NOTES: This is an episode rewrite of "Time of the Doctor," so any recognizable dialogue comes from the original script by Steven Moffat. The title comes from Pat Benetar's "Invincible." This takes place in the same continuity as "I love thee to the depth and breadth and height my soul can reach," but it's not necessary to have read that before this story. Assume that the Ponds were with the Doctor all throughout series 7.

The oven thermometer refused to budge, no matter how much Amy fiddled with the knobs, pleaded, or swore at it. It stayed at a cool 200 degrees, and the wall clock over her shoulder ticked away annoyingly, mocking her with the passage of time.

"No use," she huffed as Rory paced behind her with the house phone in hand. "Even if we could find someone to come work on the oven on Christmas Day, it's too late to do a decent attempt at a turkey. My parents are going to be here in less than an hour!"

"We have two time travelers in the family." Rory pushed his free hand through his hair as he made another turn around the kitchen. "You would think that one of them would have a mobile at hand."

"I don't even need them per se. I just want a bloody sonic!" Amy smacked the oven door with her fist. "Quick, Rory, what can we do in place of a turkey?"

He pivoted and yanked open the tall, narrow cupboard where they kept their dry goods. "Ah, we have a couple cans of tinned soup, a box of Kraft dinner, a half-eaten box of cereal, and something I can't quite identify."

"Is it that tin of Spam the Doctor insisted on trying?"

"No. I literally can't identify it." Rory pulled out a jar with a rust-colored lid and sniffed at it. "Wonder what this is?"

Amy grabbed the phone from Rory as he started rummaging through the utensil drawer for their jar opener and tried the TARDIS again.

"Hello! The TARDIS!" The Doctor, a bit harried, came on the line, and Amy breathed a sigh of relief.

"Emergency!" she yelped. "I need you to come roast my turkey."

"OK, brilliant!" Something loud crashed in the background and forced Amy to hold the phone away from her ear for a moment. "Roast your turkey? Is that some sort of euphemism for something naughty, Amelia Pond? I might have to consult a manual, but I don't think Rory's going to really go for it."

"No, you ninnyhead!" Amy yanked the oven open and snatched the pan out. "My oven's broken, and my parents are due at the house in roughly 45 minutes for Christmas dinner. I need to cook the turkey. I was thinking I could use the oven in the TARDIS."

"Cook the turkey? Really? Is that all you want me for? You can't keep using the TARDIS like this. Roasting turkeys, missed birthdays, restaurant bookings. Here's some advice: please just learn how to use iPlayer!"

"Doctor!"

"All right, all right, I'll be right there, Pond! Just a couple seconds. I'm interpreting a message."

"What sort of message?" Amy dropped the pan on the table as Rory unscrewed the jar and set it on the counter. A green-scaled hand reached out and plucked a button off the Christmas jumper he wore. He yelped and leaped back.

"That's what I'm trying to find out. Thousands and thousands of ships are surrounding this shielded planet out in the middle of nowhere. The planet is sending off a message, but no one can understand it, and nothing can get through. Not even the TARDIS. You and Rory should come with me, have a crack at it!"

"Maybe the message's from River." Amy grabbed a box of instant mashed potatoes from the cupboard and began reading the instructions as the jar on the counter tipped over, and a small lizard-like alien crawled out and lunged for Rory. He snatched up a butter knife and pointed it at the lizard. It rose on its hind legs, grasped a spoon in its clawed hand, then smacked at the butter knife.

"First thing I thought, but this isn't River. She's more obvious about it all, and she always makes sure that I can decode it. By the way, where is your daughter?"

"Not here. You haven't tried contacting her?" Amy smiled when she heard the Doctor muttering to himself in response. "You don't want her besting you at your own problem."

"If anyone can do it, she can," he said morosely. "She'd just take six seconds and have it all figured out then be all smug about it. No, I can just pick her up after I decode the message."

"Aw, isn't that sweet. You want to impress her."

The Doctor's response was muffled by a loud bang and about two seconds of rapid snapping. "Ah, there we are! Be there in two tics, Pond!"

Rory dueled the creature until it backed into the jar. Then he grabbed the lid and screwed it back on just as Amy sighed and put the phone back on the charger. "So, what was in the jar?" she asked.

"Random alien." Rory shoved the jar to the back of the cupboard just as the doorbell rang.

"No, they're early!" Amy cried. "Maybe it's River?"

"Since when did River do anything as mundane as use the doorbell?"

"Amelia?" Tabetha Pond's voice floated in from the lounge, and Amy sighed.

