Hello everyone! I'm soooo sorry, but I only just realized that I've never completed this story! *gross sob* Well, here is the final chapter, and I hope that it somewhat fits with the past narrative and makes a little sense. *blushes and hides* I just wanted to give you an idea of what was to come for our lovely Hero and her Doctor... Thank you for being there for me, for commenting, for favoriting and following. It's all meant so much, and you are the continued inspiration for my writing! No fear, I'll return soon with an Avengers fanfic of some sort, and there shall be a Loki involved... ;)

For now, Geronimo! And thank you, as always, for reading. :)

All my love, SilverTortoise

How does one tell the difference between reality and dreams?

There comes a time in every person's life when they remember what exactly is keeping from flying into a million pieces. The moment Hero's eyes rolled back as she surrendered to the dark, her fingers squeezing mine and then falling limp – my brain filled with static. I gaped at her for a moment in silence, then felt hands resting on my forearms, kind voices telling me to step back. Numbly I did so, knowing that the doctors needed to do their work to save both Hero and our beautiful, tiny child.

Doctors.

What good was it being called "The Doctor" when I couldn't even keep Hero's mind intact? The past few months I'd watched helplessly while she twitched and moaned in her sleep – a never-ending sleep. Ever since that night in the hammock she'd been unconscious, her body growing and thriving as our baby grew even though her mind was absent. I'd feared that something like this would happen – Time Lord pregnancies are never simple – but seeing it happen to her and being unable to see what she was seeing was perhaps the most painful thing I've ever experienced.

"What really happened, Doctor?" she'd ask later, much later when the incision from the emergency c-section had been closed and feeling returned to her legs, "Why did I sleep and have all those nightmares?" I'd be sure to smile – everything always sounded a little safer when accompanied with a smile.

"Time Lords are terribly sensitive to dreams, darling," I'd reply, stroking her soft hair and then touching the downy head of our child. So small. So utterly whimsical. Ours.

"You protected me," she'd whisper, dark eyes wide, their emotion drawing me in until I couldn't think of anything else but her. "I can see that now... all this time I was searching for you, but in reality..."

"I will always be here," I'd whisper, "If my word means anything, I'll always be here."

She'd smile, then. My beautiful hero.

"Miss? Your husband is here..."

I turned my head, a wide joyful smile coming over my face at the sight of him. Everything was still fuzzy around the edges from the heavy doses of pain medication and Valium, but seeing the Doctor's anxious, excited face helped bring my vision into sharper focus. "Hey, honey..." He was by my side in an instant, hair obviously mussed from him running his hands through it in a frenzy of worry.

"Hero..." He gulped, eyes drawn to my much-flatter stomach as if expecting the worst – blood everywhere or something. I giggled at the thought, strangely enough, and he looked up sharply.

"Heh, sorry baby, I'm very very drugged right now..." I smiled lazily as I let my eyes closed. This bed was so comfortable... "I can't wait to see the baby... I wonder if he or she's got lots of hair?" I giggled again.

"Oh! They didn't tell you if it's a boy or girl?" the Doctor laughed, and I felt the fingers of one of his hands gently stroking my hair, "You didn't get to see the baby? That's not very fair!"

"I was... kinda out of it," I chuckled, opening my eyes again so that I could look at him. He looked very... real. Now that I was out of the dream-state, I realized that it had been fake all along. "How ironic... so it was all a stupid dream?"

"I'm afraid so, love," the Doctor sighed, his forehead wrinkling slightly, "but at least it's had a happy ending."

"Care to see your baby?" came the voice of an excited-sounding nurse, and we both grinned and stared towards the door. "It's a sweet little girl, my dears... and here she is!"

Oh.

She was even more beautiful than I could have imagined.

"Oi! Get in here and hold your little nephew!" Amy's glare was playful as the Doctor trotted into her hospital room, with me and our tiny daughter in tow.

"Nephew?" I laughed, grinning down at the red-headed woman and the tiny bundle of ginger in her arms, "I love the sound of that! Uncle Doctor..." The said Doctor gave me quite the reproachful look but then soon smiled again, his arms held out eagerly to accept the tiny baby boy.

"That's your new name," Rory smirked, moving a bit closer to his wife. Amy made grabby hands for my daughter, a wide grin splitting her face.

"Ooh gimme! Aww she's just so gorgeous..."

I humored her, placing the small warm bundle into her arms with a soft laugh. "Here she is, little Anna..." When I said our baby's name, my gaze found the Doctor's for a moment and we smiled at one another. Sappy, yes, but we were happy. And he looked amazing cradling the newest Pond in his arms...

"I'll be a good uncle," the Doctor crooned dreamily, "We'll go on adventures and do lots of running, though only in the safest of environments or your mummy will kill me..."

"You've got that right, raggedy man," Amy laughed, and I ruffled the Time Lord's hair.

"So sentimental..." He smiled up at me, then safely transferred the red-headed Pond back to his mom and dad. I took and cuddled Anna, enjoying her warmth and addictive baby-ness smell. I was already to attached to her, poor little dear...

"I suppose I am," the Doctor murmured, smiling at me, and I winked at him, knowing things were going to be pretty bloody fantastic.