Ding-dong.

"Rory! Can you get that?"

"Yeah."

Jack examined the house as he waited for Rory to come get the door. It was an amazing house, with a large backyard and a shed. That looked like it had been run into by something, then repaired. Multiple times. The garden was also slightly overrun, as if the house's occupants were absent for long periods of time and had tried halfheartedly to trim back the oncoming jungle. Jack had heard reports that the Ponds had traveled with the Doctor, but he had also heard reports that Elizabeth I had married him, and how crackpot theory can you get? But Jack was starting to doubt this particular rumor's falsehood – judging from her voice alone, Amelia Pond was someone who the Doctor would not hesitate to abscond with.

The Tardis-blue door was also a large clue.

Said door appeared to be in the process of being opened, and Jack was faced by –

"Centurion?"

"Captain?"

"… I think you'd better come in."

"Rory? Who is it?" Amy peeked her head downstairs after she heard the lack of camera flashes that gave the paparazzi away. Being a model was amazing, but came with drawbacks. Namely, press.

"It's… a little complicated…" Her husband called back up.

Good enough for her. "As long as it's not another bloody fan–" Amy paused, the stranger coming into view. "Hel-lo. And who might you be?"

Rory groaned. "Great. Just… great. Jack, if you sleep with my wife, I'm killing you."

"Don't look so glum. I don't sleep with married couples." The stranger – Jack – replied. "I mean, unless you want a three–"

"And now I know why the Doctor never properly introduced us," Rory interrupted in the middle of Jack's sentence. "Speaking of which. Not to sound rude, but… well… why are you here? And how do you know where I live? Actually, not that last one. I don't want to know."

"Firstly, introductions." Jack grinned. "Captain Jack Harkness, at your service. You'd be Amy, then?"

"Have you been gossiping about me?" She asked, raising an eyebrow and looking at Rory.

"Only the best, I assure you." Jack grinned as Rory groaned and hid his face in his hands. "Is it true, the thing with the–"

"ANYWAYS," Rory said loudly. "Jack. Here. Why?"

All the laughter drained from the room as Jack's face grew grim. "I need to talk to the Doctor."

Amy's eyes narrowed. "And you think we can contact him because…"

"You're his latest companions in this timeframe," Jack explained, glancing around the room. "He's not answering his phone, so you'd be the best people to find him."

Rory glanced at Amy.

Amy stared at Jack for a few moments, contemplating. "The Doctor is dead," she said finally, unshed tears in her eyes. "Lake Silencio, April twenty-second, 2011."

"And he didn't regenerate? Am I supposed to believe that?" Jack scoffed.

"He got shot."

"He's gotten shot before."

"Twice. In the chest. Once, then… again before he could… regenerate." She turned to walk up the stairs, wiping away her tears. "You can leave now."

"I got a letter."

Amy froze halfway up the stairs, then turned around. "A letter?"

"Pointing me to you. It just had your names, your address, and a signature." Jack met Amy's eyes calmly. "I need to contact the Doctor."

Amy stared back, eyes red from crying but steady. "Who was the note from?"

"River Song."

Amy exchanged a glance with Rory. "We can't contact him directly," Rory said after a tense moment. "But we can get River, who can get him. Probably. But… well, not to put this harshly, but we're not quite sure if we can trust you. Why do you need him?"

"It's… a little complicated," Jack said quietly, trying to evade the question.

"Try us." Amy retorted.

He sighed. "All right. This is going to be a long story. It starts in Cardiff – yes, I know, nothing ever happens there. False. Now it really sort of starts when I was traveling with the Doctor, but to save time I'll just skip to the part where I saw the Tardis sitting right in front of the Millenium Center and grabbed on just as he was dematerializing…"

Amy and Rory listened in fascination and shock and a little bit of horror as Jack recounted the tale of the Year that Never Was.

"So… what went wrong?" Rory asked after Jack had finished his tale. "Has something gone wrong?"

Jack shrugged. "I… don't know if it's something gone wrong. That's why I need the Doctor."

"What happened?" Amy pressed. "Specifically."

"One of my… coworkers. I found a fob watch that he said was his." Jack sighed. "I don't know if he's a good Time Lord or a bad Time lord or not a Time Lord at all, but I need to be absolutely sure which. Because from what I've heard, the chameleon arch creates a new person, and when the watch is opened that person dies."

"And so you can't know if it's a fob watch without potentially killing your coworker, but if it is a fob watch everything will either go horribly right or horribly wrong." Rory finished for Jack. "That… sounds like something the Doctor would be incredibly conflicted about."

Jack grimaced. "Yeah, but I can't think of anyone else to ask."

Amy nodded decisively. "We'll call River. She'll know what to do, or at the very least have an opinion. Or possibly… what was that phrase? Ah, yes… dance with you."

"Sounds good to–"

"That's the Doctor's wife. And our daughter. And – you know what, why am I even arguing anymore?" Rory moaned.
"Not a clue."