More than words

Love don't roam

Chapter 8 Love don't roam

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I have wandered, I have rambled
I have crossed this crowded sphere,
And I've seen a mass of problems
That I long to disappear.
Now, all I have's this anguished heart,
For you have vanished too.
Oh, my girl, my girl, my precious girl,
Just what is this man to do?

~Neil Hannon

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"We're shark bait, every single one of us. Stuck on the ocean, waiting until the wind changes."

"Do you hear that?" The Doctor held his ear against the hatch, listening intently.

"Hear what, Doctor?" Amy questioned a bored tone to her voice. If he were to turn around he'd probably find her standing with her arms crossed and a scowl on her face.

"Someone's above us." He whispered as he looked over his shoulder, and sure enough, she stood exactly as he had pictured. Looking behind her, he saw Rose and Rory talking silently to each other, her eyes partially closed from the alcohol induced headache; not for the first time was he thankful for his superior biology. His eyes swept over Rose's body for a fraction of a second, taking in her rumpled cocktail dress and red-tinged cheeks.

Maybe he should have waited for her to change clothes and rest off her hangover first before embarking on a new adventure. He looked down upon himself, brushing invisible dust off of his white tuxedo. Oh, well, too late for that now.

"Let's knock." He said giddily instead, ignoring Amy's irritated scowl.

He knocked several times on the hatch above his head, wringing his hands with excitement when he heard the people on the other side talk amongst each other.

"Yo ho ho!" He exclaimed as the hatch burst open before he took in the gun only inches from his face. "Or does nobody actually say that?"

"Who are you?" The man with the gun asked, his thick burly beard shaking from barely concealed anger.

"We got your distress signal." He climbed out of the hatch, which in retrospect he probably shouldn't have, because the moment his foot touched the deck one of the pirates grabbed him from behind and ushered him away from the others before he had a chance to warn them.

"Doctor?!" He heard Rose call out for him but he was too far away to see her and the pirate was surprisingly strong,

"Take him to my cabin," The man with the gun hollered. "The others too."

The pirate practically threw him down on a chair, not bothering to restrain him, and he was just about to stand up when the door opened again and Rose, Amy, and Rory were ushered inside in similar manner.

"Are you okay?" His eyes swept over all of them as soon as the pirates left them alone.

"Yeah," Rory nodded. "They were surprisingly gentle."

"I know." He frowned at two pirates standing on the other side of the door. "I would've thought they'd at least bind our hands."

"Maybe we should just be grateful that they didn't and just sit down." Amy suggested and sat down pointedly on a chair, her legs crossed.

"Yeah, but where's the fun in that?" He pulled out his sonic screwdriver and started taking some readings.

"Do you have to?" Rose groaned and rubbed her forehead. "Tha's very annoying."

"Oi, someone's grumpy." The Doctor laughed but quickly quieted when he took in Rose's scowl. "You know, I have a pill for alcohol induced headaches, clears the pain away in a flash. Oh," He grinned. "I like that word, flash. Flash, flash, flash." He said quickly then stopped with a frown. "Hmm, it doesn't sound as good anymore. You know that feeling when you say a word too many times and it kind of loses its meaning..."