Fight For Freedom |4| The Ascension

Chapter Twelve: The Most Accurate Measurement of Courage

The Doctor and McKenzie jerked awake simultaneously as they reverted to reality. For a while, they just held each other, enjoying the warmth of the bed in which they had been dreaming and the feel of each other grounding them to reality.

"I'm sorry." Both had spoken at the same time, and it prompted a short laugh. After a moment, though, they were serious again.

"I didn't mean to break down like that," McKenzie said, biting her lip as her eyes welled up with tears. "It's just... the future he showed me. It scared me more than anything I've ever seen before."

"I know," the Doctor assured her, catching her tears with his thumb. "I'm scared of it too. That's why he showed it to you. Found whatever he could and used it as a weapon to hurt you. I'm sorry. You shouldn't have had to see that. It was just a stupid dream I had, ages ago. Before we even got married. It doesn't matter, and I promise you, it's not real."

"Is anything?" she couldn't help but ask, shaking her head. "I'm sorry. Can we just... stay like this awhile?"

He smiled, pulling her closer to kiss her softly. "For as long as you like." She kissed him back, burying her vulnerability in bliss and turning it into courage to face the universe another day.

***

Later, the four companions converged on the console room to find McKenzie leaning against the console, the Doctor just in front of her, both of them staring at something golden and sparkling in his hand. "Any questions?" the Doctor asked, looking up at them.

Amy sensed the underlying tension - both in the room and in McKenzie's shoulders - and decided not to ask about what had happened to her. Clearly it was something between her and the Doctor. "Er, what's that?" she tried, indicating the stuff in his hand.

McKenzie visibly relaxed. "It's a speck of psychic pollen from the candle meadows of Karass don Slava. Must have been hanging around for ages. Fell in the time rotor, heated up and induced a dream state for all of us." She watched as the Doctor took it to the door and blew it out into space.

"So that was the Dream Lord then?" Pietro realised. "Those little specks."

The Doctor blinked. "No, no, no. Sorry, wasn't it obvious? The Dream Lord was me. Psychic pollen. It's a mind parasite. It feeds on everything dark in you, gives it a voice, turns it against you. I'm nine hundred and seven. It had a lot to go on."

"But why didn't it feed on us too?" Amy frowned.

McKenzie snorted. "The darkness in you lot? It would've starved to death in an instant. You're just lucky it found him and not me."

Zoë bit her lip and asked more or less the same question everyone had been thinking. "Are you okay?"

There was a long pause, in which McKenzie took a deep breath and led her daughter to the jump seat and sat down facing her. "Listen. You saw, in that alternate reality, what it's like in our heads." The Doctor came to stand by her and she took his hand for comfort. "Between us, we've got several anxiety disorders, acute depression, and mild ADHD. So, uh, to answer your question, yes. I mean, we're a bit messed up and broken inside but what's broken can be mended. What hurts can be healed. In the end, I guess, law of averages, the sun's gotta rise again at some point. And we'll be there waiting when it does. We're okay, I promise." Zoë hugged her.

The Doctor smiled, looking on, and noticed Amy watching them with an expression of guilt. "Amy, right now a question is about to occur to Rory. And seeing as the answer is about to change his life, I think you should give him your full attention."

"Yeah," Rory realised, blinking. "Actually, yeah."

"There it is," McKenzie smirked, the four of them watching him and Amy.

"Because what I don't get is, you blew up the TARDIS, that stopped that dream, but what stopped the Leadworth dream?" Rory asked.

"We crashed the camper van," Amy supplied.

"Oh, right," Rory frowned. "I don't remember that bit."

"No, you weren't there," she explained. "You were already -" She cut herself off.

Rory narrowed his eyes. "Already what?"

"Dead," she managed. "You died in that dream. Mrs Poggit got you."

"Okay," Rory nodded. "But how did you know it was a dream? Before you crashed the van, how did you know you wouldn't just die?"

Amy hesitated. "I didn't."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

Rory's eyes widened. "Oh."

Amy rolled her eyes fondly. "Yeah, oh." They kissed.

Pietro grinned. "Cute."

"So are you," Zoë joked, kissing him, too.

"So," the Doctor said awkwardly. "Where now? Or shall we just pop down to the swimming pool for a few lengths?"

"I don't know," McKenzie shrugged. "Anywhere's good for me. I reckon it should be up to Amy this time. Amy's choice."

~~~

Some fluff and explanatory shit for you there :) Enjoy!