PREDATOR AND PREY

Chapter One

"Wake up, Mrs. Pond."

Amy's eyelids fluttered open and she smiled when she saw Rory standing over here. She was lying in their bed in their bedroom on the TARDIS and she had been asleep for several hours after a night of passionate lovemaking with her husband. Last night was their six month anniversary and they decided to celebrate the milestone with an intimate dinner, champagne and sex. Amy groaned while she stared at her husband.

"Rory, come back to bed, it's still early," Amy said before she pulled the blanket up over her head.

"It's almost noon," Rory said.

Amy lowered the blanket until it was down past her eyes and she gave her husband a dubious look. Rory showed her his wristwatch and she groaned when she read the time and realized Rory was right.

"So, come back to bed anyway," she said, jerking the blanket back over her head.

"What about the Doctor?"

"Screw the Doctor!"

Amy quickly lowered the blanket and saw the bemused look on her husband's face.

"I meant that metaphorically," she said, pointing up at his face.

"I'm glad because the Doctor will regenerate the moment he climbs into bed with you…Amy, don't you dare," Rory said when Amy began to giggle. "Don't call my bluff. I mean what I say."

"Blast, I was hoping there would be a furious battle over me between you and him," Amy said, turning on her side away from Rory. "Anyway…the Doctor will be fine. Just come back to bed and pretend it's still three in the morning."

"No, I'm going to go find the Doctor before he finds us. I'm sure he'll want to go exploring and he'll want us to tag along. See you later, Amy."

"Oh…bollocks!" Amy muttered as she threw back the blanket and got up.

Rory chuckled and gave his wife a quick peck on the cheek. He waited until she got dressed before the two of them walked up to the console room. While they headed towards it, they were shocked when River turned a corner up ahead of them. River gave them a warm smile.

"Did you finally wake up?" she said to them.

"Uh, yeah," Amy said. "When did you get here though? You weren't here when we went to bed."

"I know. The Doctor told me he got bored after you went to sleep and came and got me. I was glad to leave Stormcage but…"

"Yeah?" Rory said when River trailed off.

"Well, we had a nice dinner and a nice chat and a…bit of a cuddle but…he's in the living room now watching some idiotic program and yelling at the telly like a little child so I was heading back to my bedroom to relax."

"He's yelling at the telly?" Amy said.

River rolled her eyes and nodded. Amy shared a glance with Rory and the two of them turned and headed towards the living room with River following behind. When they neared the living room, they heard the Doctor yelling.

"NO! NO, THIS ISN'T RIGHT!" they heard him bellow.

Amy gave Rory and River a confused glance.

"Go on in and you'll learn why he's doing that," River said, pointing to the doorway.

Amy walked to the doorway and Rory and River joined her there. The Doctor was standing in front of a huge plasma TV with a shocked look on his face. Amy glanced at River and Rory and the three of them silently moved inside the room.

"No! This is beyond believable!" the Doctor was yelling at the screen. "This shouldn't have happened! It's criminal."

He nearly jumped out of his skin when Amy cleared her throat loudly. He looked at her and Rory and finally at River who was snickering softly.

"Go ahead, Sweetie, tell the Ponds why you're yelling at the telly," River said gleefully.

"Um…well, I was just watching Centauri Falls," the Doctor said sheepishly while he gestured to the television, "and well…Krista is going to marry Rando and I disagree with that."

"And what exactly is Centauri Falls?" Amy asked him.

The Doctor glared at River when she sniggered at that and gave him a smug look. He looked at Amy who was waiting patiently for him to answer her and shifted his foot slightly while he cleared his throat.

"It's…uh…my favorite soap opera," he muttered as he looked at the floor.

"Soap operas? You watch soap operas?" Amy said, bemused. "Didn't figure you for the soap opera watching type."

"Yes, well, everyone has their guilty pleasures, don't they?" the Doctor said defensively while River sniggered.

"I s'pose but I never thought you would yell at the telly like that," Amy said.

"Well, I'm not the only one that yells out random phrases. You yell random phrases whenever you and Mister Pond are bonking each other in the dead of night," the Doctor said.

River chortled when Amy turned a deep shade of crimson and Rory coughed and looked away. The Doctor smugly patted her on the shoulder and was about to walk out of the room when suddenly the TARDIS lurched violently. River grunted when the Doctor fell into her and Rory grabbed onto Amy as they both fell to their knees.

"Now what?" River said as they tried to get to their feet. "I swear, Doctor, one of these days you're gonna have to take this thing in for a complete overhaul before we all end up dead."

The Doctor ignored her and got to his feet. Everyone followed her while he staggered out the door and headed towards the console room. By the time they got there, the TARDIS had landed and had fallen silent. The Doctor began running a diagnostic to make sure she was functioning while River checked the scanner.

"Icecap Five according to the scanner, ever heard of it?" River asked the Doctor.

"Nope," the Doctor said as she stepped away from the scanner and the Doctor looked at it. "The TARDIS is fine. She just suddenly had the urge to come here it seems."

"Why?" Rory said.

"Not sure but the old girl usually has her reasons. I have a feeling if the planet is called Icecap Five that it's going to be a smidge cool outside so everyone better dress accordingly."

"You mean we're going to go outside?" Rory said.

"Duh, Rory, why wouldn't we go outside," Amy said before the Doctor could answer him.

"But you don't know what's out there," Rory said to the Doctor.

"Hasn't stopped him before…" Amy said before the Doctor could speak.

"Can I say something, Pond? I am capable of speaking for myself, you know," the Doctor said while River giggled. "Yes, we're going outside and yes, I don't know what's out there but something has drawn the TARDIS's attention here which makes it important. You've traveled with me long enough to know that there might be danger and I trust that you'll be able to handle any danger if it rears its ugly head. On the other hand, you lot can stay inside and I'll investigate, it's your choice."

"No way you're going out there alone," River said. "Who knows what'll happen if you're left to your own devices."

"Gee, thanks so much for the vote of confidence, River," the Doctor said dryly. "Pond? How about you?"

"Yeah, I'll come with ya, I'm curious," Amy said.

The Doctor gave Rory a pointed look. He sighed and nodded.

"Yeah, I'll come, I know I'll never hear the end of it from Amy if I don't," he said.

"Fine. Then get suited up and let's see what lies beyond the TARDIS doors," the Doctor said.

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