rory wasn’t the only one with nightmares now. She was still the product of that isolated, scared little girl in all the ways that mattered. The one that played with one blue box after another. They were made from paper and clay, and sometimes blueberry jam, but in the end they were always filled with dreams of something better, of some place safe.
She would never really be that other Amy Pond, the one with a family. Except now she was. And again, more magick. She was a woman with two families - a lost one from a dream and the one she made for herself. Her new choice was simple. She breathed in a deep sigh and shook her hair back over her shoulders, feeling the warm sun on her face and the soft wind in her curls. *Yeah, maybe this wasn’t such a bad idea*, she thought.
“You’ve traveled with lots of people, yeah?” she asked the man sitting to her left.
“Over nine hundred and nine years of time and space, I have had a few lucky compatriots,” the Doctor said around a mouth full of food. “And a few unlucky ones,” he added with a wink.
“But, have you ever gone around with other families, like us? Or brothers and sisters, mum’s and dad’s?” she pressed on.
“Well, what’s a family, Pond?” he asked, looking like that huge swallow was painful going down. “One doesn’t have to be related to mean as much to the person sitting next to them.” He nodded to Rory and they touched their cups together.
“Is that all you’re going to say? Come on, Doctor please tell us about somebody else you’ve traveled with. Oh, please...?” she pleaded, reaching over and gripping his arm, loving to play the youngster for his amusement.
“Oh, all right then, if you insist,” he said, sitting up straight and setting his cup to the side. “There was once a girl and her mother. Rose and Jackie Tyler and like the two of you, we had a lot of exciting times together.” He clasped his hands to his knees and proceeded to tell the story, much to Amy’s squealed delight. She loved story time.
The Doctor told them about the time with the Nestene Consciousness, which he thought Rory might appreciate. Turns out, he didn’t so much. He told them about running from the Slitheen and Jackie using gherkins and pickled eggs to kill aliens. They didn’t believe that one. He told them about the earth organization bent on keeping him in a fancy cage. He left out the whole ending there. And he even mentioned being slapped, just to see the looks on their faces. It was an easy distraction.
“In nine hundred years, I’d never been slapped by someone’s mother!” he declared, playing the fool and they laughed and forgot to ask what happened next.
“Has any family ever...” Rory’s question was cut off by a quick drink from his wine cup.
“Has any family ever what?” The Doctor asked, still smiling.
“Nothing, it’s nothing. I don’t know what I was saying.”
“Come now, Rory. Ask your question. There’s no secrets on board the TARDIS,” the Doctor said in a grand manner, but his gaze had sharpened on the young man.
Amy snorted into her own cup at his ridiculous announcement, but she also had a morbid curiosity to hear the question. There was something...kind of hot about Rory when he made the Doctor uncomfortable. Like how he didn’t blink an eye at the TARDIS being bigger on the inside. The Doctor hadn’t liked that. Not at all.
“Has any family ever...ever died from knowing you. Like, well I guess like the...the fish from space,” Rory asked furtively.
“Saturnyne,” the doctor said, blinking slowly.
“What?” Rory asked finally meeting the Doctor’s eyes.
“The fish from space family that we helped...bring an end to, they were from a planet called Saturnyne.”
“Oh, right. Saturn Nine. Got it.” It was his turn to snort and take a drink, attempting to feign casual but Amy was no fool. “‘Bring an end to’. Is that what you call it? Like Guido and his daughter?” Rory had no trouble meeting the other man’s gaze now.
“Rory, it wasn’t...” Amy tried to intervene, worried about how far this might go.
“Or that reptile lady...” Rory’s voice rose over hers.
“No, let him talk, Amy,” the doctor interrupted them both. “Silurian, Rory.”
“Oh, whatever! It doesn’t matter, they’re dead! They’re all dead!” Rory shouted, slinging his cup and spilling what wine remained. It left a pale yellow stain across the grass, and the smell of over ripe strawberries filled the tense air surrounding them.
Amy’s eyes widened as her heart quickened, and she swallowed nervously at the outburst. Rory was properly angry and as usual, it caught her off guard. The doctor was like a statue, his arm raised in the act of eating a piece of cured meat. His large dark eyes had gone soft and wet, and his lips had all but disappeared into the pallor of his face. Gradually, he set the morsel back on his plate and continued to wait respectfully for whatever else Rory had to say. Amy’s stomach turned over and clenched painfully. Her eyes started to prick and burn. A light breeze tickled the hair at her temple, but she didn’t bother to swat at it as she sat silent and motionless, also waiting for her husband to continue.
“It’s just...I wanted you to know that I remember everything from before, all the good stuff and the bad,” the man started out in a more subdued tone, sounding almost but not quite contrite.
“And, well I’ve got a family now to look out for. Amy, anyway. And I know I sort of jumped at the chance to head off with you after the wedding and all, but...” Rory seemed to run out of steam, actually sinking into himself and bowing his head, but his eyes were still locked with his new and oh, so dangerous friend.
“Well, you can’t blame me for not wanting to be a family that’s worse off for knowing you. Can you?” he finally asked.
“No, Rory, I can’t,” was the earnest reply.
“I just want to know that you’ll always make sure she gets home...to her family. Can you do that for me? Have you been able to make that promise before and keep it?”
“Yes, Rory, I have. And I shall now. I promise, either myself or the TARDIS will always get your wife home safely, no matter what.”
Just as the tears spilled over Amy’s cheeks, the doctor turned to her and exclaimed, “as long as she stays where I tell her!”
She couldn’t keep from letting out a startled gasp before bursting out into uncertain laughter, which Rory took part in after a moment’s hesitation. Through her tears she watched as the two men matched glances again and exchanged nods. The Doctor leaned over and patted Rory’s knee and Amy knew that everything was going to be okay. She had both her boys right where she wanted them - where she could see them at all times.