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PICK AND CHOOSE
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⎯
Leadworth
⎯

The Dream Lord suddenly appeared outside the camper van the Doctor was driving as it stopped.

"It makes your mind up time in both worlds."

"Fine." The Doctor replied. "But I need to find my friends."

"Friends?" The Dream Lord repeated with a snort. "Is that the right word for the people you acquire?" He asked. "Friends are people you stay in touch with. Your friends never see you again once they've grown up. The old man prefers the company of the young, does he not, or is a certain blonde stuck on your mind?" He glanced over at Hollie, still sleeping.

The Doctor shook his head. "Leave Holls alone." He narrowed his eyes. "In fact give Holliaet back to me, now."

"Oh, that's terrifying." The Dream Lord replied, his voice or features showing anything but fear. "I'm afraid they haven't chosen yet. They're still not accepting their hearts over their heads and you know that too, don't you Doctor?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh don't try to deny that you're not interested in Holls, look at her." He chuckled. "Gorgeous isn't she, your little rescuer."

The Doctor growled at the look on the Dream Lords face. The man laughed at the Time Lord, pointing at him and making the Doctor merely blink and stare. "There you go!" He smirked. "Now you've realised."

The Dream Lord suddenly disappeared leaving the Doctor stunned, he turned to look at Hollie and sighed. "Oh, Hollie... I'm so sorry."

×××

After finally carrying Amy up the rest of the stairs after she fell asleep he settled her down on the floor in the nursery. He gently moved a strand of hair from her face and jumped when a loud bang suddenly echoed behind him.

"Rory!" He heard the Doctor shout through a grunt  "Let me in!"

"Doctor?" The man questioned as he opened the door and blinked when he came face to face with the Time Lord carrying an asleep Hollie in his arms.

"Thanks." The Doctor muttered walking into the room before he set his eyes on Amy and deeply frowned. "Amy's not awake either?"

Rory nodded. "We just got to the house after helping her halfway up the stairs she fell asleep, I had to carry her the rest of the way up."

"Why is she asleep now?" The Doctor muttered.

"What are we going to do?" Rory asked.

"I don't know." The Doctor sighed. "I thought the freezing TARDIS was real," he looked down at the peacefully sleeping blonde in his arms, "but now I'm not so sure."

×××

Back on the freezing TARDIS Hollie and Amy shook their heads and sat down beside each other on the stairs, ice slowly forming on their clothes in the cold. "We have to decide." Hollie chattered through her teeth.

"But how?" Amy asked.

Hollie opened her mouth to speak but snapped it shut as the Dream Lord appeared behind them. "Good question ginger." The Dream Lord pointed at Amy. "But a better question is what man do you want?"

"I told you-" she went to snap at him.

"Yes, yes." He rolled his eyes. "I know what you said, I'm not stupid but look at them." He moved towards the Doctor. "Do you want A: The 900-year-old alien with his hearts already set on not only the universe but a mystery he can't possibly solve." He questioned before moving towards Rory. "Or B: The man who hasn't stopped following you like a lost puppy for as long as you remember? Try to love the Doctor but he may never love you back, but this idiot?" He raised a brow as he looked at Rory. "He would do anything for you and you know that."

Amy stared at Hollie who slowly nodded in agreement. It didn't need saying, they knew exactly what they had to do. "We know what we want."

The Dream Lord smiled at them both and nodded making the pit drop in Hollie's stomach as he looked at her. "Of course you have, you're his rescuer after all."

⎯
Leadworth
⎯

Hollie groaned and sat up, yelping with the Doctor as they both headbutted each other. "Ow!" The Doctor cried out, jumping up while holding his head.

"What were you doing?" Hollie frowned, rubbing her head.

"Trying to wake you up!" He protested before tightly hugging the blonde. "Are you okay?"

"We're fine?" Amy grumbled as she woke up before she blinked. "How did I get up here?"

"I carried you the rest of the way," Rory admitted, a small blush creeping up his neck. "I'm afraid you may experience some bruising."

Hollie frowned. "And me?"

"Well,  you were asleep since the butchers. I couldn't just leave you there could I?"

