A/N: Aloha! Welcome to the eighth story in my third(!) OC series, the Heart of Time Saga, The Nightmare Begins. I would recommend new readers check first read the seven preceding stories of the saga (A Treasured Discovery, Meeting of the Minds, Hearts to Hearts, Fading, Mated Souls, Among the Forgotten, and A Fallen Angel) to really understand who my OC is, her unique abilities, and her relationship with the Doctor. This will be a Doctor/OC series, the pairing name officially called Thella, featuring my OC The Angel, AKA the Time Lady Nella, a woman with quite a few gifts, and hers/the Doctor's daughter Ayla ;)

As a treat for readers, if we ever make it through 100 reviews, for each hundred I'll post a 'sneak peek' of something happening later in Series 6. If we happen to make it to 500(!), then I'll give a one line teaser for something big that will be happening in the NEXT story for Series 8 :)

Quick physical description: Angel, on her 12th body, is a tall woman, just a bit older looking but in a timeless way, with long, wavy strawberry-blonde hair that she likes to wear hanging but clipped on one side. She has deep blue eyes with specks of gold in them (a part of the Vortex inside her peeking out). Her typical outfit of choice is a white and blue (-cough- TARDIS blue -cough-) stripped top that is like a cross between a fashionable poncho and a baggy shirt, like a poncho with sleeves, black pants tucked into boots, for some reason I see black uggs :) She also wears a Whitepoint Star necklace the 10th Doctor gave her before he regenerated. She loves dressing up in period style clothing for those trips :) I picture her to look something like Nicole Kidman.

Her daughter Ayla, on her 2nd incarnation due to extreme illness suffered by her first self, is, by this story, appearing as a 10-year-old girl, with blonde hair that has a more strawberry hue to it. She had very green eyes (the 11th Doctor's eyes) and a small birthmark/freckle by her nose. She tends to wear a light green sleepless dress with pink flowers on it, a white buttoned up shirt underneath, with a white belt around it and little white shoes. Her hair is often left in pigtailed braids and she wears a small necklace with a pink bowtie (a gift from the 11th Doctor) on it. I see her to look similar to Dakota Fanning as a child.

Every chapter (except 'mini-sode' chapters) will be at the very least 4,000 words. I have been making it to about 5,000 so far but it'll depend how much I liked that episode (just so you have fair warning). Every episode will be broken into three chapters that has a special title to it, so longer episode titles (like A Good Man Goes To War, etc.) will be shortened to AGMGTW to fit the title. Some mini-sodes won't have a special title to it if they already have a title sort of thing :) Both Christmas specials will be posted in 5 chapters since they are quite a bit longer. This story will also include the 50th anniversary episode, tentatively set for 6 chapters. The mini-sode chapters will be only 1 chapter long :) This story will be also feature about...15 original chapters (just 1 chapter per original). Which will make it about...77 chapters long, my LONGEST story yet ;) It will also be updated EVERY DAY which will get us right to an entire YEAR of DW! Woo! :)

~8~ is a scene break

'italics' is telepathic communication between the Doctor and Angel (and Ayla at times)

'...words...' or ...action... is Angel hearing/seeing through time

Disclaimer 1: I do not own Doctor Who...or I would not be in America right now but living the dream in Europe ;)

Disclaimer 2: My OCs are not associated with any DW stories that have a Time Ladies named The Angel or Ayla (or whatever Ayla might pick as a title).

Enjoy!

~8~

Pond Life

APRIL

"Hello Ponds!" the Doctor's voice rang through the kitchen of the Pond household, blaring out from the answer phone as he left a message for the companions.

Amy and Rory leaned on the counter by their small phone, listening to the recording, they'd been at their respective jobs, just starting them really, it was...quite the change from their ordinary lives, to wake up, in their house, step outside and see grass and blue skies, and then get in a car and head to a building, working 9 to 5 and heading home for dinner. It...still didn't seem real to them, that they were back on Earth and not flying out among the stars with the Time Lords.

"Hi Uncle Rory!" Ayla giggled, which made them smile, they could practically imagine the young girl waving at the phone as though it were them, "Hi Aunt Amy!"

And then they heard Angel let out a laugh, "That's right sweetheart, hello Rory, hello Amy."