"I'll greet them." Rory squeezed Amy's shoulder and walked into the lounge. Amy braced her hands on the table and glared at the turkey as he greeted her parents. If the force of her glare could cook a turkey, it'd not only be done by now but be a charred remain smoking on her kitchen table. Amy snatched up the box of dehydrated potatoes, groaned, then shoved it in the cupboard next to the jar of random alien. She grabbed a bag of potatoes from the bottom of cupboard and dragged it to the sink. If the turkey was going to be a mess, at least she would do real mashed potatoes and not reconstituted ones.

"Amelia?" Tabetha walked into the kitchen. She surveyed the stacks of dishes, the uncooked turkey, and shook her head. "How's the turkey?"

Amy scrubbed at the potatoes with a brush to clean them. "Great. Just fine. Well, more like dead and decapitated, but that's Christmas when you're a turkey." She dumped the potatoes in a bowl and grabbed a peeler.

"Rory said your oven was broken."

"Got someone coming to deal with it." Amy stood at the sink with her bowl of potatoes, peeling as fast as possible.

"What can I do to help?" Tabetha bussed Amy's cheek.

"Go sit with Dad. Brian should be here soon. Visit with Rory." Let me fume in peace.

Tabetha tut-tutted. "You really need a better peeler. Look get a sharp kitchen knife, and-"

"I'm fine, Mum, really," Amy interrupted just as she heard the faint strains of a familiar wheeze out the window. "Oh, thank God." She pressed the half-peeled potato and peeler into her mother's hands. "Keep going with this. I'll be back." She snatched the turkey pan off the table and ran.

"Amelia, isn't the electrician supposed to come inside to look at the oven? Amelia!"

"I know what I'm doing! Hi Dad! Bye Dad!" Amy ran through the lounge, past her father and Rory, and out into the bitter December cold. The wind whipped at her hair, and she instantly regretted not donning a coat. She darted across the street to where the waiting TARDIS stood in the park. Shifting the turkey pan to one hand, she managed to get the door open without help.

"Doctor, you are a-" She cut off as the Doctor glanced up from the controls and beamed. He stepped around the console, confirming her initial glimpse. "No! Stop!" Amy whirled around, mortified. "Don't move! Don't do anything!" She clutched the turkey pan tightly and prayed for sanity.

"Why? What is it? What's wrong?"

"You're naked!"

"Yes, I am naked! I was wondering if you'd notice."

Amy rolled her eyes. She was quite sure her near-blind Great Aunt Rosamund would notice. She was dearly afraid to hear the answer, but had to ask it anyhow. "Doctor, why are you naked?"

"Because, Amelia Pond, I am going to church!"

The surprise nearly had Amy pivoting around, but common sense kicked in at the very last second. "Most people don't go to church without their clothes."

"Ah, but you do with the Church of the Papal Mainframe! No flipperies or flopperies or obsessively large hats. Nothing comes between them and the truth, not even skin coverings! Next stop after emergency turkey cooking. Which, here you are!" The Doctor walked over to face Amy, and she nearly squeezed her eyes shut before realizing he was back in his tweed and bow tie. Her arms went limp and he grabbed the turkey pan before it could topple to the ground.

"OK, that one is weird, even for you," Amy said as she followed the Doctor down the stairs to the coils of wires that powered the time rotor.

"I've projected a clothes hologram directly onto your visual cortex. I'm still naked, but you're visualizing my clothes. How do I look?" The Doctor spun around with Amy's turkey in his arms.

"Great. Pretend clothes. This isn't the Emperor's New Clothes."

"How do you think that fairy tale came about anyhow? Ah, here we go!" The Doctor yanked a panel open and shoved the pan deep into the TARDIS.

"You have a kitchen. You actually have six of them," Amy reminded him.

"Yes, and one solely dedicated to the production of hot cocoa. Want a cuppa?"

"Not now. Why can't we use one of the ovens?"

"Because, it's a turkey. Do you want it cooked, or do you want it edible?"

"You mean there's actually a choice?"

The Doctor pointed at her and grinned. He swept up the stairs and grabbed her in a hug. Amy returned it, relaxing into his arms as he sniffed the top of her head. Her mad, impossible Raggedy Doctor. She tried to remember the last time he'd dropped by. It had been at least a month, edging closer to six weeks. His visits weren't spaced as far apart as they had been after he began cloaking himself from the rest of the universe, but she and Rory still saw River far more often than they saw the Doctor.

"Amy!" Rory walked into the console room, her coat draped over one arm. "Your mum's asking where you've gone off to. How's the turkey coming?"

