The Littlest Timelord: Cracks in Time

Chapter 19

"She'll be fine", the Doctor reassured Rory as Guido maneuvered the gondola. The Doctor had readjusted Elise's harness so now she was facing his chest as he tried to soothe her.

She was starting to get fussy due to being tired, but there was no time to go back to the TARDIS and put her to bed.

"You can promise me that, can you?" Rory hissed.

"We're here", Guido told them.

"What happened, between you and Amy? You said she kissed you", Rory said as they entered the tunnel.

Elise was confused. Amy kissed the Doctor? That must have been after he put her to bed. But she was engaged to Rory. Why would she kiss the Doctor then?

"Now? You want to do this now?" the Doctor snapped.

"I have a right to know. I'm getting married in four hundred and thirty years".

"She was frightened. I was frightened. But we survived, you know, and the relief of it, and so she kissed me".

"And you kissed her back".

"No. I kissed her mouth".

"Funny".

"Rory. Rory, she kissed me because I was there. It would have been you. It should have been you".

"Yeah, it should have been me".

"Exactly. That's why I brought you here".

A gust of wind blew out the torch the Doctor was carrying. Elise whined and the Doctor rubbed her back to comfort her.

"Can we go and see the vampires now, please?"

The trap door came out in a courtyard and Elise was grateful to be able to see the stars again.

The Doctor climbed out and then helped Rory up. "Come on. There we are. Amy. Where's Amy? Amy?" She should have been here.

Elise was worried about her and her father's ginger friend.

"I can't see a thing", the Doctor muttered.

"Just as well I brought this, then", Rory said, pulling out a tiny penlight. Being a nurse, he always kept one on him.

The Doctor pulled out a long cylindrical light. "Ultraviolet. Portable sunlight".

"Yours is bigger than mine".

The Doctor gave Rory a look. "Let's not go there".

As they waited for Amy, Rory contemplated what to do concerning his wedding. "If we cancel now, we lose the deposit on the village hall. The salsa band. Oh..."

Elise rolled her eyes. If she were older, she would have slapped him and said, "We have bigger problems to worry about than whether you're getting married in the morning or not!"

The Doctor walked over to a chest and opened it. In it sat corpses of girls. The Doctor was suddenly glad Elise couldn't see them.

"What happened to them?" Rory asked.

"They've had all the moisture taken out of them", the Doctor told him.

"That's what vampires do, right? They drink your blood and replace it with their own".

"Yeah, except these people haven't just had their blood taken, but all the water in their entire bodies."

"Why did they die? Why aren't they like the girls in the school?"