Amy smiled wider seeing Rory's own smile get bigger at not just the sound of their 'niece' but of his 'sister' as well. She really DID love how close Rory and Angel were, it was as close, she liked to think, as she and the Doctor were...though she knew he was a little closer to Ayla than she was. She'd apologized to the girl during Christmas for...for having shot at her, but Ayla had just given her a hug and said that it was ok, she was trying to protect her mummy and daddy and that her mummy had kept her safe. And she'd also informed her that the spacesuit had a minor shield to it, she wouldn't have been badly hurt at all even if the shot had hit her, the most there would be was maybe a cracked class on the helmet, but nothing bad at all.

It didn't do much to relieve her, she still had nightmares about firing and the shot hitting the girl...she...she had a lot of nightmares really, about Ayla, about River, about what the Silence had tried and succeeded to do to them. She couldn't help but think of River's words, if that timeline had never existed...what if Kovarian was still alive somewhere, what if she was still out there? Waiting?

"Checking in," the Doctor added, pulling her out of her thoughts, "That's what family does right?"

They chuckled at that, the Doctor was actually...really making an effort to be in his companions lives more than before. Not just them, they kept in contact with Jack and the others, they still did holidays with them, and they all talked about the Doctor and Angel and Ayla. The Time Lords had been popping into the last few as well, Angel's doing they were sure. If the Doctor had been piloting they wouldn't see the little family for years in between! But they were all glad for it, their family wasn't complete without the founding members of it, without their Pilots.

"How are you both doing?" Angel asked in a very...odd way.

It made them pause a moment. It was like...a cross between her hesitating to ask, because she'd had a feeling, and her genuinely being casual and asking how they were. They weren't quite sure what to make of it.

~8~

The Doctor ran through a door, Ayla's hand held tightly in his, Angel behind them with a surfboard in hand. They stopped on a bridge above a river of magma when the doors on the other end opened and Sontarans began to march through. They turned, but the other doors opened and even more entered.

"Really?" the Doctor huffed as Angel held up a hand at the Sontarans raising their weapons, a soft golden swirl appearing around them, protecting them.

This was supposed to be a nice trip! They were going to a volcano planet, it was like a natural wonder, like a preserve of sorts, where tours were given and you could watch lava flowing. It was really a wonder, the planet had DIFFERENT types of lava and magma. Some were colored, some were cold...some were even toppings on foods! It was just incredible how different the same thing was all throughout the planet and they'd thought it would be a fantastic trip for Ayla.

It wasn't every day you could touch lava and not have your hand burned off. They even sold jars of it! They'd decided that...they wanted to remember these trips, their adventures with their daughter, sort of like...one vacations (adventure) after another and that was what families did right? They took pictures and things. Well, pictures weren't really their style so they thought, perhaps, they could take little keepsakes from the planets, something to remember the adventure (vacation) by. They could make a little room that they could go to to look at the things and remember the memories of it.

And Ayla seemed to love doing it! She always took whatever they kept with them and ran into the TARDIS to show her Aunt Idris, giving her a detailed description of the adventure and what happened during it. Even now she had a little jar of cold, blue, lava to show the box.

It was SUPPOSED to be a calm, slightly educational (as Angel had insisted some be) trip...and then they'd gotten there and ended up wandering right into the middle of the Sontarans trying to take over the planet, wanting to use the magma and the other natural resources of the planet for weapons against the Rutans. So, naturally...they'd had to stop it.

And they'd succeeded too!

...and now they were being chased off the planet by the irate Sontarans who were quite cross that they'd been 'defeated' in battle...even when there hadn't really been any battle at all.

~8~

"Not much to report," the Doctor's voice went a bit squeaky, which made the Ponds smirk, and he thought Angel was a rubbish liar?

"Daddy that's rude!" Ayla chastised her father, "You mustn't lie!"

"Oh Rule 1, sweetheart," he laughed, "I always lie."

"Which is not the best lesson to teach our daughter my love," Angel commented.

There was a kissing noise, that had the Ponds shaking their heads, just imagining the Doctor kissing Angel's cheek...or hand...or forehead...or lips...or, well...he seemed very fond of kissing her anywhere he could didn't he? They honestly couldn't tell (and were quite glad they didn't know the Time Lords THAT well) where he'd kissed her just then.

