Title: Pondering Melody Pond
Summary: The Doctor reflects on Melody Pond and River Song after meeting her in 1938 Berlin.
Spoilers: Uhm, I don't even know what to put for spoilers with this show. So... everything? Nothing? I don't know. Takes place after Let's Kill Hitler, though.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Doctor or anyone else. They are with the BBC!
Author's Note: This is my first ever Doctor Who fanfiction, so please take it easy on me! I'm excited to be entering this fandom and its fellow fanfiction writers. I just hope I can measure up! Please let me know what you think; I can't wait to hear your feedback! And now, read and enjoy.
You and me, time and space. You watch us run.
The Doctor held his head in his hands, the words floating in his mind. Were they his words? Or were they hers? She had said them to him in the Library, which is where he had first heard them, and he was now quoting them back to her. But who had said them first? Was she quoting him? Or was he quoting her? It was all just a circle, no beginning, no end. It made his head hurt. Their whole, timey wimey, wibbly wobbly, back to front relationship often confused him.
The Time Lord sat in the doorway of his TARDIS, looking out into the universe, alone for the moment. His glorious Ponds were asleep after the ridiculous day they had experienced, and the Doctor was only now just taking the time to absorb what had happened. He'd been searching for baby Melody Pond for months, only to find her living with her parents in the most unconventional way possible. Melody Pond was little Amelia's best friend Mels. Mels was the mad, impossible River Song. And River Song was what, exactly? Wonderful, beautiful, clever, and brilliant. The child of the TARDIS. And half Time Lord. But what did it all mean?
He sighed. Rory's questions lingered in his mind; Who did she kill? Why is she in prison? Is she still a psychopath hellbent on bringing him down? He didn't think so, not from what he'd seen and experienced with her in the future, but one can never be too sure. All he knew was she needed to make her own way for now, but that they would meet again. It was why he had left her the diary. He chuckled humorlessly. After all they'd been through, all their adventures recorded in that tiny little book that he wasn't allowed to look at, it was him who had given it to her in the end. Or the beginning. He sighed again, and leant his head against the doorframe. He'd found it in the little shop of the hospital - they had listened to his suggestion from the last time he'd been there! - and it was TARDIS blue. He'd taken the liberty of peeking at its blank pages, knowing he would never see the inside of it again. He'd left her a note on the first page, telling her not to worry, that she would see him again soon. And then he'd quoted her own words back to her. They were true, and beautiful, and heartbreaking all at once. He couldn't believe that after all this time, of running into her, coming when she called, catching her when she jumped, and all of their adventures punctuated by her infuriating, "Spoilers!" it was now his turn to know more, to show up in her life with a smirk and a tease, and a heart full of adventures and secrets yet to come. Spoilers of his own. He wasn't sure he would be able to handle it. He'd already been sitting on the biggest spoiler of all since the day he had met her, and it nearly drove him mad every time she waltzed into his life with that hair of hers. He didn't know how she did it. He shook his head, a bemused smile lighting up his ancient face. She was brilliant, that mad, impossible woman.
He knew who she was now, Melody Pond. But who was she to him, other than the daughter of his best friends, and the only remaining being in the universe with any ties to his people? She knew his name, his true name, she could fly the TARDIS - though not quite yet, he would have to teach her in the future, he thought. And she kissed him. A lot, apparently. He felt a flutter in his hearts, and was grateful Amy and Rory were asleep. He remembered Amy asking if she was his wife, and River neither confirming nor denying it. His hearts fluttered some more, but with excitement or anxiety, he wasn't sure. She had given up all of her extra lives for him. He was grateful, but angered at the same time. It explained how she died in the Library; she was on her last regeneration. If she hadn't done that, she wouldn't have died there. But then he wasn't sure if that would have changed everything. He wasn't willing to take the risk of not knowing her, not now. Not when he was so... intrigued, and fascinated, and… attracted.
He stood, stretching his aching body. He supposed he would find out soon enough who this woman truly was to him. His hearts fluttered again, this time with an excitement he wasn't quite sure he was ready to admit. It was the waiting he hated; he was a time traveler after all. He skipped the boring days, Sundays and Tuesdays and Thursday afternoons. He was always ready for something important, the next great run through time and space. But as he moved up the stairs to the console, ready to fly the Old Girl towards her next destination, he realized River Song might just be his biggest adventure yet.
-end-