Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Doctor Who, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or any of the associated characters or places.

I hadn't expected the next regeneration to be so soon. But then, it always ended up being a little unexpected. And it hurt! Well, the gunshot wound might have something to do with that.

Damn. This was my favorite regeneration so far. Had been. Though that one I spent as a teenager out in California had been a close second, despite not being able to remember anything for the duration. (Damn monks.) And it was good training for when I could remember again.

The pain was coming in waves. I tried not to show it. Didn't want to scare Mum and Dad.

"When I was little," I gasped out, "I was gonna marry you." Dying was never fun, but having the Doctor here (finally, finally) made it a bit better.

"Good idea," the Doctor babbled, sounding a little panicked. "Let's get married. You stay alive, and I'll marry you. Deal? Deal?"

Stay alive? You first, sweetie. If you can. But if neither of us are dead at the end of this, so going to hold you to it.

"Shouldn't you ask my parents' permission?"

"Soon as you're well, I'll get 'em on the phone."

"Might as well do it now." Oh, he was fun to tease. "Since they're both right here."

There it was. They were looking back and forth at each other, putting the pieces together, shocked.

"Penny in the air." Golden light started trailing away from my hands, lifting from my skin. "Penny drops."

The Doctor stood, backed away, took Amy and Rory with him, the lot of the shouting. I stood as the light started to change my cells. The gunshot wound hardly mattered at this point.

"Last time I did this, I... I ended up a toddler. In New York." Damn. Now I was babbling. But I was always a little scared when I regenerated. Who knew who I was going to be now?

"Okay, Doctor. Explain what's happening," Amy said. "Please." I could tell she wanted to believe, didn't want to believe. She wanted the Doctor to spell it out for her so she could accept it.

"Mels," said the Doctor, "short for..."

"Melody," I said, confirming his suspicions.

"Yeah," said Amy. "I named my daughter after her."

"You named your daughter... after your daughter."

Such a clever man. Pity I'll have to kill him. "Took me years to find you two. I'm so glad I did. And, you see? It all worked out in the end, didn't it? You got to raise me after all."

Amy looked like she still couldn't believe what she was hearing. "You're Melody?"

"But... if she's Melody," Dad said, finally joining in. "That means that she's also..."

"Oh, shut up, Dad," I said. The pain became more intense. There was no holding it back any longer while I waited for them to accept what was right in front of them. "I'm focusing on a dress size." The light burst out of me, and I screamed, unable to keep it in.

And then it was done.

I gasped a little as I recovered. I checked out my new body, exclaiming over the new shape. Loved the new hair. "Look at that! Everything changes! Oh, but I love it! I love it!" I spun away from the mirror to look at Mum and Dad and the Doctor. "I'm all sort of... mature."

I'd been Melody Pond, the stolen child, Dawn Summers, the dimensional key, Amy and Rory's crazy friend Mels. And I couldn't wait to see who I was going to be this time around. I struck a sexy pose. "Hellooo Benjamin."

I ran around doing my normal post-regeneration stuff – checking my teeth and weight and figure, checking where the weapons were. I could hear them talking in the other room.

"Mels. Melody." Mum sounded a bit dazed.

"It's River Song."

The name struck an odd sort of chord in me – as if it were familiar. I stepped back in. "Who's River Song?"

Author's Note: I just liked the idea of River and Dawn being the same person. If you enjoyed the story, please remember to leave me a review. If it needs work, I accept constructive criticism as well. ^_^