Author's Note: This story takes place after Series 6 and the Christmas Special (which was set in 2013), a little ways down the line, so Amy and Rory have taken up travelling with the Doctor again.
Reviews are lovely, and unlike Idris, I really don't bite, so let me know what you think!
Amy awoke with a start, sitting bolt upright in bed. The nightmare lingered in her mind, and for a moment, she was afraid that she was still trapped on Demon's Run. But there were no sterile white walls surrounding her here, just a peaceful dim glow and the soft whirring of the Tardis as she flew. She took several deep breaths to calm herself down, and looked over at Rory, who was sleeping soundly on. She smiled at the adorkable blank look on his face, and leaned over to softly kiss him. She smiled at him, and climbed out of bed, wrapping her dressing gown around her as she left their room.
She went down the corridors and walkways towards the console room, fluffing her hair into a presentable state when she caught sight of herself in one of the polished metal wall panels. Before she even entered the room, she could hear the Doctor running about, muttering to himself as his hands flew over the controls. He skidded along to another section of the controls, spun around and hit what to her looked like a completely entirely random button.
"Voice interface activated," said a smooth voice, and both the Doctor and Amy turned to see a perfect projection of River Song.
"No, I don't want to speak to you right now," the Doctor muttered to the interface, searching for a way to switch it off.
Amy just stared at the exact replication of her daughter. Her daughter. River Song, a grown woman. She still couldn't quite get her head around it, wasn't sure she ever would, but right now, the sight of River made her want to cry. She walked slowly towards the hologram, wanting to make sure that the memory she had of her daughter was still correct, but before she got there, the hologram flickered and disappeared. She couldn't help but feel bereft as River once again disappeared.
It was then that the Doctor looked up from the controls, and saw her standing there. The half-formed smile on his face dropped as he saw her expression. "What's wrong? What are you doing up at this hour?" he asked, concerned.
"Couldn't sleep." She just about managed to get the words out without choking on the lump in her throat.
"Not the nightmares again?" the Doctor asked as he dashed over to her, and she nodded. His expression changed to one of sympathy. "If Rory were here, would he give me permission to hug?"
"He'd better, 'cause I damn well need one," Amy said. The Doctor wrapped her up in his arms, and she clung to him as he gently rocked her and stroked her hair.
"It's alright, it was only a dream."
"Yeah, but it happened. Demon's Run. It happened, and I couldn't stop it."
"I know."
"I didn't know any of it was happening, and then I gave birth and I held my baby in my arms. And they took her away, Doctor."
"I'm so sorry. But you know who she grew up to be. You know she's okay."
"But I want the baby back. One minute I didn't know anything about it, then I had her, and then she was gone. That's too much, too much to deal with. Can't we go and look for her?"
"Oh, Amy, I did. There's no way we can get her back now."
"Why not? Time can be rewritten, that's what you're always saying, isn't it?"
"It can be, but at what cost?" the Doctor asked softly, still holding onto her. "Time can be rewritten, but there are consequences. If we were to get River back, baby River, then she'd never have the chance to become the woman we know she is now. Without everything that happened to her, she wouldn't be that. It would destroy the River that we know now. You don't want that, do you?"
"No," Amy admitted with a sigh. "But is it wrong that I want her back?"
"I'd be more worried if you didn't," the Doctor said soothingly.
Amy nodded, and held him tighter for a moment before relinquishing her hold as he did the same.
"So what were you doing?" Amy asked, deliberately changing the subject as she wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her dressing gown.
"Tuning her up," the Doctor replied, dancing back over to the controls and adjusting them more. When the Tardis made a grinding noise, he pulled a face and put them back.
"While we're flying? Doctor, are you sure that's a good idea."
"Of course it is," he replied, looking offended. "Can't tell what I'm doing if I can't see the results." He strode over to more controls, and flicked a switch, which made the Tardis sound much happier, and he grinned. "Say hello to Sexy, Amy!"
Amy looked self conscious, and stayed quiet.
"Come on! She likes it when people talk to her. Say 'Hello, Sexy!'"
Amy stared at him, but he only looked back at her expectantly. Finally, she gave in, and said quietly. "Hello, Sexy."
"There! That wasn't so hard!"
There was a quiet hum and a light next to one of the couches dotted around the console came on.
"What was that?" Amy asked suspiciously.
"She turned on one of the seat heaters for you," the Doctor said. "She likes you now, wants to take care of you."
"Alright…Thanks, Sexy," Amy said quietly.
"Go and lie down," the Doctor said, nodding to the couch.
"I can't sleep, Doctor, that's why I'm here, remember?"