"Rory, cover your-"

Rory took two steps and froze. "You're naked!"

"Rory the Roman!" The Doctor released Amy and held out his arms.

"You're naked, and you're hugging my wife. Why are you hugging my wife while naked?"

"Oh, sorry." The Doctor pulled out his sonic and waved it at Rory. "Really, you shouldn't be so prudish. You did spend 2,000 years as a Roman. Now, how do I look?"

"Like you're still naked but making me believe you have on clothes."

"That's the spirit!" The Doctor clapped Rory's shoulder and pulled him into a hug as well.

Rory awkwardly patted his back. "So, you really are still naked underneath there?"

"Everybody's naked underneath their clothes, Rory."

Rory lifted his eyebrows and nodded. "Point, but do you have to be naked around my wife? It's a bit odd."

"Oh, it's not like I haven't seen those sort of bits before. On you! Not the Doctor! You!" Amy hastily interjected when Rory's jaw fell open. She rolled her eyes. "Oh, never mind. How are you using the TARDIS to cook a turkey?"

"Exposure to the time winds," the Doctor said as he programmed the TARDIS, then pulled the lever to take them into the vortex. "It'll either come up a treat or just possibly lay some eggs."

Rory rubbed his forehead and circled the console until he reached a new object docked in one of the ports. "Is this a Cyberman head?" he asked, nudging it.

"Bit of a Cyberman I modified to help me decode the message. He'll get us to church on time."

"You spent your spare time reconfiguring a Cyberman head," Amy said. "Are you bored, Doctor? Really, really bored? You know, you have a wife for these sorts of things."

"Don't be so crude, Pond." The Doctor consulted one of the monitors and adjusted their path. "I got it from the Maldovar market. The organics are all gone, but there's still a full set of data banks."

"At least tell me you didn't name it."

"Of course I named it. Why wouldn't I?"

Amy threw her hands in the air. "Oh, great. He's going to keep it."

"At least," Rory supplied, "it's better than the triceratops." Amy considered it a moment, then nodded in agreement.

"Now, hush. Don't violate the memory of Tricey." The Doctor hefted the Cyberman head into his arms. "They didn't mean that, Handles. Not really."

Handles' eyes flashed, and its jaw began working up and down in a way that truly impressed Amy. The Doctor had a slap-and-dash way with machinery that defied all expectation. If anyone could get a Cyberman's head to be functional without inciting a murderous riot, it would be him. "This one's not going to randomly attack me like that other one, is it? The one beneath Stonehenge?"

"Naw, doesn't have a body nearby. Besides, you got a Roman standing there!" The Doctor pointed at Rory, then at Amy.

"I think it's pretty harmless this time," Rory murmured.

"Information available. Planet identified from analysis of message," Handles clucked in a mechanical voice. "Processing official designation. Processing."

"Right, well. In your own time then." The Doctor placed Handles back on the console.

"Haven't you tried to land the TARDIS on the planet?" Amy asked.

"It's shielded. Not even the TARDIS can break through it." He scowled as Amy and Rory exchanged a look. "And don't even say it, I know what you're thinking."

"I'm just saying, River is a better driver," Amy acknowledged. "I mean, who was the one who threaded us through those time winds when we got caught up in the whirlwinds of Afaxla?"

"Oh, don't even start," the Doctor groaned and turned his back on them.

"You know, he does have a point," Rory said. "Men hate it when they're told women are better drivers than them." He slapped a hand over his mouth, instantly regretting it.

Amy whirled on him. "Excuse me?"

"I mean um … don't listen to me … I don't even know what I'm talking about anyhow," Rory babbled.

"If you think you're going anywhere near my bed anytime soon," Amy hissed, "you've got another thing coming."

Rory hung his head in shame.

"Gallifrey." Handles' voice cut through the tension and drew all the attention to him.

The Doctor slowly walked to the console, shoulders ridged. Breathing slowly, he leaned in close to severed head. "What did you say?" he asked in a voice so soft that it sent chills up Amy's spine. "What are you talking about? Gallifrey? What do you mean?"

"Confirmed. Planet designation – Gallifrey."

The Doctor snatched Handles off the console, snapping off several parts of the base in the process. Pieces skittered across the floor as he stalked to the monitor and shoved Handles into it. "You see that? That is not Gallifrey. I know my home when I see it, and that planet is most certainly not it!" He slammed Handles back down so hard that several more pieces flew off.

"Doctor!" Amy dashed around the console to intercept him. He sidestepped her, heading for the door.

"Gallifrey's gone," he spat at her.

