A/N: just the usual reminder about comments and votes motivating me to write, (I understand how annoying these messages get but I'm anxious in general and need validation).

The residents are gone. The Dream Lord walks in wearing a shirt and black skirt, she's now got pink converse and green nail polish. None of it really fits but she suits it.

"Now then gang," she starts "If you die in the dream, you wake up in reality. Healthy recovery in next to no time. Ask me what happens if you die in reality?"

"What happens?" Rory asks immediately

"You die, stupid. That's why it's called reality,"

"Have you met the Poppy before? Or the Doctor? Do you know them? Poppy, Doctor, does she?" Amy pries and The Doctor sits down on a chair

"Now don't get jealous," The Dream Lord teases "He's been around, our boy," she wraps her arm around Poppy, telling it to her "But never mind that. You've got a world to choose. One reality was always too much for you, Doctor. Take two and call me in the morning," she winks and does the call me sign before disappearing.

"Okay, I don't like her," Rory states.

"Who is she?"

"I don't know," Poppy shrugs

"It's a big universe,"

"Why is she doing this?"

"Maybe because she has no physical form. That gets you down after a while, so she's taking it out on folk like us who can touch and eat and feel," The Doctor suggests

"What does he mean, deadly danger, though? Nothing deadly has happened here. I mean, a bit of natural wastage, obviously," Rory rambles

The Doctor stands up and takes off the jumper

"They've all gone. They've all gone," The Doctor grabs Poppy's hand and marches out

Directly opposite the care home is a play area and a ruined castle. The teacher is trying to keep control of the children as they play.

"Why would they leave?" Rory looks around

"And what did you mean about Mrs Poggit's nice old lady act?" Amy adds

"Part of our charm, sniffing out things that aren't what they seem. So, come on, let's think. The mechanics of this reality split we're stuck in. Time asleep exactly matches time in our dream world, unlike in conventional dreams,"

"And we're all dreaming the same dream at the same time,"

"Yes, sort of communal trance. Very rare, very complicated. I'm sure there's a dream giveaway, a taell, but my mind isn't working because this village is so dull!" The Doctor shouts at the air "I'm slowing down, like you two have," Poppy snorts loudly

Amy starts groaning in pain "It's coming!"

"Okay, you're a doctor, help her," The Doctor tells Rory

"You're a doctor.

"It's okay, we're doctors!" The Doctor squats down to catch the baby.

"Like that's gonna work!" Poppy exclaims

"Okay, it's not coming," Amy stops

"What?" The Doctor stands back up

"This is my life now and it just turned you white as a sheet, so don't you call it dull again, ever. Okay?"

"Sorry,"

"Yeah,"

The group walk over to a swing set and Amy and Poppy sit down. The Doctor starts gently pushing Poppy.

"Now, we all know there's an elephant in the room," The Doctor starts

"I have to be this size, I'm having a baby!" Amy snaps

"No, no. The hormones seem real, but no. Is nobody going to mention Rory's ponytail?" Amy and Poppy laugh quietly "You hold him down, I'll cut it off?"

"This from the man in the bow tie," Rory teases

"Bow ties are cool," Poppy mouths along with The Doctor and he suddenly walks away, leaving her to turn around and stand on the swing, slowly rocking back and forth

"Oh god," Amy mutters when she sees her

"I don't know about you, but I wouldn't hire Mrs Poggit as a babysitter. What's she doing? What does she want?"

The tweeting starts again and Poppy quickly jumps down, she sits on the swing before passing out.

-----&-----

"It's really cold. Have you got any warm clothing?" Amy asks, shivering a bit

"What does it matter if we're cold? We have to know what she is up to!" The Doctor was referring to both Mrs Poggit and The Dream Lord "Sorry, sorry. There should be some stuff down there. Have a look," The Doctor softens and Poppy wraps her arms around him comfortingly. He wraps his own around her and her arms (she was side on) and kisses her forehead gently

"I'm scared," Poppy admits

"Yeah,"

"I don't like this world," The Doctor looks down at her and Poppy sighs before elaborating "or the other on for that matter. They both seem off. The Leadworth one seems nice. It feels nice. But this one is realistic,"

"What do you mean?"

"Us, engaged? You wouldn't do that knowing that I'm only human. It'd be painful for both of us,"

"What if I did it anyway?"

"Then I'd be shocked,"

Amy gives Rory a blanket and they come back up the stairs. The Doctor has assembled a whisk, rope and bottle opener into a gizmo in the time he and Poppy had not been hugging.