"As long as I never lie to you or Ayla, I'm alright with that."

Angel laughed, "Rule 3 in play then?"

"And Amended Rule 3," he corrected, "I don't lie to you, or Ayla."

And they knew he was being entirely serious. They'd actually talked with the Doctor and Angel about a few things regarding Ayla during some past trips, the way he described some of the adventures they'd been having...it was like, even being dangerous, Ayla knew exactly what was going on. And they'd found out it was because they told the little girl what the danger was. Rory had been concerned that wasn't the best thing to do, but Angel had actually agreed.

She had lived...a sheltered life, very sheltered, while the Doctor had gone about and explored and seen the Universe. And, despite that, she'd noticed with Rose during their first actual trip together to Satellite 5, that...she had a sense of the danger, she knew EXACTLY how dangerous things were getting but Rose didn't. She'd treated it as a game at first, it wasn't till her she'd saved her father that she realized the true impact of travelling in time. They didn't want that for their daughter. Even the Doctor agreed that they wanted her to have fun, but to be responsible with time, with danger. They didn't want to alarm her, so they always kept her protected, but they did want her to know things were serious.

It was the only way to keep her from wandering off in very, VERY bad situations. She needed to know the true danger they were all in so that she would listen and stay with them and not wander as children so often did. They never flat out told her they were about to be killed or anything like that, no! They just...in their own words (and the Doctor's stutterings) made her aware there was a delicate situation at hand and that she had to be careful, stay with them, and be a good girl.

And she really was. Ayla did what her parents said, she didn't wander off when it was really serious, she listened to what they told her to do, and she was, quite clearly still alive. Which relieved the Ponds to no end. Amy herself had been a bit wary of the girl going on adventures with the Doctor and Angel. She knew they were a family, and she knew the Doctor would NEVER put his daughter in a situation like that, but...as Martha had once described it to her, things always escalated with the Doctor. Things got out of hand, things popped up, his timing was off, and they never knew what would happen wherever they went...

Till now it appeared. Angel had a very firm grasp on her abilities, her visions at least, she could sense whether a place was good to stay or not. And the Doctor actually listened to her when she requested they leave a place. It was rare...actually it hadn't happened yet...that Angel would do that, because as much as she sensed the danger she could sense the people who needed help, and she always knew...without at doubt that they would be ok in the end. And they always were, they protected each other more than ever and...Amy was actually quite terrified if anyone dared try to harm Angel or Ayla now that the Doctor was not only a Mate but a Father.

"You shouldn't lie to anyone daddy," Ayla playfully scolded her father, which made him and Angel laugh over the speakers.

~8~

"Come along, sweetheart," the Doctor took Ayla's hand, pulling the surfboard from Angel not only to toss on top of the magma below them, but so that she could focus her whole attention on the Sontarans.

He smiled as he saw a golden light appear on the bottom of the board, curving out like a bowl beneath it, one he knew would eventually expand and encapsulate the person standing on top of it in a bubble of sorts. It was a gift from the TARDIS for one of her niece's birthdays. They'd gone to the beach and Ayla had wanted to learn to surf, or at least to ride a wave, so the TARDIS gave her a surfboard infused with a bit of the Vortex, much like the extrapolator but less technological and more...a board. If anything happened to the girl, a slight shield would appear around it and bring Ayla to safety till they could get to her. It was a very thoughtful gift an done he was truly touched the TARDIS had taken the care to give.

He grinned, reaching back to take Angel's hand, only to frown, feeling her far more tense than she normally was. He looked over his shoulder to see her entirely focused on the Sontarans...and the glow of the wall surrounding them getting thicker and brighter and the Sontarans hadn't even fired yet. It usually wouldn't worry him too much, Angel's focus, he knew that it took quite a lot to be able to manipulate the Vortex into a shield as she was doing now but...she was starting to shake. And he'd seen her forming a wall in the past, it never took...this much effort or concentration.

"Angel," he whispered, squeezing her hand, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw the glow dimming just slightly, Angel blinking and looking back at him, "Time to go," he winked at her.

