Ok, so I actually started this the day before the 50th, got kind of swept up in that, had some final papers to write, and somehow lost track of this. So hopefully you can forgive my negligence and enjoy!

Dobby's Polka-Dotted Sock

Chapter Four

He bumped into Clara as he exited the office that morning, sending a couple pages he was holding in his hands to the floor. She'd managed to maintain her grip on what looked like coffee and a bagel.

"Where you off to? This is for you," she shook the bagel bag, then crouched down to watch him collect the papers off the floor.

"The hospital. Again. Something happened there, I just need to find out what." As he stood up, her eyes flicked across the top page.

"That's a list of names," she pointed out.

"Yes, I know, it's a list of names. All the patients Rory Williams had notes on in his locker—least the ones I could remember."

"So all of them, then."

He gave her a grin. "Naturally."

Even with both hands full she managed to convey an air of mild disapproval as she lightly chastised, "I think that's breaking doctor-patient confidentiality, don't you?"

"Ah, but Clara," he tapped her nose and then edged around her in the hallway so he was now closer to the stairs. "Which Doctor?"

She actually groaned aloud at his words. "Just for that, Chin Boy, I'm keeping these." The coffee and bagel were drawn in closer towards her to demonstrate the point.

He waved her off. "You do that. Can't get crumbs in the car anyway, might mess up the controls."

She rolled her eyes. "It's just a rental." But he was already thundering down the steps and out the door to the little blue beauty. After all, if Rory Williams was still alive, then the clock was ticking. He needed more information from that hospital.

OoO

Ranjit shook his head at the nurse's station. "I'm sorry, Doctor. But I already told you, I can't disclose that information."

He passed a hand through his hair in agitation. "I wouldn't ask, believe me, but it's very important to the case." He couldn't tell the man that it might help him find the missing nurse; after all, he had no conclusive proof that he wasn't dead, just River's word. Then again, the police had no conclusive proof he was dead. Still, he had to err on the side of caution.

"I don't have the authority to overturn policy. And the people who do wouldn't want to; they'd be worried about a scandal at the hospital. If the police have said the case is closed, they're happy to keep it that way." It was clear the man wasn't happy about it.

He sighed. "Alright, alright. Thanks anyway." Frustrated, he trudged away from the nurse's station and back to the lobby. Perhaps this had been a waste of time. Now the only lead he had was this mysterious Silence, although he had no idea how to follow up on it.

But as he passed the front desk, a distinct Scottish voice made him pause. "Hi. Um, I'm here to visit Jeff Angelo?"

Jeff Angelo. He quickly pulled that list out of his pocket and saw that, yes, his name was on it. It was the last name, actually. And that voice belonged to Amy Pond.

Turning, he saw her standing at the desk, shifting from foot to foot as if a bit uncertain about being there. She was still in dark colors, but blues rather than the standard mourning black. The receptionist was looking at something on the computer.

"You know he hasn't woken up yet?"

"That's fine," the redhead answered quickly. "I just had a card. Thought I'd stop by."

"Let me just see if the nurses on duty are accepting non-relative visitors. If you could wait a moment?" The receptionist turned to the phone, and Amy Pond nodded as she took a few steps back.

He took that opportunity to draw up beside her. "So," he started, causing her to jump and whirl to face him in surprise. "Jeff Angelo."

"Oh! Um, hi. Didn't expect to see you," she greeted, seeming more than a little thrown by his presence. "Is there something here you're investigating? For Rory, I mean?"

He shrugged casually. "I don't know, you tell me. Who's Jeff Angelo?"

Her eyes widened briefly at the question before she suddenly laughed. "No, it's really not what it looks like. Jeff just grew up with Rory and me, we all lived in this village called Leadworth together. We all moved out, as you can see, and I hadn't heard anything about Jeff in years. Then Rory said last week that he'd been admitted to the hospital, pretty badly hurt. I've been meaning to visit, thought it'd be nice."

Ok, so not necessarily a story of scandal, though it was a bit early still to rule it out entirely. "Do you know how he was injured, anything specific?"