Hollie smiled and lightly patted the Doctor's face, kissing his cheek as he smugly grinned. "Thank you."

Rory looked at Amy and sighed. "I want to do something for you." He grabbed a pair of scissors and cut his ponytail off making Hollie giggle and Amy stare at him.

"I was starting to like it," Amy admitted. Rory's face fell and Amy suddenly gasped. "Oh! I think the baby's starting."

Hollie's eyes widened while Rory stared at her. "Honestly?"

"Rory she isn't joking," Hollie told him making his eyes widen in shock as Amy snapped at him.

"Would I make it up at a time like this?

"Well, you do have a history of..." Amy glared at him making the man suddenly change his sentence. "being very lovely. Why are they so desperate to kill us?"

"They're scared." The Doctor explained. "Fear generates savagery."

They all looked while a gnome was thrown at the window, causing it to smash. The Doctor and Rory went over only to stumbled back as Ms Poggit breathed the green gas over them.

"Rory!" Amy cried out while the blonde's eyes widened.

"Doctor!"

"No," Rory gasped as he leaned back against a chest of draws before sitting on the floor beside it. "I'm not ready."

"Ah!" The Doctor groaned placing a hand down as he fell.

"Stay." Amy pleaded.

Hollie stared at the Doctor. "What do I do?!" She asked him, her eyes darting around. "Doctor?!" She shouted when he didn't reply. "What. Do. I Do?!"

"Nothing." He shook his head, gritting his teeth. "Nothing you can do."

Rory's eyes widened as he noticed his legs turning to dust. "Look after our baby." He whispered to Amy before he disappeared the only thing remaining the dust in a small pile.

Hollie swallowed hard going to step back, the Doctor shook his head and grabbed her arm before pulling her to him, Hollie blinked as he leaned towards her before his lips crashed into hers, making her eyes widen before they snapped shut, the two sharing a slightly heated and very quick kiss. The Doctor then let go and Hollie let out a sob as she and Amy watched the Time Lord turn to dust.

Amy turned to Hollie as tears forced their way out of the blonde's eyes and down her cheeks. "I thought this was real." She whimpered. "I was 100% sure of it."

Hollie slowly nodded glancing from her friend to the pile of dust that was once the Doctor, she swallowed hard before tearing her gaze away and looking at her friend. "During that... kiss, so was I." She admitted. "But after watching him just die right in front of me, I'm not so sure."

Amy slowly knelt down and lightly touched the pile of dust by the dresser. "This is the dream." She looked up at Hollie her eyes glossy with tears. "Definitely this one. Now, if we die here, we wake up, yeah?"

Hollie slowly nodded. "I think that's how it works, that or we just die." The girl weakly chuckled, now slow to tears yet again. "Dying's got to be better without them though."

Amy nodded. "This is our only chance of seeing them again. This is the dream."

Hollie watched as her best friend stood up and took her hand. They both looked back at the piles of dust before turning to the door and opening it, walking down the stairs and then out of the house. Amy frowned. "Why aren't they attacking?"

Hollie shook her head. "It might be because it's the dream?" She guessed.

"Or maybe they're guessing what we're going to do," Amy added, her frown deepening.

Hollie took the key out of her pocket and sighed. "I really do hope this is the dream." She looked at Amy. "Because if this is real the universe just had a whole species go extinct.

Amy slowly nodded. "Hollie I didn't know before-" she swallowed hard. "Before Rory died I honestly didn't, but right now I just want him."

Hollie nodded and inserted the key into the ignition. "I thought I just had a silly crush on the Doctor." She admitted and swallowed hard. "I think it's a bit more than just a silly crush."

Amy softly smiled. "Let's get our boys back."

The Dream Lord appeared and watched the two curiously. "I love Rory, and I never told him," Amy admitted. "But now he's gone."

"We'll see them soon Ames." Hollie smiled and set the car in first gear before revving the engine and driving it straight into the cottage.

⎯
TARDIS
⎯

Hollie struggled to open her eyes, a thick layer of ice laid over her body, the Doctor beside her, his own eyes slowly opening while Amy reached out to Rory, both of their eyes opening.