~8~

"Surfed the Fire Falls of Floridal 9, didn't we sweetheart?" the Doctor spoke again.

"It was an accident," Angel added, "We were lucky we had that surf board."

"You know, I thought it was odd that you thought we should bring it with us," the Doctor remarked, clearly to Angel, "I didn't think they allowed visitors to surf the magma."

"Would you have let that stop you?" Angel laughed.

"Touché," he chuckled as well.

"It was the best!" Ayla told them, "It was SO much fun!"

~8~

With a grin at his girls, and each of them in hand, the Doctor turned and jumped off the ledge of the rock, right onto the surfboard, the golden energy of Angel's Vortex fading as the shield of the board curled around them. He laughed, Ayla settling down on his lap as they sat on the board, his arm winding around Angel's shoulders as they floated away, the Sontarans firing after them.

He grinned, kissing Angel's temple, "Psychic," he murmured, patting the board that she'd insisted they bring.

"Thief," she countered, turning his head to kiss him deeply as Ayla giggled at her parents, only THEY would be kissing while floating away on magma.

~8~

"Met Mata Hari in a Paris hotel room," the Doctor added.

~8~

The Doctor was sitting cross-legged beside Ayla as she knelt before the fireplace in a quaint hotel room, with a poker in hand, a crumpet stuck on the end of it. He'd showed her how to use the sonic to start a fire in an emergency, and ONLY an emergency, and was now showing her how to properly roast a crumpet using it and a poker. He planned to show her how to make smores next, Angel seemed to love them in this incarnation, smores and coffee. Oh! Maybe they'd go camping later! The African Safari should be peaceful if they picked the right time of year, maybe took care to bring a hunter with them just to be safe. That would be a nice trip, Ayla could see a lion in real life instead of just her Aslan doll, which she still had and still snuggled with at night.

He'd just been about to Angel and ask her what she thought, when he heard her call out, "Hello Mata Hari."

He turned around to see that a woman had just entered the room, wearing a thick fur coat. Which was odd, the room was rather warm, the entire hotel was, and she couldn't still be chilled from the snow outside, there wasn't any snow on her coat so she'd been inside for a while.

~8~

"I still can't believe you DIDN'T notice," Angel laughed.

"Well why would I?" the Doctor countered, his words growing soft, "She's not you."

~8~

Mata Hari dropped her coat, now standing there before them, completely stark naked, making Ayla giggle and look away as her mother moved to get a blanket for the woman, knowing she'd be very embarrassed very quickly.

The Doctor though just smiled politely, "Crumpet?" and held out the poker at her, as though not noticing her nudeness at all, looking the woman in the eyes instead of...elsewhere.

...which made Mata Hari blush to realize and try to cover herself just as Angel got the blanket around her with an amused smile.

~8~

"She was funny," Ayla giggled.

~8~

The Doctor stood in a sound booth, a cap on his head twisted backwards, Ayla in his arms, the girl with big sunglasses on and a rather thick 'bling' necklace as the two of them sang to some song or another that was playing, recording them. Angel stood beside two men outside the booth who were bobbing their heads, mostly to be polite and humor Ayla. Honestly, the Doctor sounded like a deaf moose, but Ayla loved it when her father sang, as much as she loved hearing him sing too. It didn't always matter how well someone sang if the words and emotion truly meant something. She knew that Ayla loved it when SHE sang to her as well, she'd found she actually had a rather nice voice this time, nowhere near opera or amazing levels, but not as terrible as she'd been, just...normal.

She couldn't help but smile as she watched them, they were both just so happy to have time with their daughter again.

~8~

"Me and my girl laid down some backing vocals, didn't we?"

"That was fun!" Ayla cheered.

"Ayla requested a copy of it made for you," Angel told them, "We'll bring it round later..."

~8~

"Probably in the next few days," Angel called as she helped the Doctor pilot the TARDIS, Ayla watching them from the jump seat, "Or maybe tomorrow," she looked at Ayla, "What do you think?"

"Can we mummy?!" she cheered, clapping, before blinking and pointing at her father, "Don't let daddy drive though."

Angel laughed, knowing the Doctor he'd get them there weeks later.

