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saiilorstars · 6 months ago

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Written in the Stars

Ch. 11. The Power of Ponds

• Previous Chapters • Sequel to Falling in Temptation • Avalon’s Masterlist

• 11th doctor x ofc

Taglist: @ocappreciationtag @arrthurpendragon @anotherunreadblog @maaaaarveeeeel @stareyedplanet @gloryekaterina @lenonizi @foxesandmagic

If you’d like to be a part of this OC’s work/edits, let me know!

All was not well on planet Earth when Amy and Rory woke up, or rather woken up by Brian William's incessant pounding on their front door. They found their neighborhood was infested with small black cubes. It turned out it wasn't just their neighborhood - it was the city, the continent, the world! Thankfully, their granddaughter and her husband were there in a snap to start an investigation.

In the TARDIS, several cubes had been taken to be examined. However, no matter how much the Doctor studied them there was nothing to them. "All absolutely identical. Not a single molecule's difference between them. No blemishes, imperfections, individualities."

"What if they're bombs? Billions of tiny bombs," Brian made a motion of explosions in the air. "Or transport capsules, maybe, with a minirobot inside. Or deadly hard drives. Or alien eggs. Or messages needing decoding. Or they're all parts of a bigger whole. Jigsaw puzzles that need fitting together."

"Very thorough, Brian," nodded the Doctor, "Very, very thorough. Well done. Stay here. Watch these," he handed back Brian's cube to him, "Yell if anything happens!" He took Avalon's hand as he went for the doors. On their way, they stopped from needed equipment.

"Doctor, is this an alien invasion?" she had to ask. The sense of calmness in the middle of a cube invasion seemed pointless to her. She would rather just get straight to the point. "Because that's what it feels like - and my sister is thinking of living here again."

"It'll be fine," the Doctor assured but paused on his search for a moment to reconsider, "...okay, maybe tell her not to come out here yet. And why does she want to come back here again?"

"You haven't told him yet?" Amy had a smirk on her face when she and Rory caught up with them.

"Told me what?" the Doctor looked between all three with a serious face.

"Lena was considering moving in with her boyfriend..." Avalon rubbed the side of her neck while looking to the side, preferring not to see his reaction to that. Everyone knew how protective the Doctor was of his "baby sister", sometimes even more than Avalon and that was saying something.

"Why am I always the last one to know about this!?

"Because you react like that," Rory pointed.

"Well..." the Doctor started picking up the equipment and handed some of it to the trio, "...excuse me for caring a little too much about my baby sister. I mean, what if the guy's not even the right one? What if—"

"You've met him," Avalon reminded as he piled on some random objects in her arms, "Like several times already. You even said Tristan was a nice guy."

"Well, yeah, but that was before he wanted to move in with Lena!" the Doctor huffed and turned away, heading in haste to the doors.

"It's not even decided yet," called Avalon as she followed after him. They stepped into the Pond's living room where the TARDIS had been parked in, "She's considering it."

"Tell her we need to have a serious talk," the Doctor poked his head out from the hallway, "And by the way," he looked at Amy and Rory, "I'll be borrowing your kitchen."

Avalon turned to her grandparents with narrowed eyes, "Why is it that you must always put a wedge in my marriage?"

"That was all her," Rory nodded to Amy and made a smart exit.

"What?" Amy frowned, "I only said—"

"We're going to work on secrets," Avalon declared, "Lesson one: a secret is kept hidden until the appropriate time!"

"Sorry," mumbled Amy under her breath while Avalon turned for the kitchen.

Inside the kitchen, the Doctor was already setting up his workplace on the counter and stove, "I'm going to cook up some cubes, see what happens."

"Right, I'm due at work," Rory pointed and went for the threshold when the Doctor called.

"What? You've got a job?"

"Yeah, of course I've got a job!" Rory shook his head, "What do you think we do when we're not with you?"

The Doctor stood straight and answered, "I imagine mostly kissing."

Rory considered the answer and shrugged. Amy rolled her eyes at the two, "I write travel articles for magazines and Rory heals the sick."

"My grandparents," Avalon chuckled and went to the Doctor to set the rest of the equipment down.

"My shift starts in an hour. You don't know where my scrubs are?" Rory asked his wife.

"In the lounge, where you left them."

Avalon dropped her equipment near the sink and noticed the Doctor watching Amy and Rory, probably startled by the domesticity he rarely saw in the TARDIS. Still, it seemed like this time he wasn't as impacted, "Ehh, the Ponds. With their house and their jobs and their everyday lives. The journalist and the nurse. Long way from Leadworth."

Amy sighed as she placed her part of equipment on the table, "We think it's been 10 years," she looked at him and Avalon, "Not for you two, nor Lena," she shrugged, "or Earth, but for us. Ten years older, 10 years of you. On and off."

"And look at you know, all grown up," smiled the Doctor honestly as he thought back to the first day he had met the three little girls in a backyard, and the nurse at a park.

His thoughts were interrupted by the bursting entrance of soldiers from the front door. In no time the trio were surrounded by soldiers from the entrance of the kitchen as well as from the backdoor. And then came poor Rory marched in by soldiers - with no trousers on.

"There are soldiers all over my house and I'm in my pants," he frowned with raised hands.

"My whole life, I've dreamed of saying that, and I miss it by being someone else," Amy mumbled and was promptly nudged by Avalon.

"You're one weird grandma," she declared, making Amy smirk.

"All these muscles, and they still don't know how to knock," a soft voice called in from the hallway, moments later a blonde woman coming into the kitchen in all calmness, "Sorry about the raucous entrance. Spike in artron energy reading at this address. In the light of the last 24 hours, we had to check it out and, uh, the dogs do love a runout. Hello. Kate Stewart, head of scientific research at UNIT. And," her eyes drifted to the Doctor with curiosity, "with dress sense like that..." she pulled out a small scanner and placed it over the Doctor's chest to view two hearts, "You must be the Doctor. I hoped it'd be you."

"You know each other?" Avalon looked up at the Doctor expectantly, assuming the woman had just been in the dark of his new face. Apparently there were plenty of people who didn't even know he had regenerated centuries ago.

The Doctor didn't know who to tend to first, but he figured it would be wiser to go with Avalon first considering they lived together. "No," he pointed at her, "No, not ever," and then he looked at Kate, "Tell me, since when did science run the military, Kate?"

