EPLIOGUE

oOoOo

(Eleven, Amy, Rory, Seven and Ace)

The Southern Fields of Sutranadus, Omicron Five, 22564

"Doctor, where are we?" The sky was dark, and Amy had to make do with stumbling across the field without knowing where she was going. She held on tightly to Rory, who in turn held on tightly to their Doctor. Ace was clinging on to Amy's other hand, and the Professor brought up the rear, using his umbrella to steady himself on the uneven terrain. He watched as his future self led everyone like a line of ducklings towards his chosen spot. He knew where they were –he had navigated his own TARDIS here, after all (once they'd collected it from Area Z, anyway). He decided, however, to let his future self revel in his little guessing game. The line of explorers weaved to the left as they passed through a large semi-circle of metal beacons, which were spread apart but curved inwards slightly towards the small group who had gathered at their focal point.

"This, Amy," the Doctor started, his voice full of childish glee. Amy thought she saw his face lighting up the area around them in his excitement – just for a second, "is the Firework Festival of Omicron Five."

"We could see some crummy old fireworks back on Earth, Professor," Ace called out from towards the back of the line. "I could have mixed up some special ones in my bedroom if you'd asked me to. What's so special about this place?"

As if answering her question, jets of light and sound rocketed upwards into the inky blackness, becoming swallowed up by it. The five onlookers watched with baited breath until bright streams of golden light ripped through the night sky, sending a miraculous chiming sound rippling through the crisp air. Another firework erupted, this time producing green sparks which cascaded towards the planet's surface like an emerald waterfall. With it came another melodic ringing noise at a different pitch to the first. Before the Doctor – both of them - and his friends had time to fully take it in, a flurry of more beautiful bursts of light and sound sprang upwards from the horizon, each producing a slightly different colour and note.

"As experimental as your pyrotechnics may be, Ace," the younger Doctor exclaimed, his voice somehow ringing out through the symphony, "I highly doubt anything you've cooked up can play music."

Ace giggled. "I can give it a try when we get back to the TARDIS if you want."

"No no," he replied. "I think we've had quite enough mayhem for one day."

"More than enough for a lifetime more like."

"More than enough for several lifetimes," the older Doctor chimed in, before chuckling at his own joke. "What tune is this, anyway?" His ears didn't have to strain to hear the melody, but his mind certainly strained to place it.

"Sounds like 'Ten Green Bottles'," Ace said.

…

Thirty minutes had passed and the fireworks had now diminished to quiet flickers in the distance, illuminating the five figures in a faint but warm glow. The music too had taken a similar turn and was now more like a haunting lullaby. They were all sitting down now: the Doctors, the Ponds and Ace, together after what had been a particularly tempestuous day. The younger Doctor and his companion sat a few feet away from the others, lost in their own conversation.

"Quick question…"

"Hmm?"

"Back in Paris – in the dream world – how did you know I was the real Ace?"

"Well, the whole purpose of the dream world was to get the fake you to convince me that he," the Doctor explained, indicating towards his future self, "killed Amy. Of course, the Dream Lord needed some sort of backstory, part of which involved you injuring yourself. The fake Ace – the one we now know to be the Dream Lord himself - had a deep cut on her shoulder. At one point, I had my entire weight on top of it, but she never complained about it hurting. Not once. That was enough to make me suspicious." He placed a hand on Ace's shoulder and gave it a shake. "Also, you have no such injury on your shoulder, enabling me to tell you apart."

"So it wasn't because you were reading my mind or anything, then?"

He sensed her scepticism. "You haven't forgiven me yet, have you?" he asked softly, sounding disappointed.

Ace mulled it over, and it took a while for her to voice an answer. "Almost, I think."

He shot her a faint smile and looked at the ground. "I know my own death now."

"Were you killed by nitro-nine in a fit of rage?"

"No."

Ace smiled. "Then I guess that means I'll forgive you eventually."

"Glad to hear it," the Doctor chuckled. He held her hand and gave it a tight squeeze.

"I'll hold your hand when it happens – your death, I mean," she said in response.

He kept looking down. "Are you sure you'll still be around?"

"Yeah, unless I die first," she replied. Then she looked up in mild panic. "Why? Don't you want me around anymore?"

"Of course I do. I was thinking more along the lines of whether you want to be around me."

Ace looked into his eyes and shot him a faint but heartfelt smile. "Of course I do." Then her grin broadened. "Someone's got to keep you in check, haven't they?"