"Helmic Regulator's playing up," the Doctor sighed, struggling with a lever, proving their point, "Can't get the temporal steering right..."

~8~

Amy and Rory sipped their wine as they listed to the Time Lords.

"My love," Angel called, "We seem to be about to collide with Ancient Greece..."

"Can we go to the Acropolis mummy?!" Ayla gasped.

"Oh of course," Angel cheered, "Just let me get us out of a collision..."

"See you later Ponds!" the Doctor called and Rory hit a button to end the message.

"The Time Lords," Amy held up her glass, toasting with Rory.

MAY

Amy and Rory were sound asleep...when an odd noise sounded down the stairs, a wheezing sound…followed by someone making their way up the stairs, well…running up the stairs really. A rather heavy set of footsteps and small pitters.

A moment later the door flew open, banging against the back wall as the Doctor ran in. The Ponds gasped, sitting up in bed at the crashing sound as the Doctor covered his eyes, "Stop everything!"

"Daddy they were sleeping!" Ayla tugged on his arm.

"I DID tell you to knock first my love," Angel commented as she walked in behind him, smiling as the Doctor immediately wound his arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him.

"What's going on?" Rory looked over, resting a hand on his racing heart.

"Doctor!" Amy huffed, "Bedroom!"

"We have a RULE about the bedroom!"

"Always knock," Ayla nodded, before whispering to her father, "It's polite."

The Doctor smiled down at her, reaching out a hand to stroke her hair once, "You are most certainly your mother's daughter," he tapped her on the nose, making her beam at he praise. She was so polite, nothing like how rude he tended to be. And then he remembered why they were there, "No one on this planet is safe right now," he told the Ponds, "We have to solve this before it's too late. Get your clothes on. If we move fast enough we at least stand a chance…"

He trailed off, seeing them looking at Angel, who was shaking her head at him, amused.

"They look very confused daddy," Ayla pointed out.

He sighed, looking at them, "You have no idea what I'm talking about do you?"

"No," they shook their heads, they didn't even know what point in time the Time Lords were at either, Ayla did look a bit older though.

"Oh Helmic Regulator! Again! Too early, wrong point. Come along sweetheart," he took Ayla's hand as they turned to go, "As you were!"

"Doctor, you can't just go like that," Amy rolled her eyes, "What's happening? Don't WE need to know?"

Angel moved over to them, sitting on the edge of their bed, "We just got the order wrong is all," she reassured them, "The Doctor wouldn't let me fly and then proceeded to get into an argument with Sissy so she took us here to spite him," she laughed a bit, "Trust me though," she reached out and put a hand on their arms, "There is nothing wrong with the future, everything WILL be fine."

"Mummy!" Ayla called from down the stairs, "Aunt Idris has locked daddy out!"

Angel laughed and shook her head, getting up, "We'll be back soon enough, I'LL pilot this time. Please, don't worry about the future. Good night."

"Night," they called, though still a bit worried despite her reassurances.

They waited till they could hear Angel's laughter dying out and the wheezing fading before lying back down in bed, "I really hate it when he does that."

Amy nodded.

JUNE

Rory stretched as he walked down the hall toward the bathroom, pulling on a dressing gown as he went. He pushed the door open, jumping back out into the hall with a cry of "WOAH!" and pulling the door shut behind him

He rubbed his eyes, peeking back in to make sure what he saw was really there, before shutting the door again and leaning back against it, straightening when he saw Amy making her way down the hall again.

"Out of the way Mr. Pond," Amy called as he blocked the door, but he just shook his head, his eyes wide, "What? Why not?" he nodded at the door as though trying to convey something before sighing, and opening it.

Amy walked in, but gave a little jump…

There, sitting on the toilet, was an Ood.

"May I be of any assistance?" it asked, its orb brightening as it spoke, though its voice was high and squeaky.

Ayla, they thought, had to be. She tended to giggle at squeaky things, especially the Doctor when his voice went all squeaky. And she was rather curious, they'd seen her nab the Doctor's sonic on more than one occasion...they'd seen Angel plucking a smaller sonic out of the Doctor's hands as he tried to gift their daughter with one as a result. She must have gotten her hands on the sonic and used it on the Ood.