"But the thing with the painting," Rory ventured. "I thought the whole point of it was that you had saved it."

"Hey, hey, it's OK," Amy soothed, managing to stop the Doctor in his tracks.

"That's not my home, Amelia," the Doctor said, shoulders rigid from tension. "Even if it survived, it's gone from this universe."

"But, you're not alone. Right? Look at me," Amy ordered, and the Doctor's gaze begrudgingly met hers. "You've got us. Me and Rory and River. You're not alone. You said we'd figure out a way."

The Doctor didn't say anything for a moment, but his shoulders slumped. Amy let out the breath she didn't even know she held. It hadn't been that long ago in her relative past that for the first time, she had encountered multiple versions of the Doctor. He had just landed at the park across from their home for a visit – taking them to the centennial of America's Declaration of Independence – when UNIT had helped themselves to the TARDIS. What followed had been a whirlwind adventure that toggled between the present, Elizabethian England, and the Doctor's home planet of Gallifrey as two versions of the Doctor and the Time Lord who refused to acknowledge himself as such stopped a Zygon invasion and pulled off a risky attempt to save Gallifrey.

She was half of a mind to march to the console and dial River herself before there was a loud crash, and the TARDIS pitched a bit. Amy stumbled, and the Doctor caught her as Rory braced against the console. "What's that?"

The Doctor pulled open the door to reveal one of the largest ships that Amy had ever seen. It seemed more like a cathedral on space engines than any sort of traditional ship. Fascinated, she ducked beneath the Doctor's elbow for a closer look.

"It's the Papal Mainframe," he told her. "It's like a great big, flying church. First to arrive here. That much hasn't changed in millennia. Always got to be the first to spread the gospel. But, in this case, they're the one who shielded the planet. Ergo, they're the ones that can get us down there."

A hologram flickered on the side of the ship, revealing a severe-looking woman with dark hair, frowning down her nose at them before crooking her finger. Something about the look made Amy feel queasy. Everything about her screamed of Madame Kovarian, the hideous bitch that had stolen her baby girl and tortured her into adulthood. But that was ridiculous, as Kovarian had disappeared even after the Doctor and River restored the frozen time years ago. Although an elder River had comforted her, although part of Amy did not regret killing the monster who had taken her baby, part of her still regretted and feared the woman.

"She looks like Kovarian," Rory said from behind Amy. Earlier argument forgotten, Amy slipped her hand into his and squeezed hard.

"Tasha Lem, the Mother Superious," the Doctor explained. "Know her from my early years. A very long time ago in a galaxy far, far away."

"So, you knew her from Star Wars?"

Amy laughed, grateful for Rory.

"Swallow this." The Doctor handed each of them a pill.

Rory hesitated as Amy popped the pill in her mouth. "What is it?"

"A hologram projector. You can't go to church with your clothes on!"

"Oh no. I don't really want to-"

"Rory," Amy hissed.

"I don't want strangers watching me naked!"

"Oh, I don't know." Amy tossed her hair back. "Feels kind of freeing, yeah? You can stay here if you want. I'm going with the Doctor. Ship full of naked men. I've had dreams about that."

Because he had no intention of allowing his wife on a ship full of naked men without him, Rory took the pill.

Much to Rory's relief - and Amy's regret - the earlier projection the Doctor had enabled the three of them to walk through the Church with the illusion that everyone else was wearing clothes. Even so, he fidgeted and every so often covered his most vulnerable areas when a set of eyes lingered too long.

Unashamed, especially since she pretended that the clothes-projecting hologram was actually reality, Amy took in the rows of people lining the red carpet that led to the Kovarian-like woman. Tasha Lem, she reminded herself. "What is this Papal Mainframe?"

"The Church of the Papal Mainframe. Security hub of the whole universe."

"Church?" Panic rose inside her. "Like Kovarian?"

"No, no, nothing like that," the Doctor reassured her.

"Are you sure? Properly sure?" Amy halted him, spun him to face her. "Are you promising me that you didn't just march us right into the headquarters of the group that kidnapped me? That kidnapped my baby? Your wife."

"I assure you that there have been no authorized kidnappings of any infants under my watch," Tasha spoke up, pulling their attention back to her. "Your nudity is noted and appreciated. That's quite the new body you have there, Doctor."

He smirked. "Amy and Rory, this is Tasha Lem, the head of the Church of the Papal Mainframe. Tasha, these are the Ponds."

"Um, Williams," Rory corrected.

"No, Ponds," Amy re-corrected.