"Ah, Rory, wind," he hands something to Rory "Amy, could you attach this to the monitor, please,"

"I was promised amazing worlds. Instead I get duff central heating and a weird, kitchen wind-up device,"

"It's a generator. Get winding," The Doctor explains to Rory

"Not enough," Poppy says looking at the screen

"Rory, wind!"

"Why is the Dream Lord picking on you? Why us?" Rory asks just before the scanner comes to life

"Where are we?"

"We're in trouble," The Doctor stares out where a white version of the sun is shining

"What is that?"

"A star. A cold star," The Doctor opens the door then quickly shuts it "That's why we're freezing. It's not a heating malfunction. We're drifting towards a cold sun. There's our deadly danger for this version of reality,"

"So, this must be the dream. There's no such thing as a cold star. Stars burn," Amy comes up with a reasonable explanation

"So's this one. It's just burning cold,"

"Is that possible?"

"I can't know everything. Why does everybody expect me to, always...?" Poppy grabs his hand gently, calming him down

"Okay, this is something you haven't seen before. So, does that mean this is the dream?" Rory asks

"I don't know, but there it is, and I'd say we've got about fourteen minutes until we crash into it. But that's not a problem,"

"Because you know how to get us out of this?" Rory hopes

"Because we'll have frozen to death by then,"

"Oh, that's lovely. Exactly how I want to go," Poppy sighs

"Oh, then what are we going to do?"

"Stay calm. Don't get sucked in to it, because this just might be the battle that we have to lose,"

"Oh, this is so you, isn't it" Rory mutters bitterly

"What?"

"A weird new star, fourteen minutes left to live and only one man to save the day, huh? I just wanted a nice village and a family,"

"Shut up Rory," Poppy mumbles

"Oh dear, this is your dream as well," The Dream Lord appears by Poppy "You don't want it to be just you and The Doctor in the lonely TARDIS. What if he picks up someone else? What if he falls in love with them? You know what'll happen. You've seen it,"

"Shut up," Poppy mumbles weakly

"What's that?" The Dream Lord teases "poor old..." The bird song starts again and The Dream Lord steps back "Oh, no. We've run out of time. Don't spend too long there," She smiles "it'd be sad to die here,"

-----&-----

"Where have the children gone?" Is the first thing Poppy hears when she wakes up on the swing

"Don't know. Play time's probably over," Rory offers and Poppy runs up the steps and stand by the Doctor as he scans the molehills and objects left next to/around them. He continues throughout Amy and Rory speaking quietly in the corner

"Doctor, what are you doing? And what are those piles of dust?" Amy finally turns back to them

"Play time's definitely over..." Poppy realises sadly

"Oh, my God," Amy mutters

"What happened to them? "Rory wraps his arm around Amy comfortingly and Poppy and The Doctor turn to the old people walking along the street.

"I think they did,"

"They're just old people," Amy tells him

"No, they're very old people. Sorry, Rory, I don't think you're what's been keeping them alive," they run down to start walking towards them. The Dream Lord appears in her Leadworth outfit.

"Hello, peasants. What's this, attack of the old people?" She turns to the "Oh, that's ridiculous. This has got to be the dream, hasn't it?" She teases "What do you think, Amy, Poppy? Let's all jump under a bus and wake up in the TARDIS," The Dream Lord looks up at The Doctor, smiling sweetly "You first,"

"Leave them alone," he says darkly

"Do that again," The Dream Lord smirks "I love it when he does that. Tall dark hero," she tells Poppy

"Just leave them," Rory tells her

"Yeah, not really working for you" The Dream Lord turns to Amy "But I know where your heart lies, don't I, Amy Pond?"

"Shut up. Just shut up and leave us alone," Poppy glares at the (other) redhead

"Oh, and here she is," The Dream Lord claps happily "the dark Poppy. The one you don't want him to see. Well, I think it's becoming a bit late for that," Her mood then changes back to happy "But listen. He loves a redhead, The Doctor," she twirls a bit of her hair and smirks "Has he told you about Elizabeth the First? Well, she thought she was the first,"

"Drop it. Drop all of it. I know who you are!" Poppy says quickly

"Course you don't," the mood changes

"Course I do. No idea how you can be here, but there's only one person in the universe who knows me as much as you do, who hates yet loves me, as much as you do," She steps forward and whispers in the Dream Lord's ear "and the flirting with my boyfriend is kind of giving it away,"

"Never mind me. Maybe you should worry about them," she gestures to the old people who are walking across the grass. The Dream Lord vanishes again.

"Hi. Hello!" Rory greets

"Hello, we were wondering where you went," The Doctor leads the way closer to them "To get reinforcements, by the look of it. Are you all right? You look a bit tense," he asks the two who stepped forward

"Hello, Mister Nainby!"