"Ood on the loo."

"Yeah…" Amy breathed.

JULY

The Doctor was sitting on the floor of the TARDIS, under the console's glass floor, across from Ayla, with a TARDIS blue boa around his neck. There was a small splattering of little plastic cups and plates set in front of him, his daughter dressed in an adorable green princess outfit with a little cone hat that had a cloth at the end of it, pouring make-believe tea into a cup for him. He'd offered her a small tiara from a distant planet that he'd picked up on his travels but his daughter was just like his Mate, simple and not showy-offy, even at a pretend tea party.

Angel was watching them fondly as she worked on the console, sitting in the harness, just...so touched to see it. She'd always thought that the Doctor would be the best father in the Universe, and now, to see him with a little girl...sitting there with a boa and having tea...she knew he was FAR more than the best. Words...failed her to describe how brilliant her Mate was with their daughter.

He did everything for her, he danced with her and read to her and played with her...she'd had to wash numerous drawings off the walls as a result, but it had been worth it. And he sat with her, told her about his adventures, tales of wonderful worlds and the best part was...it was all true, it all happened. The best part, her favorite part, was when they'd cook together...because it always turned into a 'flour fight' with the Doctor and they ended up a mess which meant more family time getting Ayla cleaned up and then some...very nice adult time getting themselves cleaned up.

She was starting to get suspicious that he did that more for the adult time than the family time. But she wouldn't complain, she was rather fond of that. It was...odd, how much things had changed but in a good way. With Ayla around, people might assume that they had little time together, she and the Doctor, that they'd settle down, go domestic, focus on Ayla. And they did focus on Ayla, the other things...couldn't be further from the truth.

The Doctor was even more excited for adventures, for showing his daughter the different places and wonders of the Universe, for all the running Ayla seemed to love as much as Jenny, for all the memories they made. Things were only slightly domestic, they did have a child to care for and feed and put to bed, but Ayla was just what the TARDIS needed, what THEY needed, to really be a family and they loved spending time with their daughter. Her being there had brought them all the more close to their 'family' as well, she loved seeing her aunties and uncles and the Doctor was far more willing to see them for that too, wanting them to be a part of her life as long as they could be.

The most impressive thing was...how close SHE and the Doctor had grown in all that time. They were just...on another level, such an intimate one she never really ever thought she'd reach. He was...it was like he was all too aware that, just as he was no longer just 'The Doctor, Mate of the Angel' but now also 'Father of Ayla,' she wasn't just his Mate or just 'the Angel' either but...the mother of his child. He was...different around her than he had been. She wasn't sure if it was what he would have normally been like had he never forgotten her, just his natural current personality peeking through now that the rifts and wounds had healed between them, she didn't know if this was how he was always meant to be around her but...she liked it.

He was always looking at her or talking about her or touching her. Oh he loved to touch her even in the most childish of ways, like poking her side to tickle her or his hand ghosting past her, turning his leg to rest on hers when they sat, just...always connected to her. He was always touching her and teasing her and complimenting her...even more than his last self had and that was a feat in and of itself. She'd heard that Mates, often after a child, were...different, more aware of each other because of the child.

The child was, literally, the physical manifestation of their love, a representation of it, it was...their love. Having the child around, being around it, loving it just increased their own affections even more, strengthened their bond. It was like...their bodies changed, their minds changed, became more in tune with each others after the birth of a child. She hadn't noticed it before, too hurt from everything, but she'd been telling the truth, this her was stronger than the last her. This her was...ready to let herself be happy.

And she was, for the first time in what felt like ages, she was truly happy, just sitting there, watching them, wires dangling around her everywhere, blackened goggles protecting her eyes, a headset on to talk to the Ponds, "The Ood was in your house?"

"I was wondering where he'd got to," the Doctor called, hearing her, "I thought he'd just gone for a walk in the TARDIS. Must have wandered off."

"Which is bad," Ayla nodded, knowing how her parents felt about that, "Most important rule is to not wander off, right daddy?"

"Right sweetheart," he leaned forward and kissed her head, before he got up and moved to Angel's side. He grinned, taking the boa off to wind it around her neck, tugging her in to kiss her.