"Did I hear you say wife?" Tasha arched an eyebrow. "Well now, there's the change. You failed to update your official status."

"I'm too busy for the likes of Facebook," the Doctor spat.

Tasha beckoned to one of the clerics standing near the dais. "We'll go to my chapel. All honours in place, no sacrifices required."

"Hurray," Rory murmured as she led them to a door in the back of the room.

"It was Tasha who shielded the planet," the Doctor explained to Amy and Rory. "But you could sneak me down there, couldn't you, Tash?"

"I would have conditions," Tasha said, then frowned at Amy and Rory. "I have confidential matters to discuss with the Doctor. Would you excuse us?"

Amy and Rory exchanged a knowing look. "So, you're inviting the Doctor into your private chambers for a confidential discussion?" Amy asked.

"Anything you have to say to me, you can say in front the Ponds," the Doctor hastily cut in. He considered, scratching his cheek. "Well ... quite a lot of it. Probably about half, maybe a smidge ..."

"Did we mention we're his in-laws?" Feeling outraged on behalf of her absentee daughter, Amy neatly inserted herself between the Doctor and Tasha. "I'm sure we must have. So, if you'll just lead the way, please?"

Resigned, Tasha stepped back to allow the Doctor, Amy, and Rory into her chambers. Amy's hunch was immediately confirmed when she spotted the huge, ornate altar-shaped bed that took up a good bit of the room and was at least the size of several small countries smashed together.

"That altar looks like a bed," Rory said, impressed.

"That bed," Tasha corrected as she moved to a bar and began mixing drinks, "looks like an altar." She handed wine out, smiling fondly as the Doctor sipped then spat it out. "You never do change."

Tasha reached around the Doctor to press a button. A series of electronic, ringing beeps emerged, and the Doctor cocked his head. "It's the message I was listening to when you phoned," he explained to Amy and Rory.

"It's transmitting through all of time and space," Tasha agreed. She turned her attention to the Ponds. "What does it make you feel?"

"Feel?" Rory wondered.

"Every sentient being in the universe who detected that signal felt something. Something overpowering."

Nausea churned in Amy's stomach, and for the first time, she wondered if the panic she'd been battling back was actually something else. "Dread?" she ventured. "I feel dread."

"Fear," Tasha acknowledged with a nod. "Pure, unadulterated dread."

"Terrific." Rory sank onto the altar bed and took a long pull of his drink.

"But, what's the signal?" the Doctor asked. "Where's it coming from?"

"It's a settlement. Human colony, level 2. A farm, basically." Tasha moved to a wall screen and keyed up data.

"Has anyone had a proper look at it?" The Doctor began reading the data over Tasha's shoulder.

"Any one ship lands, the rest will follow, there will be bloodshed. Fortunately we got here first, shielded the planet. We maintain the truce, by blocking all of them."

"But, it's got to be a distress signal," Rory said.

"Right, and you really want the Daleks to be the one to go help these people?" Amy nudged his side.

"Well, no, of course not."

"There's the key there," the Doctor said. "Any one of those ships could break through these defenses you've got on the planet."

"Perhaps," Tasha agreed. "But, they're afraid, remember? No one wants to go first."

"I do!"

Tasha smirked. "I was counting on it." She moved to a square-shaped object that reminded Amy of the confessional booths she'd seen at the Catholic cathedrals she visited during a trip to Italy. "This is my personal teleport. I can put the three of you down just outside the town. Find the source of the message and report back to me in one hour. And on your life, Doctor, you will cause no trouble there."

"When do I?" The Doctor sauntered to the confessional booth, yanked the curtain open, and whirled around just as Amy and Rory opened their mouths. "Don't answer that. Come along, Ponds!"

They picked their way through the snow toward the little town Tasha's teleport had deposited them near. Amy shivered, finally agreeing that Rory had the right of it when it came to clothes. She rubbed her arms as she tripped over something. She landed face-first in the snow, and if it had been cold before, it was freezing now.

"Amy!" Rory knelt and helped her up. "Are you OK?"

"Yeah, just tripped over something. Got my ankle." Amy started to pull her foot, then looked down in horror as stone fingers curled around her slim ankle. "That's not … Doctor!"

"Weeping Angels!" The Doctor was at their side instantly. "Don't look! Don't blink! They must have got past Tasha's shield."

"I know what they are!" Amy snapped, her voice skating up several octaves.

"I don't!"

"Statues that aren't statues but are aliens," Amy hastily explained to Rory. "River and I were with the Doctor when I saw them last. They nearly got me too. Probably shouldn't have said it. River saved us. Well, the Doctor helped."