"Since me. UNIT's been adapting," she informed, "Well, I dragged them along, kicking and screaming, which made it sound like more fun than it actually was."

"What do we know about these cubes?"

Kate walked further into the kitchen and inspected the place, "Far less than we need to. We've been freighting them in from around the world for testing. So far, we've subjected them to temperatures of +/-200° Celsius, simulated a water depth of 5 miles, dropped one out of a helicopter at 10,000 feet and rolled our best tank over it. Always intact."

"That's impressive," admitted Avalon and looked at the Doctor for his input.

"Well, yes," he agreed, "but I don't want them to be impressive. I want them vulnerable, with a nice Achilles's heel."

"We don't know how they got here," Kate shrugged, "what they're made of, or why they're here. "

"And all around the world, people are picking them up and taking them home."

"Like iPads have dropped out of the sky. Taking them to work, taking pictures, making films, posting them on Flickr and YouTube. Within 3 hours, the cubes had 1,000 separate Twitter accounts."

The Doctor distastefully said, "Twitter!" to show his disgust with the site.

"I've recommended we treat this as a hostile incursion. Gather them all up and lock them in a secure facility, but that would take massive international agreement and cooperation."

"You'd need massive evidence," Avalon concluded with a sigh, "Which you don't have..." Kate nodded in agreement.

"The cubes arrived in plain sight, in vast quantities, as the sun rose. So what does that tell us?" the Doctor looked around to his wife and companions.

"Maybe they wanted to be seen, noticed?" Amy offered the clearest observation possible.

"Well, more than that. They want to be observed," the Doctor pointed, "So we observe them. Stay with them, round the clock. Watch the cubes," he grabbed a nearby cube and tossed it in the air to catch it. "Day and night. Record absolutely everything about them. Team cube, in it together," he planted a kiss on the cube and grinned.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor was having the worst time possible with his brilliant plan of watching cubes. At the moment he and the rest of the Ponds were sitting on the couch in the living room watching the cubes as planned. The Doctor was laying upside down and, frankly, to the brink of going mad, "Four days," he groaned and grabbed a cube off the table, "Nothing! Not a single change in any cube, anywhere in the world." He set the cube back in its place then shifted himself to sit upright with the others, "Four days! And I'm still in your lounge!" he pointed to Amy and Rory.

"You were the one who wanted to observe them, remember?" Avalon crossed her arms and leaned back on the couch, "So deal with it."

"Yes, well, I thought they'd do something, didn't I?"

"And you thought wrong, didn't you?"

"Avalon!"

"What?" she laughed and put her hands up in surrender, "You said, and I quote, 'we have to be patient'."

"Yes, you, you!" he pointed at her but after she narrowed her eyes at him, he changed the version and pointed at her grandparents, "Them, them!"

"Thanks," Amy rolled her eyes at him.

"I hate being patient! Patience is for wimps!" he threw his head back, "I can't live like this. Don't make me. I need to be busy."

Avalon couldn't take him anymore and threw her hands in the air, "Oh my God, just go do something, then!" she exclaimed, "We'll watch the cubes."

"Yes!" the Doctor cheered and jumped up from the couch, ready to do what ever he could to pass time.

"I blame you guys for this," Avalon said to Amy and Rory minutes later after the Doctor was gone.

'What? What did we do?" Rory looked at her in confusion.

"You guys let me marry him!" she mocked a frown, "I had partial memory loss - what kind of grandparents were you?" She mocked a scoff and stood up from the couch.

"What? Where are you going?" Amy watched her go around the couch for the staircase.

"I feel for a nap," she pretended to yawn then flashed a smirk and ran upstairs.

"Avalon!" both Amy and Rory called after her but received nothing but laughter.

~ 0 ~

One hour later, and a far cleaner house than before, the Doctor leaped over the back of the sofa to take place between Amy and Rory, "That's better," he sighed of relief, "Nothing like a bit of activity to pass the time. How long was I gone?"

Rory checked his watch, "Uh, about an hour."

"I can't do it," the Doctor's face fell, "No," he stood up and jumped over the back of the sofa again but stopped and looked back, "I'm short a wife - where's my ginger?"

"Your lazy wife took a nap," Amy made a face as she stood to her feet, "upstairs in her room."

"Oh, right, she has a room here..." it was then that the Doctor wondered if perhaps he could've done something more fun to pass the time with Avalon.

"You're welcome to visit anytime," Avalon appeared at the stairs wearing a smirk on her lips, clearly thinking the same as the Doctor.

"Oh, look who's up?" Rory turned to greet her sarcastically.

"I set an alarm for about an hour," Avalon went down the remaining steps, "Knew that was about the time this one," she nodded to the Doctor, "would finish up his little distraction jobs in that time."

"Yes," the Doctor reached for her hand and yanked her towards the TARDIS, "And now we're going!"

"What? Where?" she squealed with the force used on the yank.

The Doctor brought them into the TARDIS and came across Brian who remained sitting and watching the cube, "Brian! You're still here."

"You told me to watch the cubes," Brian reminded and stood up.

"Four days ago."

"Oh! Doesn't time fly when you're alone with your thoughts."

"You two can't just leave," Rory cut into the conversation and looked at the pair.

"Yes, course we can. Quick jaunt. Restore sanity," the Doctor snapped his fingers excitedly and pointed at them, "Ooh! Hey! Come, if you like."

Before either Rory or Amy could respond, Brian stepped forwards, "They can't just go off like that."

"Can't they?" frowned the Doctor, "Can't you? That's how it goes, isn't it?"

"I've got my job," Rory reminded him.

"Oh, yes, Rory, the universe is awaiting, but you have a little job to go to."

"It's not little," Rory snapped, slightly indignant, "It's important to me. Look, what you do isn't all there is."

"Look, he didn't mean to be rude," Avalon intervened, raising a hand to stop them from talking, "But it's fine, the Doctor and I can go off for a while, right?" she looked up at the Doctor for confirmation.

"Right," he kissed her temple then snapped his fingers to the others, "We'll be back soon. Monitor the cubes. Call us. I'll have the TARDIS set to every Earth newsfeed."

Agreeing, the three humans left the box. After the Doctor de-materialized the TARDIS from the Pond's, he turned to his wife with a sly smile.