She was beaming as she pulled away, remembering how he'd mentioned she should wear a boa if he ever selected an outfit that had no tie or lapels, ages ago when she and Donna had just founded Gingers United, "I think he snuck out…" she began.

~8~

Amy and Rory sat, eating breakfast, listening to the conversation over their phone. Amy reached out and stole one of Rory's sausages when he looked away, smirking as he looked back at her, noticing that.

"When the Doctor landed us there last night…"

"If it was last night," the Doctor remarked, "You know, we rescued him from the middle of the Androvax Conflict. We were taking him back to the Ood Sphere, going to show Ayla one of our more beneficial adventures."

"We freed the Ood from human control."

"Anyway, he's not being a nuisance is he?"

~8~

The Ood ambled around the house, doing all the chores someone possibly could.

Like packing Amy and Rory's lunches for them.

"Enjoy your workday experience," he offered Rory his packed lunch.

And making the beds.

And drying the laundry.

And cleaning the windows…

And...

~8~

"Doctor…Doctor?" Rory called over the headset, "He, um, seems to think that he's out butler."

"The Ood are raised to serve," Angel told them, before frowning up at the Doctor, "We really should take care of that a bit more."

He smile, nodding at her concern, "You know, the best thing at the moment is let him do just that. We'll come and pick him up tonight. Whenever tonight is. Hmm?" he looked over at Ayla and pointed at her, "What do you think of that sweetheart? Want to see your Uncle Rory and Aunt Amy again?"

"Yes please!" Ayla smiled, jumping up to go hug him.

Angel though shook her head and got up, heading up the steps as the warning bell went off, "Sorry," she called into the headset, "There's a power drain threatening to implode the TARDIS."

"What?!" the Doctor gasped, rushing up to help her, starting to race around the TARDIS, trying to fix it, frantic, worried for his family, "Oh no, that's bad. Why's it doing that? No, no, no, no, no, don't do that!"

"Calm down, my love," Angel put a hand on his arm, reaching out to tap something into the keypad and pull a lever to turn the alarms off and stop the drain, "All sorted."

He laughed, leaning forward to pull her closer, "Brilliant," he whispered, before kissing her gently as he tapped the headset off.

~8~

"Your infusions," the Ood handed Amy and Rory their coffees, "How else may I be of service?"

"I feel so guilty," Rory mumbled.

"Just eat your breakfast," she told him under her breath before they both looked at the Ood, smiling in awkward thanks.

AUGUST

The Doctor was standing on a ladder, one arm around Ayla's waist to keep her steady as she stood near the top with him on the ladder as well, eagerly watching him...change the bulb on top of the box. He really...treasured that about their daughter. He could see it, in everything she did she was so curious...like him but, at the same time, she had such an appreciation for the little things, like Angel had when she'd first regenerated. It really did warm his hearts SO much to see his daughter so like the two of them.

He tilted his head, keeping a red phone wedged between his ear and shoulder as he spoke to the Ponds, "Ponds! Us again..."

"Hello!" Ayla called, waving at the phone.

"Sorry about the gaps in communications. Dropped your Ood back home, reconnected it to the hive mind. Helmic Regulator's still not working..."

"Helmic Regulator's just fine!" Angel's distant voice called from within the TARDIS.

"It got hit by an arrow at Hastings Hill!" he reminded her with a shout so she could hear him.

"And I fixed it!" she remarked, "Better than it was, won't be acting up again, thank you very much."

"Uncle Rory I rode a horse!" Ayla reached out to take the phone, far too excited to share that bit of information, practically buzzing to tell him that, her first horse ride.

"Right through 11th century Coventry," the Doctor laughed as he took the phone back.

~8~

The Doctor, Ayla, and Angel sat before a Chinese man in a hut, noodles handing around them as they ate some, the Doctor rubbing his belly as the Chinese man laughed. He grinned widely and picked up some chopsticks, gathering some noodles before he turned to Angel, holding up a portion. She smiled and opened her mouth, letting him feed her though she laughed as she couldn't get all the noodles in and had to hide her mouth till she'd gathered them all.

The Doctor had just smiled at her and leaned in to kiss her still-munching mouth.

~8~

"Also, I think I may have accidently invented pasta…" the Doctor added.

