Warnings: Angst, Dark!fic, mentions of canon!character!deaths, Spoilers up through 'A Good Man Goes to War'
A/N: Written for who_contest's Prompt:Family. Once again dark and overly thinky. Sorry about that (again) - totally Eleven's fault! Tis un'beta'd (to an extent) to get it in on time (AGAIN - IKR?). For all its faults, I do hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer(s): I do not own the scrumptious Doctor or his lovely companions. That honor goes to the BBC and (for now) the fantastic S. Moffat. The only thing that belongs to me is this fiction - and I am making no profit. Only playing about...
It was such a joy, to look at Rory, Amy and Melody and feel that completeness, that sense of everything right (for once) with the Universe. It had been a long, long time since he had felt such pure happiness. It had been a very long time since he had felt a part of such happiness - since he had felt like Family.
With the Ponds he was included (always), he was accepted without question – and it had been eons since that had happened. The last time was…well, it was long ago. Long before he had been exiled by his own family for his treachery during the Uprising; when he had held his great-great-great grandson in his arms and felt the baby's peace wash over him.
But the pain of Exile was still there. And fresher than ever as he looked into Amy's eyes and saw himself reflected back: An alien, an intruder, an invader – a betrayer.
And as much as he hated himself for putting that look in her eyes, he hated himself more for wishing he had never held Melody; for wishing that wondrous feeling had never been reborn; that feeling of belonging, of being a part of a true family again.
Having it ripped away again was harder than it had been the first time, but the sting of this would last that much longer.
Because of him this family had been founded…and because of him it had been torn apart.
And once again he had to run to escape the horror of exile – and the look on Amelia's face.
Like the ashes of what had once been Home, he could feel what he had once meant to Amy (and to Rory) burn away behind him.
He could only hope that this Exile would be less permanent.