"Where we off to, then?" Avalon innocently asked while gazing at the controls.

"I'll let you know..." He murmured as he pressed a few kisses down her neck, giving her chills on her skin, "...after we do something else..."

She giggled as he wrapped his arm around her waist and brought them into the corridors for that special distraction he had thought of.

~ 0 ~

Nine months would see the return of Avalon and the Doctor to planet Earth - and only to snatch Amy and Rory up for an extravagant anniversary gift. It would have gone far better if the 19th century hotel that served as the gift hadn't been the setting for a Zygon attack.

The next gift was an easier one, a simple wedding in the past of King Henry VII. But...

The travelers ran inside a highly royal wooden room, out of breath.

"Not good, not good!" Avalon declared and gave a hard look to the Doctor who'd found some fun leaping on the bed, "Are you kidding me!?"

"What?" He let himself fall on the bed then sighed, "Fine! Under the bed. Under the bed!"

They all scrambled to fit underneath the bed. Their chasers were hot on their trail and it would be mere seconds before they were inside the room.

"It wasn't my fault," grumbled Amy.

However, Rory quickly retorted to that, "It was totally your fault."

"Somebody was talking and I just said 'yes'!"

"To wedding vows. You just married Henry VIII on our anniversary!"

The door finally burst open again, allowing the chasers to come in. Henry VIII strolled around the room searching for his new wife. And, of course, the Doctor sneezed and gave their location away. Avalon dropped her head to her hands - why was her family this weird?

~ 0 ~

The anniversary celebration continued back on planet Earth, inside Amy and Rory's cozy kitchen with their friends. The Doctor stood by the threshold of the kitchen, overseeing the celebration. Avalon decided to stay up close and celebrate with her grandparents. Brian walked towards him, looking a bit upset, "How long were they away?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Brian."

"Because they're wearing totally different clothes from earlier," Brian pointed to the Ponds.

Seeing no way to hide the truth, the Doctor decided to just answer, "Seven weeks. I got sidetracked. A lot."

"What happened to the other people who traveled with you?"

The Doctor deterred answering a second since he knew the answer would not be a good one. "Uh, some left me, some got left behind, and some - not many, but - some died. Not them. Not them, Brian. Never them."

Avalon picked up two plates of cake from the table with two forks then headed towards the two with a bright smile, "I've got cake!" she beamed and handed a plate to Brian, "Grandpa," she loved to be able to say that to him. She had gained one new family member and he was the absolute sweetest!

Brian kindly smiled and took his plate, he still couldn't fathom the fact the woman was an extension of their family but he was slowly growing more and more fond of her. "Thank you, sweetheart."

"And we can share," Avalon leaned on the Doctor, already digging into her cake, "So, what are we talking about?"

The Doctor exchanged glances with Brian, unsure how to go about that topic. Brian could see the internal struggle within the man so he answered instead, "I'm just making sure he takes good care of you."

Avalon titled her head up to the Doctor and warmly smiled, "Oh, he's incredibly protective, grandfather. I'm always safe with him."

The Doctor placed a kiss on her curly hair and wrapped his arms around her tightly while she ate. He would never let anything happen to Amy or Rory - much less Avalon. She was his wife and he'd rather die himself before any harm came to her.

~ 0 ~

After the party was finished, the travelers remained together to clean up. The Doctor came to sit beside Amy who carelessly tossed a cube in her hands. He had been thinking of how best to approach the subject but in the end, he was still very nervous.

"Can we... stay here? With you. And Rory?" He said, preferring to stare at the cube in Amy's hands rather than her. "For a bit. Keep an eye on the cubes. However long that takes."

Amy poked at him curiously, chuckling. "I thought it would drive you mad."

"No. No no. I mean, I'll be better at it this time," he promised in an almost childish tone, "I...miss you."

Amy smiled and stood up, "It's okay, did you tell Avalon?"

The other ginger came in time to hear the question, "Told me what?" she looked at the Doctor.

"I thought...we could stay here?" He rose to his feet and shifted nervously as he waited for her response.

"Ooh, I like that," Avalon nodded and a sly smile spread across her face, "You can stay in my room," she winked.

Amy groaned and raised her hands while leaving, "Don't you dare!" she warned as she left the room.

Avalon laughed and came for her blushing husband, "You okay?"

"You love embarrassing me don't you?" he shut his eyes and hung his head.

"Maybe a bit," she shrugged and ducked to meet his lips for a kiss, "But I can apologize for that..." she assured and kissed him again.

The days passed and the Doctor kept true to his word in trying his best to live a semi-normal life without the TARDIS. It was difficult at times, but the Doctor thanked he had his wife to keep him from going crazy. She'd lived a long, human life so it was no problem for her to readjust again. For her, it was an opportunity to show him a different life they could live - a peaceful, safe life.

The Doctor admitted to himself it was one he could get used to - especially at times like the one he was currently in.

It was past midnight and he and Avalon were in her room. Nearly all furniture pieces were from Avalon's childhood home in Leadworth, except for the bed the two were laying in. It had been traded in for a bigger one to fit two people, cozy enough to snuggle in. At the moment, the two were closely laying together, with Avalon's head resting on the Doctor's chest. His hand was lazily playing with her ginger locks while listening to her read from her favorite fairytale book. He loved hearing her read, her voice had a knack for literature — she was a natural. Of course, due to the time, her voice was beginning to dwindle in emotion and speed. The Doctor had allowed her to continue reading until she could no more. When her words began slurring, he knew it was time to call it a night.

"Heeey..." Avalon manages to frown but not to lift her head, "...I was reading that..."

"And now you're sleeping," the Doctor shut the book and placed it on the nightstand.

"I'm not tired, you're not tired."

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "You're not going to deprive yourself of sleep, love. Get some rest."

"You're not..." she yawned and closed her eyes, "...the boss of me..." she snuggled to him and released a small sigh before falling asleep.

"Of course not," the Doctor agreed in a whisper. He kissed her hair and pulled her blanket over her.

Of course, Avalon being Avalon, she wouldn't let him have it. Three hours later, her eyes opened up and she finally lifted her head up, "What time is it?" she mumbled, half expecting the to be gone.