"So, you chose this world." The voice of the Dream Lord announced. "Well done. You got it right. And with only seconds left. Fair's fair. Let's warm you up."

The four looked around as the power in the TARDIS was restored. "I hope you've enjoyed your little fictions. It all came out of your imagination, so I'll leave you to ponder on that. I have been defeated. I shall withdraw. Farewell." The Dream Lord disappeared.

Rory frowned. "Something happened. I. What happened to me? I..." He stopped as Amy launched herself at him, her arms coming around to tightly hug him. "Oh. Oh, right. This is good." He hugged her back. "I am liking this. Was it something I said? Could you tell me what it was so I can use it in emergencies, and maybe birthdays."

The Doctor looked at Hollie. "Did I?"

"Yeah..." she quietly replied.

"Oh."

Hollie swallowed hard. "Yeah."

Amy looked at them. "What are we doing now?"

"Me, I'm going to blow up the TARDIS." The Doctor replied.

"What?" Rory looked at him.

"Notice how helpful the Dream Lord was?" He asked. "Okay, there was misinformation, red herrings, malice, and I could have done without the limerick. But he was always very keen to make us choose between dream and reality."

"What are you doing?"

"Doctor, the Dream Lord conceded. This isn't a dream." Rory protested as the Doctor worked on the console.

"Yes, it is."

"Stop him." He looked at Hollie and Amy.

"Star burning cold?" He scoffed. "Do me a favour. The Dream Lord has no power over the real world. He was offering us a choice between two dreams."

Hollie frowned. "That does make sense..."

"How do you know that?" Amy asked the Doctor.

"Because I know who he is."

×××

Hollie frowned as she woke up in her room. "Was that?" She questioned aloud. The TARDIS wheezed.

"That was not a dream my Rescuer."

The blonde froze. "What the?" She looked around. "Who?"

"Apologies, it is me. Time And Relative Dimensions In Space."

"The TARDIS?"

"Yes."

How can I hear you?"

"As the woman with the crazy hair has said many times: spoilers."

"Right..."

"The Doctor cannot know, no one can know, do you understand my Rescuer?"

"Why do you call me that?"

"Because that is what you are, you rescue him and you rescue me."

Hollie frowned and walked towards her door. "Okay..."

She poked her head outside her room to see Amy and Rory walking towards her room.

"Amy?"

"Hollie." Both Amy and Rory sighed. "We thought you might have been with the Doctor already."

"No." She stepped out of her room. "I had a strange dream..."

"It wasn't a dream," Rory replied. "Or it was again...?"

"Right..." Hollie frowned. "Shall we go and find him?"

"Yeah." They both nodded.

×××

The three humans walked into the console room as the Doctor stared down at his hand, small yellow specks of what looked like pollen in his hand. "Er, what's that?" Amy asked, walking towards him with her two friends.

"A speck of psychic pollen from the candle meadows of Karass don Slava." He stated, walking towards the doors of the TARDIS. "Must have been hanging around for ages. Fell in the time rotor, heated up and induced a dream state for all of us."

0so I wasn't dreaming all of this up?"

"Sort of?" He frowned, opening the doors of the TARDIS and blowing the pollen into space.

"So that was the Dream Lord then?" Rory asked. "Those little specks."

"No, no. No. Sorry, wasn't it obvious?" The three frowned at the Doctor. "The Dream Lord was me." He sighed at their blank faces. "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?"

"The darkness in you three, it would've starved to death in an instant. I choose my friends with great care. Otherwise, I'm stuck with my own company, and you know how that works out."

"Wait..." Hollie frowned. "All those things he said about you. You don't think any of that's true, right?"

The Doctor's eyes flickered to the human couple next to the blonde. "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 replied before he blinked. "Actually, yeah."

"There it is." The Doctor smiled.

Hollie looked back at the Time Lord as Amy turned to Rory before she gently took the Time Lord's hand. "Can we talk?"

The Doctor frowned slightly before he nodded and they wandered down the stairs and sat down on them. "What's wrong?"

