A Second Chance (Peterick AU)

Chapter 8

For some reason, we were still on the kitchen counter. Patrick was leaning on my arm, laying himself along the countertop, as we talked about happier things now. We were talking about memories from our worlds and experiences.

Patrick was laughing. "Evil snowmen?" He asked, "How menacing!"

"It was at the time!" I insisted, "can never look at one the same way again."

Patrick just laughed harder. It was so good to hear his laugh again...It made me smile and laugh too.

"So where were you going?" Patrick asked.

"Hmm?"

"Before you crashed here?" Patrick leaned his head back to look at me, his soft hair rubbing against my arm.

"Oh...Midevil Europe I think." I tilted my head to look at him, "I came out of my room and the tardis was going insane."

"Wooow..." Patrick turned back to the angle his body was facing. He just seemed to be taking my voice in, the same way I was his.

I looked down at my hands. What was I going to do when the Doctor returned? Surely he wasn't going to stay here, he'd want to jump back to our dimension... I don't know that I could leave Patrick again...

**Time Skip**

"I've got those jetpack blues,

just like Judy...

The kind that make June feel like September

...I'm the last one that you'll ever, remember...

And I'm trying to find my peace of mind

Behind these two white highway lines

When the city goes silent,

The ringing in my ears gets violent..."

Patrick was singing a song he had wrote quietly. It was one he had written in his time after this universes Pete...Well, kicked the bucket.

The sadness in his voice as he sang with so much passion, so much emotion, gave me the chills.
He was sitting with his legs crisscrossed and his eyes closed.

"...singing 'baby come home' in a melody of tears

While the rhythm of the rain keeps time.

And I remember!

Baby come home,

Baby come home,

Baby come home,

Baby c-come home..."

He had to stop Singing to wipe his eyes of fresh tears. He wouldn't look at me as he sniffled.

"That was beautiful Patrick." I smiled at him.
He smiled weakly, still avoiding making eye contact with me. I finally just pulled him over into a hug.
We had only been in an embrace for a few seconds when the Doctor ran into the apartment.

"PETE!" He yelled and we jumped apart, Patrick nearly falling off the counter, "PATRICK! You're here too, great! I found the rift! I found the way home!"

I felt my heart sink. How had the Doctor solved it so fast? Did he really expect me to get up and leave?..

"Now, we don't have much time! This thing is a bit like a timebomb with it's opening and closing so if we want to catch it-"

"Doctor..."

"-we have to be quick-"

"DOCTOR!" I yelled over him, stopping his hyperactivness in its tracks. I looked over at Patrick, who had a look of pure sadness.

"I can't go." I said, looking right at Patrick, "I just can't."

"Pete...This isn't your world." The Doctor said after a moment of shock, "This isn't your universe! You don't belong here."

"But I do!" I grabbed Patrick's hand and looked back at the Doctor. "I belong with Patrick. He is my world... I've been given a second chance..."

"But the Peter Wentz of this universe is already dead."

"And so is the Patrick Stump of mine!"

"We don't have to stay..." Patrick spoke up softly, "go where they don't know either of us. Somewhere away from where it happened in both places..."

The Doctor began to open his mouth, but I spoke first. "What will it hurt Doctor? I can't leave this place knowing that I'll be leaving behind my world..."

The Doctor looked between Patrick and I. I could tell he was struggling for an argument that would get through to me (I'd seen that look more times than I could count) before he sighed.

"I can't come back for you if you change your mind." The Doctor said.

"I won't change my mind." I said sincerely. I felt Patrick squeeze my hand.

"Are you sure?.." He whispered in my ear, unsure.

I turned to him and saw a pleading look behind his sadness, begging me to be serious.

"Absolutely positive..." I whispered back. I felt his hand squeeze mine again. His eyes crinkled as he smiled widely.

"Pete..." I turned back to the Doctor, who was now standing just a few feet away, "If I leave, and you're not with me, I can't come back for you."

I could hear a twinge of sadness in the Doctor's voice. I knew he didn't want to be alone, but I couldn't leave my world behind again.

"I'm sorry Doctor." I jumped off the counter and hugged him. "Without you, I would never have been okay..." I said quietly, so Patrick couldn't hear.

"I'm going to miss you Peter Wentz." I heard the Doctor laugh lightly, "It was a good run with you." He patted my back and pulled away. He turned to Patrick with a grin.

"It was absolutely lovely to meet you Patrick!" He hurried over and shook Patrick's hand vigorously.
"Both of you!" He hurried over to the door and smiled sadly between the two of us. "Maybe I'll go visit some Ponds..."

He gave us a final wave, and out the door he went. I was going to miss that madman, but I was finally reunited with my other half.