He had a tendency to leave her during nights she needed sleep. He claimed it was simply for her comfort. Why share a bed with a man who didn't sleep? She should have an entire bed to herself! She understood he was just thinking of her and what was best, but she wanted him to stay with her...but she never admitted it out of embarrassment. So, when she saw the Doctor was still right beside her, she couldn't help set loose a wide grin.

"You're not gone," she quickly snuggled to him before he went anywhere.

"Hope you don't mind," he apologetically smiled at her. He was planning on leaving her to rest comfortably but she had clung to him during her sleep and he didn't have the hearts to leave her alone for the night.

"Not at all," she looked up at him.

"Planning on going back to sleep?"

"Mm, I don't know...let's read another story!" she exclaimed and moved to retrieve her book when the Doctor stopped her.

"Ava, it's 4 A.M.," he reminded and set her back on the bed.

"But I'm not tired," she softly complained, "Why do you want me to sleep so badly? Do you have someone to meet? Like another woman?"

"See? Deprivation of sleep is causing your mind to think of crazy stuff," he tapped her forehead, "I just want my wife to get some full rest."

"I don't want to," she shrugged and smiled at him, knowing how to distract him, "I had a dream about you."

"Really?" he raised an eyebrow, his attention already captivated.

"Mhm," she nodded, "It was about the first time we kissed, remember?"

"Kinda hard to forget," he breathed in just at the thought of that moment.

"Well, I do make quite an impression on men," she flashed a smirk that made him upset, "I've been told by several of them."

"Shh," he put a finger over her lips and quieted her down, "Let's not talk about..." he flapped hand to motion, "...that!"

Her smirk widened with his discomfort, "You mean my amazing kissing skills I used before you?"

The Doctor shut his eyes, trying to avoid any and all images of his wife kissing other men, "Shhh!"

"Cos you know, just because I only had 3 boyfriends before you doesn't mean I only kissed those three!"

"Ava, for the love of God, shhhhh!"

Avalon chuckled and draped an arm around him, "You know I like teasing you, fairy-tale man."

"No? I hadn't noticed," the Doctor had a hand over his face to avoid looking at her big smirk.

"I have to get back at you," Avalon continued and traded in her smirk for a dim smile, "Cos when I get to thinking of all the women who came before me...well..." she pulled his hand from her face, "...I get a little upset, and highly jealous."

The Doctor saw his opportunity to change topics and went for it, "All meaningless compared to you, love."

"Even your own late wife?"

"That marriage was under formal arrangements," he pointed at her, "completely out of my hands."

"And yet you still had children..." it was easy to tell Avalon wasn't playing anymore like she tended to with his past relationships. She fiddled with her fingers and kept her gaze from him, "...the marriage couldn't have been that bad."

"Let me put it to you in one question: Why do you think I left Gallifrey in the first place?" at that, blue eyes fell upon him, "I love my children, so so much...but I could not stand her. All the time it was bickering and bickering!"

"We bicker," Avalon reminded in a low whisper, her hands still fiddling together.

The Doctor scooted slightly from her to be able to roll on top of her, bringing their faces together, "But when we bicker, it's out of love," he whispered back to her before giving her a kiss.

Avalon seemed unsure of it but the second kiss she received put her doubts to rest. She took a long breath the moment the Doctor pulled away, "I'm glad to know where I stand..." she reached to touch his face, taking a moment to study his features, "You know, I think I was wrong about hope..."

"What exactly?"

"Maybe hope doesn't have to be an intangible force..." she tilted her head slightly and dimly smiled, "...it could simply be someone who's impacted your life so much that they become your hope - you." The Doctor was touched to hear that, his hearts beating wildly at the thought of her believing in him so much. She stared at him with her sparkly blue eyes which had foregone their tiredness. "You've changed my life in so many ways. How could you not be my hope? My future has never looked better."

"Well then, I promise to always keep your hope alive," the Doctor raised a hand as if he were making an oath, which actually he was, "and most importantly keep you happy."

Avalon blushed under his gentle stare and felt like the most important woman to him, "I thank you, fairy-tale man."

"I thank you for your hope, wife," the Doctor responded with that and a kiss that soon turned in dozens and dozens more.

~ 0 ~

"You two are impossible," Amy declared with arms crossed and a look of bewilderment as she watched Avalon and the Doctor competing in a WII tennis match, "How is it that you're married again?"

"You are a bloody cheater!" Avalon shouted at the Doctor, blatantly ignoring her grandmother's question behind them.

"I am not!" declared the Doctor with a huff as he turned to face his wife. He whacked his tennis racket to hit an incoming ball Avalon had sent just before she yelled at him.

"Yes" — Avalon thrust her racket to counter his hit — "you are! A big cheater! That set was mine and you know it!"

"That's not what the computer says," the Doctor flashed a smirk to her before using his racket again.

"Impossible," Amy repeated in the background as she resigned to have shouting in the house, "I'm taking a bath!" she called to whoever listened - probably Rory in the kitchen.

"You know, this is exactly why Fred Perry hates you," Avalon 'accidentally' pushed him in order to counter his attack on the television, "because you're a bloody cheater!" and when she hit the virtual ball she beamed as it went straight past the Doctor's, "HA! My set!" she jumped in excitement and turned to the Doctor.

"Okay, see that was cheating," he pointed at her.

"What?" she continued hopping and even jumped onto the couch, "It was not!"

"Yes, it was," the Doctor repeated and moved to grab her but she kept hopping and made it difficult, "You pushed me to hit the ball!"

"Strategies my dear husband, strategies," she stopped hopping to tap his nose.

"Cheater!" the Doctor managed to yank her off the couch and leave them face to face, a dangerous territory in their love/hate competition, "Why did I ever marry a cheater?" he touched noses with her and purposely flashed his charming smile.

Avalon was able to see over his shoulder the game starting up again and saw an opportunity to win again, "Well," her voice turned huskily while she neared his lips, "I do have some rather nice skills you're fond of...let me remind you of some of them..."

Barely brushing lips, the Doctor pushed her to the couch and spun around to strike the first ball in the game, "Ha! MY set!" he cheered.

Avalon fell with a thud on the cushions, stunned with the results of her seduction attempt. She blew the locks of hair that had fallen over her forehead then looked up at the Doctor with a glare, "How dare you!?"