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Just pull hard!"

He and Rory tugged on Amy, and all three of them fell back, tumbling down the slope in a heap. As Amy's world snapped back into focus, she saw the ring of statues surrounding them. The panic that she barely managed to keep at bay on the Papal Mainframe ship doubled, and she found herself reaching for Rory.

"Keep looking," the Doctor ordered. "Amy, where's your TARDIS key?"

Eyes locked on an Angel, Amy pressed her back to Rory's. "We're naked, remember? You made us take those pills!"

"But, you still have your clothes on under the hologram. It only looks like you're naked. You still have everything on beneath, including your jewelry."

"Where's yours?"

"I really am naked! Mine's the reverse. Clothing hologram atop nakedness."

"Oh, for Pete's sake." Amy dug beneath her jumper and pulled out the chain she kept the TARDIS key on. She pulled it over her head and thrust it out to her left. The Doctor backed up a few paces, then took the key from her. It began to glow. Seconds later, the Angels disappeared as the TARDIS materialized around them, Handles chirping away on the console. Amy and Rory sagged against the console in relief.

"Excellent!" The Doctor tossed the key back to Amy. "The TARDIS was able to home in on the key, ergo coming through the shield to us. Surprised Tasha didn't think to search us for a key. Anyhow, I'm setting us right near the source. Engines on silent, don't want to make a fuss."

"You mean like when we invaded Nixon's office," Rory asked.

"But first," Amy said, pointing to the stairs. "Go and put on some proper clothes!"

They found themselves in what Amy could best describe as a picture-perfect slice of Victoriana mixed with bits of electricity. "A bit steampunk," she observed. "Dickens crossed with Thomas Edison."

The Doctor slowly turned in a circle, sonic scanning the area. "It's about two in the afternoon. Or what we would think as two. Very short days here. The message is coming from there." He indicated a clock tower in the middle of the town square. "Right, now, cover story. We're siblings from the next town here to see our grandmother. My name's Hank or Rock, something like that."

"Or Moll."

"Amelia!"

Amy giggled as the Doctor ignored her. He approached a couple that was strolling arm and arm through the town square. "Hello! Good to meet you! Nice snow!"

"Most pleasant to meet you," the man said, taking the Doctor's hand. "Most pleasant," his wife echoed.

"I'm the Doctor," the Doctor introduced himself. "I'm a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey, I stole a time machine and I ran away, and I've been flaunting the principle law of my own people ever since!" He gulped and slapped his hand over his mouth. "That wasn't quite what I meant to say," he said through his hand.

Amy smiled, determined to properly explain the issue. "I'm Amy Pond from the planet Earth, and I can't seem to decide what career I want to settle on! I met a man from space when I was a child and ran off with him the night before I got married and tried to seduce him, then later found out he's actually my son-in-law!" She slapped her own hand over her mouth.

Rory gaped at her. "And I'm her husband, Rory, and I have a massive inferiority complex when it comes to my wife's relationship with said son-in-law and part of me still thinks he's more in love with my wife than with our daughter, whom I have yet to fully accept as such." He grit his teeth together and turned away as the Doctor and Amy's eyes widened with shock.

"I think," the woman gently counseled, "perhaps you should stop talking till you get used to it."

"Used to what?" Rory asked behind his hand.

"What did you say your name was?"

Amy slowly lifted her hand. "Bossy, stubborn personality masking abandonment issues!" She slapped her hand over her mouth once more.

"Ah, I see," the Doctor said from behind the safety of his own hand. "Yes, of course! It's a truth field, Ponds! Oh, that is so quaint! I haven't seen a truth field in years!"

"No one can lie in this town, especially this close to the tower," the man explained.

"Doesn't that make life a bit difficult?" the Doctor asked.

"Yes," the man replied at the same time the woman chirped, "Not at all!"

"So, what's this town called?"

"It's Christmas," the man said.

"No." The Doctor glanced at his watch. "It's July."

"So much for the turkey," Amy muttered.

"No, dear boy. The town." The woman indicated the buildings. "It's called Christmas. Be happy here."

Rory hesitantly lifted his hand as the couple continued their stroll. "How can a town be called Christmas?"

"I don't know. How can an island be called Easter? I almost hate to find out what's wrong." The Doctor pulled out his sonic again. "Ah, there we go. In the church."

"Just a second." Amy snagged the Doctor's arm. She pinned Rory in place with the force of her stare. "Since we happen to be standing in a convenient truth field, perhaps Mr. Williams, you would like to explain that little statement of yours?"