She grimaced. "Rory didn't usually share that kind of stuff, mostly cause I wouldn't have understood the medical bits anyway. But he did say he thought Jeff must have been in trouble."

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"He said it didn't look like an accident," she clarified quietly as the receptionist hung up the phone and looked their way.

"Alright, Miss, if you could just—who are you?" She looked at him with some suspicion, seeing as he hadn't been there when Amy had made her request.

Before the redhead could say anything, however, he winked at her and then stated, "Dr. John Smith, friend of Amy and Jeff's." He produced the card with his credentials—one of his cards anyway, he had one for just about every occasion. Clara had once remarked he could fool the Queen of England into thinking he was a distant nephew if he wanted. "I let her out at the front and was just parking the car."

Amy Pond seemed to know when not to ask questions, for she quickly nodded. "Yeah, sorry, forgot to say there were two of us. Is that a problem?"

The receptionist sighed. "No, just need you both to sign in. He's in the third floor, room twenty-three." She handed a clipboard to them which they each signed. Together, the two of them headed to the lifts.

When the lift door had shut, leaving them alone, Amy turned to him, "Alright, why do you need to come see Jeff?"

"Not sure yet, just a hunch really," he replied. "But the last thing your husband was doing was working and the last patient he was attending to was Jeff. If Jeff's injuries weren't an accident, then maybe Rory found out something about it and that's why he's gone missing." He didn't tell her River's words about how he'd been attacked for doing his job, whatever that meant.

The lift dinged and the doors opened, and together they stepped into the corridor, following the signs to room twenty-three. The room was like most other hospital rooms, small with a couple of chairs and the bed, where the man called Jeff Angelo rested. He looked tall and rather broad-shouldered, but that clearly hadn't helped him; Rory had been right to think the injuries were deliberate.

The unconscious man's face was rather pale under many bruises, and one of his arms was bandaged and tucked close to his chest. Everything else was hidden by the covers, but he suspected that it was likely more of the same. A heart monitor told of a slow, steady beat.

"Wow," Amy said softly. "It's weird, seeing him like this." She reached out to touch the hand, but drew back after barely brushing it, instead busying herself by placing the card she'd brought on the bedside table. "I'm sure Rory was taking good care of him, though."

He'd reached in the meantime for the clipboard at the foot of the man's bed. It had some notes scribbled on it in the same familiar handwriting he remembered from the nurse's papers in the locker. Had Rory really been the last person to write something down?

A soft whirring noise momentarily distracted him from his thoughts, but he was able to regain them when the heartbeat resumed. Resumed?

Amy started forward again. "He must be cold, I mean he felt pretty cold—" She'd moved forward to draw the blankets up higher, but he reached out and grabbed her arm. "What?"

"Don't touch him," he cautioned softly, then moved forward himself. Taking an edge of one of the blankets to act as a rudimentary glove, he nudged the arm aside. He then carefully removed the electrodes attached to the man's chest. The heart monitor continued uninterrupted.

"What?" Amy gasped in shock, taking an involuntary step backward.

"It's a recording," he surmised, "set up to just keep replaying over and over. Amy, hit the call button." When he looked back at her she was still staring in almost horror at the body. "Amy," he tried more gently, and her eyes darted to his. "Please." She nodded once and then moved to do as asked while he stepped back from Jeff Angelo.

Fortunately they were only left alone a few minutes, as he truly had no idea what to say to her. He hadn't quite made up his mind what he even thought about it.

Funny enough, it was Ranjit who entered the room. "Can I help—Doctor, what are you doing here? And Amy!" He added in some surprise. She gave an awkward wave and ducked her head.

"Hello again, Ranjit," he greeted pleasantly enough. "I thought I should just inform you that one of your hospital's patients is—and possibly has been for some time—dead. Terribly sorry, know you were trying to avoid a scandal."

Ranjit gripped the doorframe and looked past him to the lifeless body of Jeff Angelo with alarm. Amy was avoiding looking at the body at all costs. And he had a feeling they were going to be here for some time.

So Jeff got to be in the story! And then I killed him. Sorry Jeff. But what does this mean for the hospital, and more importantly, Rory? More to come in the next chapter, so thanks for following along so far, and please review!