"Sorry my love," the Doctor looked back at her, "I love you and we'll definitely get back to that," he pointed at her, "but this is my game and you were cheating!"

"I hate you!" Avalon jumped to her feet and got into position to give him one hell of a game, "And you're going to lose so badly," she warned just as the game set up again.

They spent another a two minutes playing while arguing when a cube hovered in front of them, freezing them in their spots.

"Doctor..." Avalon's eyes were wide.

"I know," the Doctor gave a small nod then narrowed his eyes at the cube, "Whatever you are, this planet, these people, are precious to me. And I will defend them to my last breath. Is that all you can do, hover? I had a metal dog could do that," the cube opened up one of its side to show a muzzle of a gun, "Ooh! Ooh, that's clever. What's that?"

"It's a gun!" Avalon smacked his arm, "What do you think it's for!?" she pulled him to the in time as the gun fired. They ran out of the room while dodging a second fire.

Once safely in the hallway, the Doctor peered into the room and saw the cube downloading information on the television. "Ooh, you really have woken up."

"Doctor!" Rory came running in from the kitchen, "Hi. The cube in there, it just opened?"

Amy was next to come running, but from the staircase, "The cube upstairs just spiked me and took my pulse!"

"Your cubes are losers," remarked Avalon with a small smirk, "Ours fired with a gun!"

"And it's surfing the net!" the Doctor added with excitement.

Brian ran into the house with about equal awe as Amy and Rory, "You're never going to believe this. My cube just moved. It rattled."

"Kinda of in the same predicament, Brian," Avalon gestured to the living room so he could peek in. Meanwhile, Rory went to attend to a call on the phone, "Do you think it's the start of the real invasion?" she asked the Doctor.

"Could mean anything, honestly," he shrugged.

"But if three cubes started in here, and another one at Brian's - would that mean that all the cubes have started moving?"

"Those are some very good questions," the Doctor looked at her with concern as he thought of her questions.

Upon hanging the phone, Rory returned to the group, "I have to get to work. They need all the help they can get."

"Let me come help out," Brian offered himself up.

"Take your dad to work night, brilliant!" Rory turned to Amy, "Okay, are you going to be all right here?"

She nodded and kissed him, "Keep away from the cubes."

"Alright," Rory took Brian and went off for the hospital.

"What the hell are you grinning about?" Avalon raised an eyebrow as she studied her grinning husband who'd remerged from the living room.

"Well, one," he raised a finger, "We're wanted at the Tower of London," he showed her and Amy his psychic paper to reveal a message, "And two," he leaned to Avalon with a smirk, "I won the last match."

"No you didn't!" Avalon angrily snapped and even made to move for the living room to check for herself.

The Doctor picked her up over his shoulder and headed for the doors, "Come along, remaining Pond," he called to Amy who laughed and followed him despite Avalon's angry shouts to be let down.

~ 0 ~

Kate Stewart led the trio down a hall inside the tower of London, explaining the reasons for her message, "Every cube across the whole world activated at the same moment."

"Now we're in business," the Doctor drowned the urge to clap his hands in excitement about it. He had loved his normal time with his Ponds but there needed to be some kind of action in the end, "You sent me a message to my psychic paper," he told Kate, "You know, I'm almost impressed. "

As they walked, Avalon and Amy were busy looking around the secretive base they'd been invited to. While Amy looked a bit worried, Avalon was more than impressed, "I must say, the secret base beneath the Tower was something I was not expecting," she flashed a smile at Kate, "I might use that in a book in the future."

"You write?" the blonde asked.

"No, but I plan to one day - this base can serve for a lot of purposes."

"Well make sure to write the part where the group gets invited into the base becuase they know too much,' mumbled Amy but was perfectly heard by Kate.

"Oh yes, and make sure to write that we have officers trained in beheading. Also, ravens of death."

"Ooh," Avalon thought about that while Kate took a lead down the hallway, "I think I just might. You know, I like her."

"Yeah," the Doctor nodded and hurried up after the blonde with them.

~ 0 ~

Kate had brought them into a room where the cubes were being monitored in small sealed rooms. They stopped by several of the casings to observe them, There are 50 being monitored and more coming in all the time. I don't know how useful it is. Every cube is behaving individually. There's no meaningful pattern. Some respond to proximity, some create mood swings."

"What's this one?" Amy pointed at a lone cube simply sat on a table. It seemed like it wasn't doing anything to her.

Kate knew otherwise and so motioned for her to go ahead and open its door, "Try the door."

Amy did as told and opened the door to the chamber, flooding the room with the Chicken dance, "Ooh..."

The Doctor plugged his ears with his fingers as the music blared. Avalon stared at him with genuine awe, "So that's how we can keep you quiet! Hey Kate, can I borrow that cube sometime?"

Next, Kate led the group into the lab room where her scientists/technicians were busy working away on the computers and other equipment. "This is the latest," she gestured to the computer screen in front of them.

The Doctor leaned forwards and used the keyboard to access its information, "Oh, dear. Systems breach at the Pentagon, China, every African nation, the Middle East."

"I've got governments screaming for explanations and no idea what to tell them. I'm lost, Doctor. We all are."

"Don't despair, Kate. Your dad never did," the Doctor glanced at the woman to find her staring at him in surprise, "Kate Stewart. Heading up UNIT, changing the way they work. How could you not be? Why did you drop "Lethbridge"?"

"I didn't want any favors. Though he guided me, even to the end. "Science leads," he always told me, said he'd learnt that from an old friend."

The Doctor smiled, "We don't let him down. We don't let this planet down."

One of the nearby technicians responded to an alerting beep, "They've stopped. The cubes. Across the world. They just shut down."

Kate frowned, "Active for 47 minutes and then they just die?"

"Not dead," the Doctor shook his head, "Dormant, maybe."

"But why go through all that trouble, then?" Avalon asked next.

"I don't know!" he exclaimed, clearly stressing, "I don't know. I need to think. I need some air. Who has an underground base? Terrible ventilation!"

Avalon exchanged looks with Amy then dashed off after the Doctor. Amy apologetically smiled to Kate before going off as well.

~ 0 ~

"The moment they arrived, I should've made sure they were collected and burned. That is what I should've done," the Doctor rubbed his face and deeply sighed to the two gingers sitting on either side of him.