"Go and lie down, Pond. Get some rest," he said, making it sound like an order.
"Fine," Amy muttered, settling down on the couch, which was already pleasantly warm. "But we both know I'm not going to get any sleep."
But an hour later, she was sound asleep, sprawled comfortably on the couch.
The Doctor carried on doing the things that the Doctor does, and for quite some time there was just him, the rumbling of the Tardis, and the sleeping Amelia Pond.
"Amy?" Rory's voice drifted down one of the corridors, making the Doctor look up. "Amy?" he said again, louder this time. The Doctor looked towards the entrance to the console room, but couldn't shout out for Rory in case he woke Amy. Mind you, the way Rory was saying her name louder with each repeat – "Amy!" – she might get woken up anyway.
Rory poked his head round the door and opened his mouth, but before he could shout, he saw the Doctor, who had his finger pressed tightly to his lips.
"Shhh," the Doctor whispered, then pointed to where Amy lay asleep. "She's over there. She's fine."
Rory followed the point, and relief washed over his features as he saw his wife, curled up asleep. He went over to Amy, his hand hovering over her as he made sure that she was okay. When he was happy, he walked quietly over to the Doctor, who was still flipping levers and pressing buttons in a seemingly random pattern.
"Why is she in here?" Rory whispered.
"Bad dreams," the Doctor said, without taking his gaze from the monitor. "Demon's Run."
"Oh," Rory's face fell. "Why didn't she talk to me?"
"I don't think she wanted to wake you up," the Doctor replied, but Rory still didn't look happy. "She says you have a cute face when you're asleep."
"She does?" Rory asked hopefully.
The Doctor gave a wide smile. "Yes, she does. Now, tell me Rory Pond, what's woken you up in the middle of the night?"
Rory shrugged. "I just woke up. Amy wasn't there, and she didn't come back, so…"
"So you panicked," the Doctor said knowingly.
Rory shook his head, then shrugged, then nodded. "A little."
"You're safe in the Tardis, both of you," the Doctor said assuredly, then his resolve wavered. "Mostly."
"Are we in danger now?"
"No. No! Of course not. If we were in danger, do you think your wife would be sleeping?"
Rory nodded his head to the side. "Point."
Their gazes drifted towards Amy, who now had a look of utter peace on her features.
"I still don't think I quite understand how hard it is for her," Rory said softly. "I only held Melody once. Amy gave birth to her, had her for three weeks. And all that time, she knew her baby was going to get taken away."
"No she didn't," the Doctor said sadly. "She thought I would come and rescue them both, because that was what I promised her. I'm sorry, Rory, I really am."
Rory nodded, but couldn't think of the right words to say. In truth, it wasn't the Doctor's fault. Because if they were going to save her, then River as they knew her would never have existed, so it was a self defeating point. At least that was the way he wanted to think about it. "It wasn't your fault."
"Thank you, for thinking that anyway."
Rory turned his earnest eyes on the Doctor, those big, meaningful, bright eyes. "It wasn't your fault," he said emphatically. "It was Madame Kovarian's. Let's get that into perspective."
The Doctor smiled. "Thank you, Rory. Now, you should go back to bed, get more sleep. Take Amy with you; she's fast asleep now, but I don't want to wake her later."
Rory nodded, and patted the Doctor's shoulder. He went over to Amy, and gently scooped her up. She mumbled something in her sleep, but didn't wake as Rory carried her back to bed.
When she woke in the morning, she frowned up at the ceiling, sure that when she had fallen asleep, she had been in a different place. Rory was already up and about in the room.
"Was last night a dream?" she asked, still frowning.
"Nope. You fell asleep in the console room. I carried you back."
"Thank you, loving husband who stops me from waking up with cramps."
"You're welcome, wife who falls asleep in strange places."
Amy smiled.
They were all in the console room later that day, when suddenly the Tardis started the whirring vworping noise that meant it was landing.
"No, no, no! I didn't tell you to do that!" the Doctor said, punching some buttons in the hopes of stopping the process.
"Where-when are we?" Amy asked, looking at the monitors.
"Not sure, but we didn't want to be here."
"Where did we want to be?" Rory asked.
"Not sure, but I didn't decided to land here."
Suddenly the vworping stopped, but it was several seconds before there was a slight shudder and a chime ; the Tardis had landed herself. With the brakes off.
"Well thank you, that was very helpful," the Doctor said. "Can you at least tell me where and when we are?" The monitors flashed, and some information in Gallifreyan came up. "Alright, 31st century, spaceship. Capable of supporting human life, but will only permit the female of the species. The female?"
Amy smiled smugly.
"Why?" Rory asked.
