The Time Lord's Hope [2] • Doctor Who

13 ~ Amelia's Problem

The next thing I'm aware of is waking up in a room on a hard metal bed. I sit bolt upright, remembering what had happened and I look around me, seeing rows of beds with people sleeping on them, pads on their chests or masks over their faces, or tubes leading from their throats. I then realise I have pads attached to my chest and I pull them off hurriedly, causing a beeping. I stand up and walk through the rows looking at who they were, I then quickly recognise Toby and run over to him to see if he's okay. He like the others had a tube connected to his neck, so why I didn't confused me. I then pull away looking around again and I recognise Rory instantly. I hurry over to him and start trying to release him from the straps and he starts to wake up but before I can get him fully awake the singing starts and I look, scared, in time to see the siren coming towards me, once again an angry red colour. I back away from Rory, getting away from the siren, then she stops, she goes green again and starts singing as she settles down a struggling, and now awake, Rory. "Of course." I whisper to myself as she tends to Rory. "You're a doctor." I laugh to myself, relieved that we aren't really in danger. "You mark the sick and wounded, even if it's the smallest cut or most insignificant cough and you use your song like an anaesthetic. She looks to me and watches me closely. "You're an interface, an interface made to protect the human race." I stand up straight. "Don't worry I'll leave him be." I promise her and she tilts her head before moving on and checking the others. "This is brilliant." I giggle excitedly before walking around. "T!" I shout excitedly, spotting the Tardis behind a curtain. I run over to her and check her outside, but the moment I touch her the siren comes towards me again red and angry. "No, no, I'm sorry." I say hastily. "She's mine, well, half mine." I try and reassure her but she doesn't understand. "Okay, okay, look." I say stalling as she watches me. I raise my hand and snap it, and the Tardis door opens. There's a sort of realisation. "See, she's mine, she belongs to me." She raises her hand and a golden glowing ring appears around her hand. Very hesitantly I reach out my hand and touch it gently, causing a bright light and then she disperses and I turn to the Tardis. "Hello lovely." I don't waste another moment before running in and checking everything over. I then try to see if she will set off but find she won't dematerialise. "What's wrong with you?" I ask. There's a strange whirring and I sigh. "What do you mean you're not leaving without the Doctor? We're going to go and get the Doctor now, and then come back and get Rory and Toby." I tell her; another whir. "He's here, what's he doing here?" I ask, but I don't get a reply this time. "Urgh, fine!" I say running out of the Tardis to see the siren red and angry at Amy, the Doctor and Avery this time as Amy stands by Rory.
"Amy, stop. Don't interfere. Don't touch him. Anaesthetic, tissue sample, screen, sterile working conditions. Ignore all my previous theories!" The Doctor calls to Amy as the siren continues to hiss at her.
"Yeah? Well, we stopped paying attention a while back." Amy says, obviously just wanting to be able to look after her husband.
"She's not a killer, she's a Doctor." I say from behind them, and they all turn to look at me, confused and relieved. Amy stops fiddling with Rory's life support and the siren returns to the green colour.
"This is an automated sick bay. It's teleporting everyone on board. The crew are dead, and so the sick bay has had nothing to do. It's been looking after humanity whilst it's been idle. Look at her. A virtual doctor able to sterilise a whole room." The Doctor says excitedly before he comes over to me and pulls me into a hug. "Don't do that again." He tells me and I nod into his shoulder before pulling away.
"Able to burn you face off." Amy says coldly.
"She's just an interface, seeped through the join between the planes, broadcast in our world. Protean circuitry means she can change her form, and become a human doctor for humans. Oh, sister, you are good." The Doctor pulls away as he works it all out.
"She won't let us take them." Avery says sadly.
"She's keeping them alive, but she doesn't know how to heal them." I tell them and Amy stats to get frustrated.
"I'm his wife, for God's sake. Why can't I touch him?" Amy asks and I walk up behind her and touch my hand to her shoulder.
"Tell her, Amy. Show her your ring. She may be virtual but she's intelligent." The Doctor tells Amy. She holds out her ring to the siren. "You can't do anything without her consent. Come on. Sophisticated girl like you. That must be somewhere in your core program." The Doctor says to the siren who stared at Amy's hand blankly.
"Look, he's very ill, okay? I just want to look after him." Amy tries to convince the siren, but she doesn't seem to take notice as she continues to stare at us. "Why won't you let me near my husband?" Amy asks angrily. Something seems to click in the siren and I sigh in relief as the siren reaches out her hand, the same way she had with me so that the circle of golden light appears again.
"Consent form. Sign it. Put your hand in the light. Rory's sick. You have to take full responsibility." The Doctor says to Amy and hesitantly, she does what I did, she placed her hand in the circle and there's a bright glow before the siren disappears. She doesn't wait to then turn off Rory's life support but after only a second of having it on, Rory starts to splutter, not being able to breathe.
"He can't breathe. Turn it back on." I say hurriedly and Amy turns it back on, causing Rory to calm and quiet.
"What do we do? I can't just leave him here." Amy says.
"He'll die if you take him out." Avery inputs and I stand opposite them, trying to figure out a way to get him out. Amy then leans down over him, stroking his face.
"Rory? Rory, wake up." She whispers to him, and it doesn't take long for him to wake up.
"Where am I?" He asks coarsely.
"You're in a hospital. If you leave, you might die." I say to him.
"But if you don't, you'll have to stay forever." Amy adds.
"You're saying that if I don't get up now..." Rory leads off.
"You can never leave." Amy finishes.
"The siren will keep you safe." The Doctor says.
"And if I come?"
"Drowning, on the point of death." I say to him quietly.
"I'm a nurse." Rory states abruptly. "I can teach you how to save me." He says to Amy, whose eyes widen at the thought.
"Whoa, hold on." She starts to interrupt.
"I was drowning, you just have to resuscitate me." Rory says to her.
"Just?"
"You've seen them do it loads of times in films. CPR, the kiss of life." Rory tells her and Amy watches him anxiously.
"Rory, this isn't a film, okay? What if I do it wrong?" Amy asks.
"You won't." Rory promises.
"Okay, what if you don't come back to life?" She starts tearing up and I grab her hand. "What if-." Rory cuts her off.
"I trust you." Rory says to her. She then looks back to the Doctor and then me.
"What about him? Or Kenz? I mean, why do I have to be the one? Why do I have to save you?" She stutters over her words and I take a step back, over to the Doctor.
"Because I know you'll never give up." Rory replies. We walk away from my sister and brother-in-law over to Avery who is stood by his son, watching over him.
"We have to send this ship back into space. Imagine if the Siren got ashore. She would have to process every injured human." The Doctor says to him.
"What about Toby?" Avery asks and I look to the young boy sadly, already knowing he wouldn't be making it back to shore, and if so, not for long.
"I'm sorry. Typhoid fever. Once he returns it's only a matter of time." I say taking the boy's cold hand.
"What if I stay with him, here. The Siren will look after him. I can't go back to England. And what home does he have now, if not with me?" Avery says.
"Do you think you can sail this thing?" The Doctor asks.
"Just point me to the atom accelerator." He jokes and I smile sadly to him as the Doctor laughs.