They had moved to a wall sit on which overlooked the Thames - sort of peaceful, despite the looming dangers of the cube.

"Nobody would have listened to you," Avalon interjected and lightly shrugged, "I know I wouldn't have."

"You never listen to anything," shot Amy sarcastically.

"But you know I'm right about the others."

On that, Amy conceded with a shrug of her own, "Yeah, I suppose. There was no reason to back then."

The Doctor had been looking them back and forth, thinking of the future when Amy would no longer wish to be with them, "You're thinking of stopping, aren't you? You and Rory."

Amy looked away at the question, "No, no, I mean, we haven't made a decision."

"But you're considering it."

"Maybe. I don't know. We don't know. Well, our lives have changed so much. There was a time - there were years - when I couldn't live without you. Um, when just the whole everyday thing would drive me crazy. But since you dropped us back here, since you gave us this house, you know, we've built a life. But I don't know if I can have both."

"Why?" It was Avalon who asked the question, curious of the answer. She had been used to Lena's reluctance about traveling - her illness and the simple fact she wasn't made for it was enough. But Amy? Why would she want to stop?"

"Because they pull at each other," Amy answered carefully, "Because they pull at me and because the traveling is starting to feel like running away."

"That's not what it is," the Doctor frowned.

"Oh, come on, look at you. Four days in a lounge and you go crazy."

"I'm not running away," he insisted, "This is one corner of one country, in one continent on one planet that's a corner of a galaxy, that's a corner of a universe that is forever growing and shrinking and creating and destroying and never remaining the same for a single millisecond and there is so much, so much, to see, Amy. Because it goes so fast. I'm not running away from things. I'm running to them, before they flare and fade forever. It's all right. Our lives won't run the same. They can't. One day, soon, maybe, you'll stop. I've known for a while."

"Then why do you keep coming back for us?"

"Because you were the first," the Doctor put an arm around her shoulders and Avalon, and sighed lightly, "You two and Lena, you were the first faces this face saw. And you were seared onto my hearts. Ponds - and one Reynolds," Avalon silently rolled her eyes but let him have it for his sake, "You always will be. I've lost Lena long ago. Now I'm running to you and Rory before you fade from me too."

"But there's one of us who'll never leave," Amy tried her best not to sniffle, "And she'll keep you company long after we're all gone."

"Quiet," Avalon mumbled the order, never wanting to think of her family dead, "I don't ever want to hear that."

"What ever you want, spoiled granddaughter," Amy did her best sarcasm without crying.

Suddenly, the Doctor stiffened, something both women felt. "They got what they wanted," he whispered.

"What?" Avalon frowned at him, taking his sudden reactions as if he was mocking them.

"The cubes. That's why they stopped," the Doctor was having a moment of his own, even jumping and nearly knocking the women in the process, "Come on!" he ran back for the entrance of the tower.

He went straight back to Kate in a haste stride, "Kate?" he called and made the blonde turn around from a technician, "Before they shut down, they scanned everything, from your medical limits to your military response patterns. They made a complete assessment-" the lights in the tower went down with no warning, "...of planet Earth..." the Doctor pulled out to sonic the light bulbs, "...and its inhabitants. That's what the surge of activity was. Problem with the power?"

Kate was holding a lit torch in her hand and looking quite distressed, "Not possible. We've got backups."

"Then why aren't they working?" Avalon challenged, finding the action suspicious with the cubes.

The Doctor took them back to the chambers of the cube to get a look at what as happening. There, they found all cubes were counting down to zero, something the Doctor was able to give to Kate as a powerful reason for the cubes to be recalled and disposed by all humans. Thankfully, Kate was able to spread the word out and were getting the cubes thrown out of buildings. The Doctor had only one last thing to do: lock himself in a chamber with one cube.

Avalon, Amy and Kate stood outside of the chamber the Doctor was in, staring intently at the cube which was nearing zero. Avalon had her arms crossed and a look of clear disapproval, "Doctor, you don't have to be in there," she repeated for what seemed the tenth time, "I don't understand why you love scaring me like this."

"It's going to be fine," the Doctor gave her a thumbs up which did not make her feel an ounce better. It wasn't long before the countdown reached zero and when the Doctor prepared for the worst...the cube merely slid open one of its side to show nothing inside.

"What's happening?" Avalon asked quickly, sensing something worse would happen if the cube was showing 'nothing'. That nothing would turn into something in a surprise and harm the Doctor when he's off guard.

"There is nothing in here," the Doctor stood up, staring at the cube with a scowl, "Why? Why is there nothing inside? Why? It doesn't make any sense!" he left the chamber and went for thee technician rooms to see what had occurred outside, "Glasses, is it the same? Is it the same all around the world?" he gathered from the various screens in front of him.

"They're empty," Kate remarked, "We're safe. Right?"

"I don't think so," Avalon voiced her opinion, "because what if they're just playing us? This could be a decoy while the real attack happens with some other thing."

"All along, every action has been deliberate," the Doctor relayed, "Why draw attention to the cubes, if they don't contain anything?"

Amy, who had been staring at the videos while the others spoke, was the first to see the 'real action' take place, "Doctor, look," she pointed, alarmed.

The videos were all showing people gripping their chests and collapsing to the ground. The technician overseeing the monitors spoke up, "They're CCTV feeds from across the world, showing the same."

"People are dying," Avalon gasped in horror, "See! I told you!"

"They can't be dying," the Doctor disagreed, "How? How are they dying?"

Kate turned to the technician with an important task in mind, "I want information on how people are being affected."

"The cubes brought people close together. They opened and—" the Doctor couldn't continue when a sharp pain ran through his chest.

Seeing him fall onto a chair with a cry of pain, Avalon and Amy were at his side, "Doctor, what's the matter!?" Avalon wanted to help him but with his frizzy movements she couldn't lay a finger on him.

"Uh! Ah! I don't know!"

"Posters are logging a global surge in heart failure, cardiac arrest," the technician Kate had ordered finally gave an explanation.

"That's it. Ah!" the Doctor yelled, "Ah! Oh. Only one heart. Other one's not working!" he pounded on his chest.

"Okay! We need to get you to the hospital!" Amy declared and went to get him up with Avalon when the Doctor pushed them away.