Hollie took in a deep breath and sighed before she looked at the Doctor. "Just to double check I heard it right, the Dream Lord was you?"

"Yes." The Doctor nodded at her statement. "It was, technically me, a bad side, a very bad side."

"So why if the Dream Lord was you and the dream was based off your 'nightmares' as such why in the dream in Leadworth we were engaged?" She questioned, a small wrinkle of confusion on her forehead. "And then there's the fact that you kissed me..."

The Doctor sat there momentarily and gathered his thoughts before sighing and nervously fiddling with his hands, unsure what else to do as he spoke to Hollie. "I'm about to do something Hollie, something I should have probably done a while ago." He swallowed hard. "If you don't agree with me and you want to stop me then please do. You have wasted your whole life waiting for me to come back and if I do this I'll be wasting the rest of your life because a part of me knows that if I do this I don't know if I'll be able to ever give you up."

Hollie slowly nodded she then froze, her eyes grew wide seconds before they closed, if she knew anything about time like the Doctor she would have sworn it had stopped right then and there after what he did.

Meanwhile, for the Doctor, he had taken the biggest step ever, crossed a barrier he should never cross, never even have thought of crossing but Hollie just did that, she made him confused, excited and slightly nervous all at the same time.

After a moment Hollie slowly figured out that just sitting there, frozen probably wasn't a good sign when being kissed and decided to slowly kiss him back, his hands gently cradled her face while his warm lips grazed her own, moving almost perfectly together, almost as if they were made for each other. The Doctor chuckled slightly as Hollie tried to gain the upper hand, trying to control the pace of the kiss only to fail massively when her nose bumped his. A second later they both pulled away, breathing slightly faster, their hearts drumming loudly in their chests. A small smile formed on the Doctor's face. Hollie bit her lip and looked down at the ground while she smiled. "I really like you Holliaet." He announced, the tips of his ears burning up at his own statement.

The blonde looked up at the Doctor and playfully bumped him with her shoulder. "One time." She pointed at him, eyes narrowed. "Just when you're being all serious or honest I'll allow you to call me that name because when you say it, it sounds kinda sexy."

The Doctor chuckled nervously and Hollie faintly blushed as she hummed. "But no other time, okay?"

"But it's a good name." He whined at her.

"Don't care." She crossed her arms and looked away from him.

"Well." The Doctor playfully shrugged and stood up, he turned away from her. Guess I'm not going to kiss you again."

Hollie chuckled and stood up before she quickly spun the Doctor around and pulled on his suspenders, making his eyes widen before they snapped shut as she kissed him. His arms flew around unsure where to actually go. It was easier when he kissed her, he was expecting it but right now he didn't know what to do.

But she was actually kissing him. His insanely complicated and confusing Hollie was kissing him out of everyone possible, the one who had left her for a total of fourteen years, destroyed her childhood as she waited for his return.

The two stumbled towards the railing at the bottom of the stairs and the Doctor grinned against Hollie's lips as he trapped her against it. The two then parted, breathing slightly heavier than normal and grinned at one another.

"Not kissing me again huh?" Hollie asked looking up at the Time Lord.

"You kissed me." He protested.

"You kissed back." She smirked and wiggled a finger in front of his face.

The Doctor opened his mouth like a fish before quickly closing it and huffing. "You." He was now the one pointing a finger at her, a stern yet playful look on his face.

"Me?" She replied with a grin.

"Oh." The Doctor huffed, "Shut up."

Hollie quickly kissed him again before chuckling and taking the Doctor's hand before pulling him up the stairs and to the main console where Amy and Rory were stood, foreheads pressed against each other.

"So, well then," the Doctor clapped his hands together his eyes darted over to Hollie, he wasn't quite sure what the hell had just happened between them, "where now? Or should I just pop under the console for a bit?"

"I'm off to the pool I think." Hollie grinned as if nothing ever happened.

"I don't know." Rory shrugged. "Anywhere's good for me. I'm happy anywhere."

"Well, it is up to Amy and Hollie this time." Rory looked to the blonde and ginger who both nodded in agreement. "Their choice."