"Possibly it was carrying female passengers who wanted to protect themselves. Or maybe they just really didn't like men."
"Isn't the more important question 'Why are we here?'" Amy asked.
"Quite possibly, yes. Why are we here, Sexy?"
The monitor went blank, and then a moment later, an external video feed was showing. No one was there, just a white wall. And on the wall, written in big red lipstick letters, was a message.
Hello, Sweetie.
And in smaller writing, near a door, was an arrow pointing to the door, and the words 'Through here, Mummy."
Amy's eyes lit up. "River."
She was down the steps and to the front door before the Doctor could catch up to her, and he slid in front of her, blocking the exit.
"Out of the way, please?" Amy asked hurriedly.
"Let me scan the ship once more," the Doctor said firmly, not moving. "Let me make sure that it's safe for you, because we can't come with you."
"River wouldn't lead me out there if it wasn't safe," Amy argued.
"Who's to say that River is out there?"
"That's her handwriting!"
"Pond, wait," the Doctor ordered, and Amy looked to Rory for help.
"Just let him scan the ship again," Rory said, and while Amy glared at him, the Doctor gave a brilliant smile.
"Thank you, Centurion," the Doctor said, dashing back up to the console while Amy leaned impatiently against the Tardis' doors. The Doctor typed in a command on the console, and the screen flashed and bleeped. A moment later, the display flashed a green tick, and listed the data gathered about the ship.
"Can I go now?"
"There's two life forms on the ship," the Doctor mused.
"Yeah, River and her friend," Amy shrugged.
"It might not be a friend."
"Yeah, but I'm not gonna leave without seeing that River's okay," Amy said stubbornly. "And I really want to go see her."
"Fine," the Doctor sighed. He picked up something as he came flying down the steps, and Amy saw that it was a little pin brooch, which he fixed to her jacket. "Miniature camera, recorder, communicator, tracker. Just in case," he said, affectionately brushing Amy's hair out of her face.
"Thank you," she said quietly, sincerely.
Rory gave her a hug, which she returned. "Try and talk her into coming back with us?"
"Of course I will," Amy replied, patting his back before pulling away. "Okay, off to find my daughter."
She pushed open the door of the Tardis, and let it drift close behind her. The space ship was mostly white, so much so that it reminded her too much of the rooms on Demon's Run, and she had to make sure that it was in fact a different ship. She ran her fingers along the wall which held River's message to her, and pushed through the door. It led to another corridor, but it was empty. Somehow she'd been expecting River to just be standing the other side of it, waiting.
"River?" Amy called out quietly as she moved down the corridor, but there was no reply. When she reached the other end of the corridor, she found a dot of red on the door, and knew that she was at least still following a trail. After every door with a red dot that she opened, Amy's heart fell when River wasn't there.
Finally she came to a door with a red star marked on it. This has to be it, she thought to herself, taking a deep breath before pushing open the door. And there she was, River Song, standing at a computer display, punching in commands. River looked up as she heard the door close, and gave a wide smile.
Amy grinned, and ran over to River, wrapping her arms around her in a big hug. River giggled.
"I knew you'd come if I asked."
"Of course I did," Amy said, squeezing her just a little bit tighter before letting her go. "Is everything alright?"
River's face turned serious. "I'm fine, but we don't have much time. I've rigged this station to blow as soon as we're both off it."
"What's going on?" Amy asked, worry rising in her voice.
"I don't have time to tell it all to you now; if we don't leave very, very soon, they'll be coming after us. If we leave fast and blow up the station, they won't have any trails to follow, and we'll all be safe."
"Come on then, let's go. The Tardis is right back here."
"I can't come with you," River said with a somewhat sad smile. "I have to use an escape pod to make another trail in case they can track us after this. "What I need you to do is take this," she said, bending down and carefully picking a bundle up off the floor, which she laid into Amy's arms. "Very precious, very delicate, and needs to be off this space station now."
"River-"
"We don't have time. Just keep this safe, and go far away. Go now. I promise I'll catch up to you soon."
Amy looked desperately at River's calm, assured expression. There was no arguing with her; she always knew so much more, and Amy trusted her enough to know that if River was saying they needed to leave, then that was what they needed to do.
"You'd better, otherwise you're grounded," Amy replied, only half joking.
River gave an indulgent laugh. "Oh Mummy, prisons couldn't hold me."
"No, but none of those were minded by the Scottish. Typical teenager," she rolled her eyes, and River smiled. "Just be safe, alright? Call us if you need us."
"I'll see you very soon," River promised.