"No no no no no! Just a second," he pushed his chair back to the desk, "Come, show me 10 seconds after the cubes opened. Show me the patterns in their electrical current. See?"

"No," Kate shook her head.

"Yes, the power cut. They sucked the power and then - aah! They're signal boxes! People - wham! Pure electrical surge out of the cube, targeted at the nearest human heart. The heart! An organ powered by electrical current, short-circuited. How to destroy a human? Go for the heart. Ow! Crikey Moses!"

"We need to get you out of here!" Avalon exclaimed.

Kate looked up from the monitor she was at, "Doctor, the scan you set running. The transmitter locations. It's found them."

"Oh, look at them all, pulsing, bold as brass. Seven of them, all across the world. (pounds chest) Ow! Seven stations, seven minutes. Why is that important? Ah-aaah! Ha ha ha ow! Ow!" the Doctor looked at Avalon and Amy, "How do you people manage one heart? It is pitiful!"

"I'm sorry, did you just really call me 'pitiful'?" Avalon raised an eyebrow, desisting in all movements to help him, "Are you really going down that road?"

"No, ma'am," the Doctor cleared his throat and shifted his attention to the monitor, still fighting the unbearable pain within his chest, "The wormhole. Bridging two dimensions. Seven of them, hitched on to this planet. But - but – but where's the closest one? Glasses, zoom in."

The technician zoomed in to the location and revealed a very familiar London building to the two gingers in the room.

"That's the hospital where Rory works," Avalon blinked, "We've got to get there now!"

~ 0 ~

In no time had they arrived at Rory's hospital. The Doctor tried leading the group with a hand over his chest, "How many deaths have been recorded?" he glanced at Kate beside him.

"We don't know. We think it could be a third of the population."

"Kate, I have to find the wormhole. But the attacks could still happen. Tell the world. Tell them how to deal this. The world needs your leadership right now."

"I'll do my best," the blonde promised and walked back.

Not a second later after she'd left did the Doctor fall against a wall with a cry of agony, "Agh!"

"Okay we need to fix you," Avalon declared and started looking around for something to help them.

"How long are you going to last with only one heart?" Amy sighed as she helped him stand with an arm around his shoulders.

"Not much longer," he started scanning the place with the sonic, "I need to locate the wormhole portal. Hello. Hello!" he found a young girl holding one of the cubes, "Oh, hello," he went up to her, "You are giving off some very strange signals."

The girl made no oral response and instead glowed a brilliant blue, startling the trio, "Oh my God," Amy blinked.

"Outlier droid monitoring everything. If I shut her down, I can," with the sonic's help the girl started swaying back and forth as she lost power, "Ah. It's all right. It's all right..." but his own strength was flailing, "Ava, Amy, I can't!" he slid to the floor, "I can't do it. I need both hearts. Ah! Aah!"

"Oh that is it!" Avalon huffed and stomped down the hallway, clearly searching for something.

"What's she doing!?" Amy narrowed her eyes as she studied the other ginger's movements.

Avalon returned to them with a defibrillator in hands, something the Doctor was immediately shooting down, "No! No, no, no, no, that won't work! I'm a Time Lord!"

"Yes," Avalon got on her knees, "you're a Time Lord with one working heart!"

"No, Ava!" He refused when she opened his shirt.

"Oh relax, it's nothing I haven't done before!"

"Hey!" Amy frowned at the implication, "Ew, grandmother, remember?" she pointed at herself.

"Shush, I'm saving my husband," Avalon snapped, "Clear!" and she applied the charge which instantly got results.

"Ooh!" the Doctor sat upright, feeling the blast of energy, "Welcome back, Lefty. Whoa-hoa! Two hearts!" he jumped to his feet and pulled Avalon with him, "Whoo! Back in the game. And Never do that to me again," he firmly pointed at Avalon who barely caught up with his radical movements.

"Okay, but then don't come whining to me tonight when I say no and go to sleep!"

"No, wait, not that," the Doctor immediately frowned, "Not that! I meant that!" He pointed at the defibrillator behind them.

"Sorry," Avalon raised a hand and walked off, "C'mon, then, portal awaits!"

"I hate when she does that," the Doctor huffed then noticed the distasteful face Amy had for him, "What?"

"Grandmother!" she pointed at herself again, "Ew?" would they ever understand neither she nor Rory ever wanted to hear what went on between him and Avalon in their bedroom.

~ 0 ~

They arrived at the lift where the Doctor's sonic had led them to. When the doors slid open, the trio peered inside to find a regulator lift.

"Oh, portal to another dimension in a goods lift?" Amy frowned at the sight.

The Doctor checked his sonic's examination results, "The energy signals converge here. Does seem a bit cramped, though," he stepped in followed by the two gingers. The back wall seemed to ripple attracting the Doctor's attention. He poked it and glanced at the two women, all sharing bright smiles, "Through the looking-glass, Ava."

"I loved that story," Avalon beamed as he took her hand.

"I loved hearing you read it to me."

Amy rolled her eyes, "Eugh!" she pushed past them and went through the wall first. She came to a spaceship which consisted of old hospital gurneys that held her husband and her father-in-law, "Rory!"

"Where the hell are we?" asked Avalon when she and the Doctor came through.

"We're in orbit. One dimension to the left," the Doctor shrugged.

Amy turned to them and pointed to Rory across the room, "Rory's unconscious!"

The Doctor reached inside his jacket's pocket and pulled out a small jar he handed to Amy, "Seborean smelling salts. Outlawed in seven galaxies."

Amy was hesitant to use such jar but took the chance and ran over to Rory. Upon getting a whiff, Rory sat upright with wide eyes.

"Rory, you're back!" Avalon excitedly hugged him.

"Amy, get them out of here," tasked the Doctor, "And you too, now."

At that, Avalon pulled away from her hug and turned to the Doctor, "No, what are you going to do on your own?"

The Doctor moved on to Brian's gurney and pushed it towards them, "Absolutely no idea. Get him through the portal," and he started helping them when someone fired at them. The Doctor looked back and saw a lone, bald man in a dark cloak and chapped, wrinkled skin.

"So many of them, crawling the planet, seeping into every corner," he was saying.

"What the hell is that?" Avalon stopped but was forced to continue out of the room by her grandparents. They returned to the lift and into the hallway while Brian was stirring awake, "Did we just really leave my husband behind?" she faced Amy and Rory.