The Doctor chuckled. "Likewise."

…

Amy had a patchy knowledge of the Doctor's past travelling companions, but had never really given the idea much thought. The Time Lord was never really willing to mention them, but after witnessing the Time War in the Matrix, her curiosity had been sparked. Not a fan of subtlety, was Amy, so she asked her question outright and hoped the Doctor would answer it.

"Doctor, who was Romana?"

He looked at her with surprise. "Romana? Why do you ask?"

"You talked about her in the Matrix. You said she…" Her voice trailed off as she realised how sensitive this topic was. This made her mildly surprised when the Doctor answered her.

"Romana was a friend of mine – a Time Lady. We travelled together for a while. She became president of Gallifrey just before the war." His account started like an encyclopaedia entry, but became more detailed as he immersed himself in those memories. His face lit up as he relived past adventures and his eyes reflected the musical sparks in the distance. Then he latched on to that day (or night; considering it was in immense danger of tearing apart completely, the Doctor hadn't really cared about time back then) when Gallifrey fell. The light left his eyes and he hung his head.

"She might still be alive though. You never know," Amy said comfortingly, resting a hand on his shoulder.

"The chances of her surviving were one in a million."

"I've been around you long enough to know that, whenever you're involved, 'one in a million' happens nine times out of ten."

The Doctor grinned, but there was still sadness there. "I hope you're right, Pond. I hope you're right."

By now, Rory had shuffled closer, and Amy had leaned into him as the fireworks fizzled out in the distance. Although extinguished, their music still reverberated off the curved sound mirrors behind them.

"That's that," the Doctor said, rising to his feet. "The Valeyard manipulated time to bring us together and I think it's best that we part ways before we rip a whole in it." He reached out a hand and pulled the smaller Time Lord to his feet.

"Indeed," he said, pulling Ace up too. "Time is a strange fabric." He walked over to Rory and shook his hand. "Good luck, Mr Williams," he said, doffing his hat in a gentlemanly manner. Rory responded with a smile and a limp and awkward salute. Ace also shook his hand vigorously, before moving on to Amy.

The two girls embraced in a tight hug, as if they had been friends all their life. "Seeya, Ginger," the younger one said. "Look after him, will you?"

"Same goes for you," Amy replied. "If anything bad happens to him, I might not have anyone to look after in the future… or the past…" She sighed. "It's all a bit wibbly wobbly."

"Wibbly wobbly?" Ace replied incredulously.

"Yeah, you know… wibbly wobbly… timey wimey…" Amy recognised Ace's blank expression and added, "Never mind." Ace just giggled and moved on down the line.

"Hello," the Doctor said grinning as Ace stood in front of him.

"Goodbye," she replied, whilst swallowing every single detail about him before she left: the hair, the bowtie, the jacket. She was sure she could use some of it to annoy her Doctor later. Flinging her arms round his waist, she hugged him tightly, leaning her head against his chest. The gentle ticking of his hearts pulsed in her ear. She felt his hand rest lightly on her back as he half-reciprocated the embrace. That was another thing about this Doctor, she thought to herself. He had lots of love to give, but was always awkward expressing it.

"Ace!" Ace pulled away and turned back to her Doctor, who was waving at her from the TARDIS. She bounded back to the blue box and swung on the door, as the older Doctor and his team followed.

"Well, I suppose this is goodbye," the younger Time Lord said, looking up at the man he would become, who nodded silently. Amy then stepped forward, lifted the Doctor's panama and planted a kiss gently onto his forehead. The Doctor's cheeks reddened slightly as he replaced his hat, and he gave her a warm smile. He offered Rory a final nod before stepping back into his time machine and closing the doors. The trio outside stepped back and watched as the box faded from view. Instead of haunting music, it was now the grinding sounds of the TARDIS engines that bounced off the sound mirrors.

The Doctor then herded his small party into his own ship and smiled, glad to see the magical grotto again, far away from the screaming dungeons from earlier… or later, depending on which way you looked at it.

"Now then, Sexy. Where are we off to?"

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FIN

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So that's that. I don't think it turned out too badly for something that I originally intended to be a one-shot. XD

Thanks to all those of you who followed, faved or reviewed this. You really do make my day, and the constructive criticism is also vastly appreciated.

I don't know what the next fic will be yet, but this one has been a real learning curve, so hopefully it will be a lot better (and not completely improvised!).

Thanks again, and please review and tell me what you think! :D x