Amy nodded, and then hugged her daughter once more, carefully cradling the precious bundle between them. They looked at each other for a moment, and Amy turned and ran back the way she'd come. Down one white corridor, then another, carefully balancing the bundle that River had given her in her arms.
Finally, after running down so many identical white corridors, Amy arrived back where she'd started, and she slammed through the Tardis doors to see Rory with his head in his hands, before he looked up and relief washed over his features.
"Why haven't you been answering us?" he asked, rushing over to make sure she was unhurt.
"Because you haven't been calling me," Amy answered.
"We have – the communication link must be broken," the Doctor said, hopping down the steps to take the brooch off of Amy's jacket. "What have you got there, Pond?" he asked gesturing to the bundle that she was protectively cradling.
"River said it's precious, very delicate, and has to leave, now," Amy replied.
"Why isn't River with you?" Rory asked, disappointment in his voice.
"She said she had to leave separately, otherwise 'they'd' have more chance of finding us," she replied quickly. Both of the men opened their mouths to ask questions, but she cut them off. "Look, you know as much as I do. This is one of those times when we're gonna have to just trust River."
"I hate those times," the Doctor muttered, then turned to run back to the console. "Did she say where we should go?"
"No, just away, but Doctor, I want to make sure she gets away before we leave completely. She's rigged the ship to blow once everyone's left."
"She's rigged the ship to blow?" Rory repeated is disbelief.
"Proud of your daughter yet?" Amy asked.
"Immensely," Rory replied, and the Doctor grinned at the note of sarcasm in his voice.
"Okay, leaving now, going a mile away from the ship. We'll be able to see River's transport from there," the Doctor said, tapping one final key, and the vworping sound started up once more. Amy waited until the Tardis had stabilised before throwing open the doors, giving them a wide screen view of the spaceship, hanging in the blackness a mile away.
"Come on, come on," Amy muttered under her breath, counting the seconds until at last she saw a plume of bright white light stream away from the spaceship, a white shuttle at its head. She smiled widely.
The shuttle banked, and came towards the Tardis, close enough for Amy and Rory to see River piloting it, waving at the, a self assured smile on her face. They waved back, and River flew away, engaging the light drive and disappearing at the speed of light. There was a single second of peace before the blackness of space was lit up by a chain of massive explosions that rippled through the space station. It took all of five seconds before the Tardis started shuddering and lurching. Amy slammed the doors closed to stop them from falling right out of the Tardis, and the Doctor shouted from above.
"Extra pair of hands needed now!"
"You go," Amy said to Rory, still cradling the bundle River had given her. Rory nodded once, then scrambled to his feet, lurching about with the ship as he struggled up the stairs. The Doctor showed Rory which buttons and levers needed holding, and Rory stood with them while the Doctor ran around, bringing the Tardis back under control and flying her out of the volatile time zone. They began to stabilise, the Tardis no longer lurching about. Amy stood, and with her back to the others, she unwrapped the bundle enough to see what was inside the many thick layers of fabric.
"Oi, Pond! What's in that blanket that's so important?"
Amy turned to face them, her expression a mixture of fear, awe and confusion. "It's a baby."
Rory gave a flat 'What?', while the Doctor bounded down the stairs, a look of doubt on his face.
"No really, it's a baby," Amy said, tilting the bundle so the Doctor could see the tiny human face looking out.
His face turned from furrowed brows into a beaming smile. "Hello, baby human!" he exclaimed, shaking the tiny hand that had wriggled free of the layers of blankets.
"Um…why did River give you a baby?" Rory asked, coming towards them with a bit more trepidation.
"I don't know, she didn't even say what it was," Amy said, shifting her hold on the baby bundle so it would be more comfortable.
"Was River protecting you?" the Doctor cooed, making the baby smile. "Who's after you then, little girl?"
"You can speak baby, right?" Amy asked. "Ask her who her mother is."
"She's too young," the Doctor said softly. "Only a few days old; she doesn't even know what the concept of a mother is."
"Your mother is the person you came from, the person who takes care of you," Amy explained to the baby.
"Oh, Amy, this baby hasn't got a concept of anything," the Doctor said softly. "She just keeps saying bright light, smelly blankets and big hair. Big hair! That's River."
"So she can't tell us where she comes from?"
"No. I don't think this baby's ever even been spoken to; she's just communicating in pictures and impressions, not words. But don't worry baby, we are all very talkative around here!"
"What are we going to do with her?" Amy asked, rocking the baby gently.
"We're going to take care of her for now, and just trust that River knows what she's doing."
"Do we even have any baby stuff on the Tardis?" Rory asked.
"We have a cot," the Doctor said brightly.
"Babies need a lot more than that," Rory said.
"Then it's time to go shopping!"