"Of course not," Amy huffed at the accusation, "Don't you realize? We'd never leave him, nor you."

"Well..." Avalon crossed her arms, her eyes flickering between one grandparent to another, "...it's just, lately, I feel like you leaving the Doctor and the TARDIS means you'll be leaving me too."

"What?" Rory frowned, "How can you say that, Ava?"

"Because I barely see you anymore," Avalon dropped her arms to her sides in frustration, "and I try to act like it's all alright but deep down I don't want you to go. I like having my family/friends with me in that blue box."

"We need you to understand something for us," Rory came up and put his hands on her shoulder, keeping her still and looking directly at him and Amy, "Even if we do decide to leave the travelling it does not mean we are leaving you."

"Yeah, you're our granddaughter for god's sake," Amy shook her head, "How can you think we'd ever leave you?"

"I dunno..." Avalon played with her foot, "Cos when the Doctor talks about his previous companions he always says how much he misses them cos he doesn't visit them. He leaves them or they leave him. I don't want that to happen to you two."

"It's not," Rory declared with a sigh, "Because we are never going to let that happen. We stay and you'll come and visit us. And sometimes we'll come visit you."

"But we will always be a family," Amy finished.

"Promise?" Avalon whispered, believing herself to sound like a child.

"Promise," went both grandparents before hugging their granddaughter. When the moment was finished, they rejoined the Doctor and discovered the alien was still conversing with the mysterious man - one who apparently believed humans to be an 'epidemic' that needed to be stopped.

"What does he mean by 'Tally'?" asked Amy, still trailing the man with slight distaste, "What is that?"

The Doctor wasn't too happy to have his wife and friends back in direct danger. He knew he couldn't force them to leave and for the sake of time he didn't press, "Some people call it "Judgment Day" or "the Reckoning.""

Avalon glanced at him with surprise, "What? You don't know?"

"I've never wanted to find out."

"Before the Closure, there is the Tally," the Shakri declared, "The Shakri serves the Tally!"

"The pest controllers of the universe. That's how the tales went, isn't it?" the Doctor frowned.

"Wait, so you'r'e afraid of an exterminator?" Avalon snorted, crossing her arms and putting a hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh, "What kind of bedtime stories are those?"

"Well you can talk," the Doctor turned to her, crossed she was making fun of him, "Your stories are no better. A wolf in your grandmother's nightdress?"

Avalon raised an eyebrow and stepped closer, "Are you making fun of your wife's favorite classic fairy-tales?"

"N-no," the Doctor quickly faced the Shakri again, "So!" he clapped his hands, desperate for a change of topics, "Here you are, depositing slug pellets all over the Earth, made attractive so humans will collect them, hoping to find something beautiful inside. Because that's what they are. Not pests or plague - creatures of hope, forever building and reaching. Making mistakes, of course, every life form does, but - but - they learn. And they strive for greater and they achieve it. You want a tally? Put their achievements against their failings, through the whole of time. I will back humanity against the Shakri every time."

"The Tally must be met. The second wave will be released," the Shakri moved to the keyboard and began typing.

Amy watched the actions in alarm, "What does that mean?"

"It's going to release more cubes to kill more people," the Doctor's eyes widened.

"The human plague, breeding and fighting. And, when cornered, their rage to destroy. You're too late, Doctor. The Tally shall be met."

Amy panicked when the man disappeared, "He's gone!"

"He was never really here," the Doctor dismissed as he moved to the computer, "Just the ship's automated interface. Like a talking propaganda poster. I can stop the second wave," he pulled out the sonic to use, "I can disconnect all the Shakri craft from their portals, leave them drifting in the dark space. Ah, but all those people who were near the cubes, so many of them will have died."

"I restarted one of your hearts," Avalon blinked, 'Could that work?"

"You'd need mass defibrillation," Rory said.

"Of course. Ah, beautiful. But, Ponds, Ponds, we're going to go one better than that," the Doctor pointed at them, "The Shakri used the cubes to turn people's hearts off. Bingo! We're going to use them to turn them back on again."

"Will that work?" Amy raised an eyebrow, sensing it too easy.

"Well, creatures of hope. Has to," the Doctor shrugged and worked for a couple more minutes, "30 seconds. Don't let me down, cubes. You're working for me, now," the ship lurched them to the side a bit, "Oh, dear," the Doctor got a glimpse of the computer and stepped back, tugging on Avalon's arm to join him as well, "All those cubes. There's going to be a terrible wave of energy ricocheting around here, any second. Run!"

The Ponds had no choice to follow, just barely missing the explosion behind them.

~ 0 ~

The only way to finish a day filled with explosions and an almost-invasion was to cook a nice dinner for the family in the evening. Amy showed Avalon a classic recipe that she had apparently picked up in the months of their absence and it turned out that the two actually made a good cooking team. It was a pleasant evening until the time came to leave.

"We'd better get going," the Doctor glanced at Ava to see if she would agree or not. If it was hard for him to leave the Ponds, it was ten times harder for her - they were literally family.

Thankfully, she seemed to agree as she nodded and stood up, "Right, lots and lots of things to do, um." She hugged Amy then Rory and went around the table to hug Brian last.

"Look," the Doctor settled his hands on the shoulders of Amy and Rory, "I know, you both have lives here, beautiful, messy lives. That is what makes you so fabulously human. You don't want to give them up. I understand."

"Actually, it's you they can't give up, Doctor," Brian said with 100% assurance, "And I don't think they should. Go with him. Go save every world you can find. Who else has that chance? Life will still be here."

"Why don't you come, Brian?" Avalon suggested, "It'd be really cool to have my grandparents and my great grandfather in the TARDIS."

"Nah," Brian patted her hand, "Somebody's got to water the plants." He then looked at the Doctor. "Just bring them all back safe."

"I will," the Doctor nodded, simultaneously reaching for Avalon's hand to squeeze.

Avalon couldn't help beam all the way to the blue box as she held her husband's hand and ushered her grandparents inside her home. She waved goodbye at Brian with the brightest smile and then disappeared inside.

A/N:

Ugh, there's only a couple chapters left before it's time to say bye, bye to the Ponds *cries*. It'll be the end of an era!

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