Together, the Doctor and I turn to Rory and Amy who were talking together quietly. "I'll see you in a minute." Amy says, glancing back to us and the Doctor nods to her before ripping the restraints off of Rory. He starts to choke and gag and the Doctor and Amy quickly carry him off of the bed and towards the Tardis whilst I snap my fingers again, opening the doors. They put him onto the floor instantly and Amy starts chest compressions.
"Come on. Come on, Rory. Not here. Not this way. Not today." The Doctor says crouching down next to me as I sit opposite Amy, making sure she does everything right. He doesn't react at all after the first couple of sets and I start to get a lump in my throat.
"He trusted me. He trusted me to save him." Amy cries.
"And you still can, Aims. You can still do this." I urge her on as she continues CPR.
"He believes in you. Come on, Amy. Come on!" The Doctor shouts.
"Please, please, please wake up. Wake up. Wake up. Come on. Come on." She says before trying again, by I slowly sink down, losing hope as I lean into the Doctor sadly. She then finally gives up, and collapses on him, crying and I get up and walk over to her, pulling her into my chest as she cries. After a few moments of quiet, other than Amy's cries, Rory starts to cough up water, taking in huge gasps of air. At that point Amy's leans away from me and I look up to the already standing Doctor, who offers me a hand, and pulls me up and into a hug as we watch the happy couple, relieved to see Rory alive.

After sitting around the control console letting Rory warm up with a blanket and a mug of hot chocolate, he and Amy decide to go to bed. I hug Amy and Rory and wish them a goodnight before I go and wrap myself up in another blanket and curl up in the captain's chair, watching them as they go up the steps, Amy muttering something to Rory before turning to the Doctor.
"Goodnight, Doctor." Amy says to the Doctor, who's turned facing my direction, away from Amy and Rory.
"Goodnight, Amelia." The Doctor says, not evening turning to face her.
"You only call me Amelia when you're worrying about me." Amy says pointedly, glancing to me to see if I knew why, and I just shrugged at her, despite knowing exactly why he was.
"I always worry about you." The Doctor replies as he stares at the monitor. Amy seems to have a flashback moment and I watch her sadly, knowing what she was thinking of as I turn to the Doctor.
"Mutual." Amy says quietly, staring at him, making the Doctor look to her/
"Go to bed, Pond." He orders and I laugh lightly, getting up and shuffling over to him, still clutching the blanket around me. I look to the monitor and my face falls as I see the same result as before on Amy's full body scan. I look up to see the two of them gone and I turn to the Doctor, concerned. "Oh, Amelia." He utters.
"What does that mean?" I ask him and he looks down at me.
"I don't know, but it's not good." He says, pulling me into his side as we watch the screen flick between positive and negative.