Disclaimer: BBC owns Doctor Who.

Midnight Reflections

Amy was fast asleep, and Rory had to carefully untangle himself from her arms as he softly crept out of their room and into the main console chamber of the TARDIS. He was tired and was sure that he looked it, but his mind was racing with thoughts from the last few months of running and hiding and chasing, and especially of Amy: Amy being kidnapped, Amy being scared, Amy being pregnant... and not pregnant, and he never even would have known that she might have been. Did she even want children? Did he? Well, of course he did... But in the TARDIS? Would Amy be willing to give up all of space and time to change dirty nappies, to clean dripping noses, and to drive whiny kids to school?

But she already chose him over the Doctor, said she loved him and not the Doctor, married him instead of the Doctor. So why wouldn't she tell him that she might be having a baby, but did tell the Doctor? God! Rory's head felt like it would explode trying to make sense of everything. He circled the control console a few times, running his fingers along the edge, tracing the levers and buttons, though being careful not to move anything. Sending the TARDIS into a black hole wouldn't end his problems. Well, it would; it just wouldn't solve them.

He groaned in frustration, and plopped himself onto the nearby seat, rubbing his hands over his face.

"Shouldn't you be asleep?" he heard a familiar voice ask. Rory turned to see the Doctor standing at the opposite end of the room, hands clasped behind his back, watching Rory intently.

"Couldn't," said Rory. "Shouldn't you, too? Or... do you need sleep even?"

"Yes," said the Doctor, coming over to join Rory and leaning against the console. "But not as much as you humans do."

"Oh," said Rory, wondering how the humans that travel with him could then manage to keep up, but then realized that most probably didn't, which was strangely comforting to his ego.

He watched as the Doctor turned his attention toward the console, having picked up an old rag from somewhere to start buffing it. Full attention now directed toward the TARDIS, it seemed as though the Doctor had forgotten about him, but after a few minutes, the Doctor looked up again and said, "It's been a long day, hasn't it?"

"I'll say," said Rory.

"Look... about Amy..."

"It's okay, Doctor," Rory interrupted. "You don't have to make up excuses for her. She didn't tell me she might be pregnant, but at least she told me that I had a 'stupid face.'" He paused to smile. "All in all, I think we're in a good place right now."

"Good," said the Doctor. "I'm glad."

"Did you ever think about having a family, Doctor?" Rory asked, suddenly curious.

"Yes," said the Doctor. "A very long time ago."

"So what happened?" asked Rory.

"I had one," said the Doctor.

"What?" asked Rory, shocked. "You? What happened?"

The Doctor frowned and turned his head away. Idiot! thought Rory. He's the last of his kind. "Look, Doctor..." Rory began. "I didn't..."

"You know," said the Doctor, still facing away from Rory. "My granddaughter, Susan, she loved the Earth. We actually lived together in London for a bit in the early '60s. In fact, the first humans aboard the TARDIS were two of her school teachers."

"Oh?" was all Rory could think to respond.

"Yeah," smiled the Doctor, becoming nostalgic. "They followed her home one day. I suppose she must have stood out a bit in her classes and attracted their attention. I warned her to be careful about interacting with humans, but she was determined, and, well, I could rarely ever say no to her.

"You'd have liked her, I think," he continued. "Sweet-tempered and romantic, fun and thoughtful..." He sighed, shaking himself out of his reverie. "Well, anyway, I think I'm getting a bit tired now. I'm going to bed. Goodnight, Rory." The Doctor then turned to leave.

"Doctor," said Rory. "Wait!" The Doctor stopped and faced him again. Suddenly, Rory decided, the Doctor looked very old, every bit of the 909 years that he claimed to be. "I'm sorry."

"What for?" asked the Doctor. "You didn't do anything."

"No," said Rory, shaking his head slightly. "I mean, I was dead, but I came back. I thought I lost Amy, but I have her. But not everyone comes back from the dead, miracles don't happen every day, and things don't always end happily ever after."

"Life isn't always fair," said the Doctor. "But sometimes it is. Goodnight, Rory." The Doctor disappeared into his bedchamber before Rory had a chance to respond.

Rory stared at the Doctor's door, left alone to ponder over what the Doctor had said.

Rory could remember living for almost two thousand years, waiting patiently for the woman he loved. And now he has her. One day, they will both probably leave the TARDIS to raise a family and to live their own lives, and the Doctor will be alone.

And, eventually, the Doctor will die. At least, he mused, the Doctor would get a proper send off; Rory was glad he had saw to that. It was hardly the one he deserved, though. But the Doctor would live on. Rory would be sure that he and Amy would tell their children about the strange man in the magical box: a hero, reduced to a story, transformed into a legend to be passed down from generation to generation, and there he would live forever.

Rory turned away from the door, and rejoined Amy, who was still sleeping soundly. Lying beside his wife, and before closing his eyes, he left a light, chaste kiss on her forehead. Amy shifted in her sleep and snuggled in closer to Rory. Life isn't always fair, Rory mused before drifting off into a dreamless slumber. Sometimes you're just lucky.