"I really should go check out the church," the Doctor said, trying to tug his arm away.

"No. No, we are having this out right now." Amy pointed to a nearby bench. "Sit. Both of you. No running away. Remember who was the only one smart enough to bring her TARDIS key."

"Well, I have mine now! I'm grabbing Handles, then I'll be in church!" The Doctor ran away before Amy could protest.

She turned her rage on Rory. "Sit. Now."

Rory sat.

Amy loomed over him, arms crossed over her chest. "Do you really think after all these years that the Doctor loves me more than River?"

"You love the Doctor."

"Of course I do! And yes, I fancied him once, years ago. But we're in a truth field, so surely I'm telling the truth when I say I love you far more than I could ever love him. I can't love him in the way that River does, and looking at it now, I don't want to. I don't think I can. But I do love him, Rory, and so do you."

"Of course I do," Rory snapped back. "But you ran away with him the night before our wedding. You snogged him."

"I was 21 years old!" Amy yelled. "I was stupid! Shall we spend the next hour recounting all the moronic things you did in your early 20s? I swear, Mels … River and I were going to frame all those speeding tickets you got."

"It's not the same as snogging the man you ran away before our wedding with," Rory yelled back, ignoring the stares they received from curious onlookers. "It's bad enough that our child that I got to hold for barely five minutes was taken from us and replaced by our friend Mels, who then regenerated into this universal legend. But every time I see him with River, I wonder if he settled for her because he couldn't have you!"

Amy's slap echoed through the town square. "That," she hissed, "is for her." Livid, she pivoted and stalked to the church, not caring if Rory followed. She dashed away angry tears as she stepped into the old building. The question she'd been about to ask the Doctor died on her tongue as she noticed him inspecting a very familiar object on the back wall.

"That's the crack," she murmured, moving to his side. "That's the crack in my wall. Why is it here, Doctor?"

"I always knew it wasn't over." The Doctor lightly danced his fingers over the crack the same way Amy had seen him do so many years ago. "A slice of your wedding day. 26 June 2010. This is the scar tissue that remained after I rebooted the universe. A structural weakness the universe." He tapped it. "And someone's trying to get through. That's the message."

"Sorry?"

"Yes. If you tried to break through a wall, you'd choose the weakest spot. To break into this universe, you'd choose this crack, because... No. If you were trying to break back into this universe." He abruptly straightened. "He said Gallifrey. Handles." He strode past Amy to where he left Handles sitting on a desk. "Why did you say Gallifrey?"

"Analysis of message composition indicates Gallifreyan origin, according to TARDIS data banks," Handles replied.

"You said, after we met your other selves," Amy said as Rory walked into the church, shoulders hunched, "that there was a chance your plan worked. The Time Lords could be in another universe?"

"Yes! And my guess is that both the message and the truth field are coming through here. If it's the Time Lords …"

As the message began to resonate once more, the Doctor rummaged through his pockets and pulled out a small object. He affixed it to Handles and pointed the head toward the crack. "Seal of the High Council of Gallifrey, nicked it off the Master in the Death Zone. There is an algorithm imprinted in the atomic structure. Use it to decode the message."

"Message decoding. Message analysis proceeding," Handles said. As he clicked and whirled away, the Doctor stared hard at the crack. Amy hugged herself, fighting every impulse to walk to Rory. It was like the Dalek asylum all over again, when they could barely stand to be next to each other, but so aware at the same time. "Message decoding. Message analysis proceeding."

"You would think it would just say it's a question," Rory observed.

"It is being projected through all of time and space on a repeating cycle," Handles said, blissfully oblivious.

The Doctor's face went pale. "The oldest question in the universe, hidden in plain sight ..."

Amy's hand flew to her mouth once more as she gasped, and everything clicked into place. "Doctor, are we on-"

"Warning: translation will be available to all lifeforms in range. Translation follows. Doctor who ... Doctor who ... Doctor who ... Doctor who ... Doctor who ..."

Paling, Amy forced her gaze to the ceiling, felt the words reverberate around her. They were being heard on every part of the planet and beyond, and something about that made her want to retch. Instead, she stood straighter than ever, hands fisting by her side.

"A question only I could answer. A truth field to make sure I'm not lying. If I give my name, they'll know they've found the right place, and that it's safe to come through." Hands shaking, the Doctor rooted through his pocket once more. Fingers closing around a cylinder, he swallowed and pulled it out. He pressed it into Amy's hands. "Amy, you and Rory need to take this back to the TARDIS. Put it in the charger for the sonic."

"What? No, I'm not leaving you!"