"Rory..." Poppy warns

"Mister Nainby ran the sweet shop. He used to slip me the odd free toffee," he tells her before said sweet shop owner grabs Rory by the collar and lifts him off his feet "did I not say thank you?" Rory gets thrown backwards.

"How did he do that?" Rory comes back up quickly

"I suspect he's not himself. Don't get comfortable here. You may have to run, fast,"

"Can't we just talk to them?" The thought of running whilst pregnant was not exactly appealing

The old people open their mouths, and an eye looks out of each one

"There is an eye in her mouth," Amy looks like she might be sick

"Oh, my Jesus Christ," Poppy leans on The Doctor as he gets out his screwdriver and scans them

"There's a whole creature inside her. Inside all of them. They've been there for years, living and waiting,"

"That is disgusting. They're not going to be peeping out of anywhere else, are they?"

Mrs Poggit breaths a stream of green gas at Rory's words and the three humans step away.

"Run," The Doctor tells them and they do, Amy and Rory actually leaving and Poppy staying on the playground area watching The Doctor talk, when he's done, he grabs her and they run down the streets.

The residents continue chasing them and the two find themselves in a butcher.

"Oh, I hate these places. The thought of science teaches coming in and asking for a heart is a bit disturbing. Isn't it Poppy?" The Dream Lord sits behind the counter, a butchers apron and hat placed delicately

"Oh, shut it. we're busy," The two attempt the get through the butchers

"Maybe you need a nap?" Poppy falls down to the floor and The Doctor leans on the wall "Oh, wait a moment. If you fall asleep here, several dozen angry pensioners will destroy you with their horrible eye things," The Dream Lord reminds them and The Doctor pulls Poppy up, the birdsong gets louder and they cover their ears.

"Fingers in the ear. Brilliant!" The Dream Lord teases "other than the fact that the song is clearly in your mind and it's pointless,"

The old people start to enter the shop and slowly get closer, Poppy and The Doctor struggle to open a door. The Doctor searches for his screwdriver in his pocket and Poppy pushes him out the way, grabbing her screwdriver from her back pocket and opening the store room. The Doctor collapses immediately and Poppy falls on him.

-----&-----

"Ah, it's colder," Amy shivers when she sits up and The Doctor immediately wraps his arms around Poppy, remembering to ask her how they got in the cupbored later.

"The three of us have to agree, now, which is the dream,"

"It's this, here," Rory says with certainly

"He could be right. The science is all wrong here. Burning ice?" Amy agrees

"No, no, no. Ice can burn. Sofas can read. It's a big universe. We have to agree which battle to lose. All of us, now,"

"Okay, which world do you think is real?"

"This one," The Doctor tells them and Poppy sighs. They were competing over Amy.

"No, the other one,"

"Yeah, but are we disagreeing or competing?"

"Competing? Over what?" Amy asks but when she sees the look on Poppy's face it clicks "oh, us," Amy drag Poppy away from The Doctor and sits on the stairs, wrapping them both in the blanket before starting to cut holes in the same blankets.

"Nine minutes till impact," The Doctor checks

"What temperature is it?"

"Outside? Brr. How many noughts have you got? Inside? I don't know but I can't feel my feet and other parts,"

"I think all my parts are basically fine," Rory 'boasts'

"Stop competing!" Poppy shouts before Rory picks up the TARDIS phone

"Can't we call for help?

"Yeah, because the universe is really small," The Doctor snatches away the phone "and there's bound to be someone nearby," he taps Rory on the head with it

"Put these on, both of you," Amy throws two hand-made ponchos at the men.

"Oh, a poncho. The biggest crime against fashion since lederhosen," Rory says bitterly

"Here we go! Aw my boys. And girl" Amy taps Poppy's nose ". My poncho boys and girl," the two stand in between the men

"If we're going to die, let's die looking like a Peruvian folk band," Poppy jokes

"We're not going to die,"

"No, we're not, but our time's running out. If we fall asleep here, we're in trouble. If we could divide up, then we'd have an active presence in each world, but the Dream Lord is switching us between the worlds. Why? Why? what's the logic?" The Doctor starts pacing

"Good idea, dear," The Dream Lord appears in a hideous poncho " Let's divide you four up, so I can have a little chat with the girls. Sleepover?"

"Can you hear that?" Rory asks Amy and Poppy

"What?"

"No,"

"Well, maybe not sleepover, die over? Yeah, not feeling it,"

"Poppy, we'll be back, don't worry," The Doctor kisses her forehead before falling next to Rory

"We're going to have some fun girl time, aren't we?"