"We came round," Angel stepped out of the TARDIS, wiping her hand off on a small rag, "I told the Doctor you were out, he didn't listen."

"I always listen to you," he countered, "I just thought, since the park was across the street there was no harm in swinging by."

~8~

The trio stood before the Ponds' door, the Doctor holding an umbrella over them, his arm around Angel to keep her close, as Ayla repeatedly hit the doorbell, excited to see her Aunt and Uncle, but no one answered.

~8~

"Which is fine," the Doctor nodded.

~8~

"Come along, sweetheart," the Doctor said he unwound his hand from Angel, taking Ayla's hand as she did, the three of them walking back, the two Time Lords swinging their girl between them over the puddles that were forming in the rain.

~8~

"Everything's alright, isn't it?" the Doctor frowned as he helped Ayla off the ladder, the three of them standing in the doorway of the TARDIS, till Ayla ran inside to tell her Aunt Idris about the brand new bulb she was wearing, "With you two?"

"Of course it is my love," Angel whispered, kissing his cheek, "They're the Ponds, they'll always be fine as long as they're together."

He nodded, resting his head to hers, "Just…just worrying unnecessarily, me. Anyway," he pulled back, "Just call us if you need us, ok? Toodle Pip," he looked down at the phone in his hands before sighing, pulling out the sonic and deleting the message.

~8~

"Message deleted," the answer phone stated as the messages went from 1 to 0, just a moment before Amy entered her house.

She stopped by the phone, checking the messages and sighed, "We need you Raggedy Man, Golden Girl. I need you."

A/N: Such a sweet chapter right? We see the Ponds and we see the Time Family...just wait till the next one }:) I can say now that the next chapter will be the prequel to Asylum of the Daleks, BUT! With something extra to it ;)

I tried to get as much Time Lord fluff in here as I could with it being 'Pond' Life and everything, I hope you enjoyed the little glimpses of it. MUCH more of it to come ;)

And, since this is technically the first 'episode' we get the Pyramid early ;) Just as a refresher, my 'pyramid' is the 3 episodes I'm super-excited about and are the ones I think has something in them that is important to Angel's story or her relationship with the Doctor. The 2, is usually my most looked forward to 2-parter episode either because something happens in it or it's just my favorite episodes lol. But since there aren't any 2-parters here, I'm going to make these the episodes I feel have something very important to Angel's abilities/powers in them :) And the 1 is the episode that I liked least and probably struggled with so if it's really bad, that's why. So here it is:

3...Asylum of the Daleks, The Snowmen, The Name of the Doctor
2...Hide, The Day of the Doctor (I have a quite a few ideas that I think will make that one essential to Angel)
1...The Power of Three

Some notes on reviews (from the end of AFA)...

I was definitely confused in First/Last night too lol :) I think it was because I was trying to place where the 2nd River was in her timeline since we knew where the 1st and 3rd her were and I just sort of gave up :)

Oh I think the ginger thing will SO have to be mentioned ;)

Ayla will have a very...unique reaction to Angel's amnesia ;)

I can say that AOTD will still be very...hard for the Ponds, but not in the way you might think :)

Thanks :) I know I've still got a ways to go with my writing still, but I like to think that each story I learn something new and get a little better with each OC :) I hope the next Time Lady will be even another step forward in my journey as a writer :)

I'm always surprised by the reviews, even now, about...oh wow a year and a half, later, I'm still always surprised to get even 1 lol :) I just treasure each and every review that I get like the special little thing it is :) And thanks, I try to be polite to the less-than-kind reviews because it wouldn't make me any better than them to respond with anger or hate. So I just try to keep in mind everyone has their own opinion and the right to express it, though I try to express mine in a neutral way at the very least lol :) But thanks! :)

Lol, I'm SO a Loki fan too ;) I really can't wait to get to the Loki/OC story ;) I've got this...powerful scene written out for Thor 2...and it hasn't even come out yet lol :)

That's awesome! I'm glad your brother had a great birthday :)

Thanks so much! And it's not petty at all, I LOVE giving Birthday shout outs ;) So...on that note...

Happy Birthday to Sweet Little Fox 19! I hope your day is just brilliant ^-^