Midnight ⋆ Doctor Who²

50. The Dawn's Room

GETTING BACK TO THE RESTAURANT IS HARDER THIS TIME. The Doctor is barely able to hold his frustration back, and for some reason, Aurora is getting more and more scared. But it's fine, the Doctor is here. She praises him. Trusts him. What?

Gibbis is raiding the kitchen. Three bodies laid out now. And the Doctor is smashing breakables at the bar in frustration, yelling. Once he's done, he sits at the table furthest from her. Between them are the Ponds, and Gibbis.

"Okay," he breathes out. "It preys on people's fear and possesses them," he says, reciting his previous theory. "But Rita wasn't afraid. She was brave and calm. Maybe it's something to do with the people, some connection between the four of you that'll tell me how to fight it."

"Yes, you keep saying that, but you never do," Gibbis lets out. "And while we wait, people keep dying. And we'll be next."

"Gibbis, can you just shut up please?" Aurora snaps, raising her voice. "We're all scared right now, yes? The Doctor will get us out of this. Sooner rather than later, I hope." She takes a deep breath. "You just have to trust him."

That's what she does, and she praises him. No no — she's fine. That's what she meant. Her hearts start racing. What's happening?

"Oh, no," the Doctor says at the same time. His voice sounds like the realization he just had tore something from him. "Oh, no, no."

"Doctor, what is wrong?" Amy panics a bit.

"It's not fear," he tells her, eyes wide in slight horror. "It's faith. Not just religious faith, faith in something." He stands up, and walks to Gibbis' table. "Howard believed in conspiracies, that external forces controlled the world. "

Aurora hits her forehead in realization. "Joe had dice cufflinks and a chain with a horseshoe. He was a gambler!"

"Gamblers believe in luck, an intangible force that helps them win or lose," he goes on, walking to Rory and Amy's table, and starts pacing. "Gibbis has rejected any personal autonomy and is waiting for the next batch of invaders to oppress him and tell him what to do. They all believe there's something guiding them, about to save them. That's what it replaces. Every time someone was confronted with their most primal fear, they fell back on their most fundamental faith." He suddenly stops walking and sits at the table in front of the Ponds'. "And all this time, I have been telling you to dig deep, find the thing that keeps you brave. I made you expose your faith, show them what they needed."

Aurora looks down at the sight of the Doctor's guilt. "But why us?" Rory asks. "Why are we here?"

"It doesn't want you," the Doctor tells him. "That's why it kept showing you a way out. You're not religious or superstitious, so there's no faith for you to fall back on." The Doctor looks at Amy, as if his hearts were in his throat. "It wants her."

Aurora's eyes widen and her heartsbeat quicken. "Amy?"

"Oh no, he found a more primal faith," he dismisses, the words almost burning their way out. "A faith coming directly from the heart. Hearts. It's even better than Amy's."

And Aurora understands. He didn't look at Amy because it was her, because he had to face her. He looked at his best friend for support. She lets out a sad laugh, and forces a smile at him, tilting her head.

"It's my faith in you, isn't it?" Because of course it's because of her. When is it not? Wherever they go, the Doctor and Aurora are a very dangerous mix and this is the result.

The Time Lady Victorious will be the result.

"It's your faith in me," he repeats, looking down. "That's what brought us here."