"You've got to. Please. I need your help, Amelia." He gently took her by her upper arms. "All hell will break loose if the Time Lords come back. There's half a universe up there already, waiting to open fire. Now, please, go to the TARDIS, and just do as I say!"

"Go on, Amy," Rory urged. "You'll be right back."

"Rory-"

"I'll stay with him," he said, quietly cutting her off.

Against her better judgment, Amy nodded and rushed out of the church.

"Go with her Rory," the Doctor said as Tasha Lem's voice began echoing through the town, demanding that the Doctor show himself. "It's about to get very nasty here, and she shouldn't be alone. You need to watch over her."

Rory hesitated, then nodded. He wondered if Amy had figured it out yet. He knew the Doctor's impulse. It was the same one he had himself. He would do whatever it took to keep Amy safe. He wouldn't ask, because he knew he wouldn't be able to lie to Amy when the moment came. "Take care. Be safe, or she'll have your head."

"Likewise. And, Rory?"

He was halfway out of the room before the Doctor called him back. "Yeah?"

"The truth field extends in here."

"I figured it encompasses the whole town."

"That it does. Not only that, but in a little town like this, you can hear someone yelling no matter where you are." The Doctor's gaze was steady as his eyes met Rory's. "I didn't settle."

Knowing it would be the closest the Time Lord would ever come to acknowledging the depth of his feelings for his daughter – at least to his face – Rory nodded and followed Amy to the TARDIS.

Amy put the cylinder in the slot just as Rory walked in the console room. "That took longer than I thought," she said as he softly closed the door. The cylinder began clicking away in much the same way Handles did. "Wonder if it's downloading some sort of data on the Time Lords." She drummed her fingers on the console and wondered how to approach the rest of the argument. Would they bother discussing it now or bury it like they buried so many issues between them? Did the truth field extend into the TARDIS? God, she hoped not.

"I'm sorry," Rory said softly.

She closed her eyes. All right, then. "Do you really hate our daughter that much?"

"I don't hate her at all. But, it feels like I still barely know her."

"It's Mels. She's the one who stole those trousers for you when you split the seam on the handlebars in grade 3."

"I know." Rory dropped wearily onto the jump seat. "I know she's Mels, and I know she's River. But, I didn't have the adventures with her that you did, Amy. She pops by often enough, but I look at her and still see just a friend, not our flesh and blood. You got a chance to actually bond with her. You can look at River and still see our baby. I can't. It's been five years, and I'm still trying to wrap my mind around it because I know she's the only biological child we'll ever have." He laughed a bit bitterly. "But, hell, how much of her is still biologically ours after all they did to her?"

"All," Amy replied. She pushed off the console to face him. "Rory, she's ours. And the Doctor loves her."

"I know." For the first time, Amy's eyes met his and she saw the pain he always buried when it came to the loss of their daughter. "I know," he repeated.

Before she could ask him to clarify, the clicking ceased. "Done," Amy announced and took the cylinder. "Let's go."

She and Rory stepped outside the TARDIS. It took Amy a moment for her senses to realign and realize they were right back where they started – in the park across the street from their home. Rory's convertible and her parents' tiny car were parked in front, and she heard the faint strains of Christmas music. Horrified, she whipped around as the TARDIS began to dematerialize. She tugged at the door, but it didn't budge.

"No!" Amy beat on the TARDIS door as it faded away. She took a couple staggering steps back, nearly knocking Rory over. She whipped around, hair flying as she grabbed Rory's arms. "We can't just leave him there!" She pushed him aside as she raced out of the park, across the street, and into the house.

"Amelia!" Tabetha walked out of the lounge as Amy took the stairs two at a time. "Where have you been, you've been gone for 45 minutes! And where's the turkey?"

"Ah, still roasting," Rory hastily explained as he dashed in the front door. "We um … borrowed an oven. Sorry, forgot something in the bedroom."

Amy ran into the bedroom and immediately dropped to her knees. She crawled under the bed and felt along the underside of the mattress. Her fingers closed around something hard, and she yanked. It took a couple tries before it gave way, and she pulled out a flip phone from a decade earlier. It was only for dire universe-ending emergencies, and if this didn't qualify, then nothing did. She unfolded it, the number automatically dialing as it powered on.

"25 December 2016, London. Time is," she craned her neck to look at the nightstand, "3:47 p.m. The Doctor's in trouble. We need you." She snapped out the mobile shut and before she could get to her feet, a cloud of smoke appeared in the corner, coalescing into the shape of her only child.

"What's happened?" River asked.