A Lady in Waiting – Unexpurgated!

A.N./ Many thanks for those who gave me the nudge into writing a proper story (you may regret this, I'm a slow writer!). I've titled it 'Unexpurgated' since it's longer than the drabbles, rather than because it contains naughtiness (unless it gets away from me). Whilst it hurts me to my very soul not to be writing about David Tennant (the only true Doctor), I couldn't resist the Lady of the Pond.

Please let me know your thoughts, as my friends regard even watching these shows as a shameful secret and would consider me as somewhere slightly below pond scum for writing a crossover. I therefore am relying on the kindness of strangers for that feeling of support and acceptance!

Disclaimer: I am a poor penniless teacher who owns little but the clothes on my back and the weird thoughts in my head. Please don't bother to sue!

Chapter 1 – Rifted all the way

"Cardiff?"

Amy stopped dead in the door to the Tardis, causing her husband to slam into the long line of her back. She didn't budge an inch, her eyes boring holes into the innocent grin of the tweed-clad man in front of her.

He backed away, arms spread wide in an expansive gesture as if to embrace the damp grey buildings and slick tarmac surrounding them.

"What?" He squealed in exaggerated good cheer. "Cardiff's great! You should try their fish and chips!" He hooked one finger under his maroon bow tie, loosening it as he swallowed uncomfortably under Amy's unrelenting glare.

"You promised me beaches. You promised me cloud capped towers and gorgeous palaces." She wrinkled her nose as she glanced disparagingly round the drab dockyards. "I wouldn't exactly say that this is the stuff that dreams are made on."

At last, she took that final step out of the brightly lit doorway, allowing Rory to follow and take in their surroundings.

The Doctor raised a brow at her. "I guess that depends on who's doing the dreaming." He did a complicated pirouette to spin around her and slap a hand affectionately against the open door of the Tardis. "The Old Girl brought us here for a reason, I'm sure. " He grinned. "Whatever it is, it won't be dull!"

Rory glanced around dubiously, taking in the complete absence of movement in the vast concrete warehouses surrounding them. "Really?" he murmured "Because that does seem to be the first word that springs to mind."

The chilled air was cut by a grating screech as a large seagull flapped down to perch on the roof of the Tardis. It glared at them suspiciously, shifting from one foot to the other as it left its judgment on their presence in its domain in a long stream of white down the side of the blue box.

Amy sniggered as the Doctor flapped his hands at it indignantly, causing it to hop back a few paces to the back of the roof. He pulled out a bright red handkerchief, spat on it and started scrubbing furiously at the old wood.

The couple waited patiently for a minute, hunched against the cold wind. Finally Amy cleared her throat meaningfully.

"Sooo! These adventures and wonders and wild mad times!" She drawled. "When exactly should we expect …"

She was cut short as a much louder screech cut through the air. This one seemed to reach down into the spines of everyone present and root them to the spot with a primeval terror.

The grey sky was sliced open in a jagged tear, the edges rimmed with ghostly blue flames. A long sinuous neck wound its way out of the gash. A cavernous beak lined with shining, foot long teeth gaped wide as it screamed and gripped the edge of the ribbon of fire with powerful talons. With an awkward flop it dragged the last of its grey, scaly legs through the gap. It pulled out of its ungainly fall, catching itself with a flap of its leathery wings to come to a swaying halt on the roof of the Tardis. As the seagull took off, it snapped its jaws sideways, with an almost negligible effort, and the bird was gone except for a few drifting feathers on the wind.

The trio remained immobile as the great beast swung its head from side to side, focusing first one glowing red eye on them, then the other. It seemed to focus most of its attention on the Doctor, who leaned forward slightly, silently matching it stare for stare.

With a sudden powerful down sweep of wings that seemed to compress the air around them, it sprang from its perch, powering over their heads to circle over the skyline of buildings.

There was a moment's silence, which was broken by Rory, who choked out in a shaky voice "What the hell was that?"

"Wyvern." The Doctor murmured absently. He seemed more preoccupied than disturbed. "But that really shouldn't be here..." he trailed off.

Amy let out a snort. "Ya think?" she barked, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Because I thought that 21st Century Cardiff was just swarming with monsters!"

The Doctor raised a brow at her. His face was serious but his body practically vibrated with pent up energy. "Then you thought right! There have been victims of time-slips and extraterrestrial flotsam and jetsam washing up in Cardiff for centuries, courtesy of a transcendental hellmouth they call 'the Rift'" he snapped impatiently, then continued almost to himself "But the rift ought to have been sealed when we fixed all the cracks in the universe. So why..."

He shook himself suddenly, like a dog shaking off moisture. "Come on!" he called, striding away from them without glancing back to see if they followed. "Unless things have changed since I was last here, there may be some people nearby who can give us some information. Plus maybe some help catching an angry dragon's second cousin" he threw in, as if this was a minor inconvenience.

Rory started jogging to catch up, then paused as a chill wind brushed across the nape of his neck. He glanced back at the wide open dockyard, empty apart from a few grey feathers dancing in little spirals in the wind.

"Amy?" he called out in alarm, whirling around with increasing desperation. "Amy, where are you!"

The Doctor froze mid-march, whirling around, his sonic screw-driver seeming to magically appear in his white knuckled grip. He swept it over the grey concrete where his companion had been standing just seconds before, his face intent.

"Doctor, where is she? Where's my wife?" Rory's voice was laced with barely concealed panic.

The Doctor looked up, a guilty frown creasing his forehead. "Ooops!" he murmured with an awkward grimace. "It appears that Amy may have been Rifted."