Melody woke up in a bed that wasn't hers, in a room she didn't recognize. It felt warm and cozy under the covers, and safe. It was so different than her old room at the orphanage.
The little girl shot up to a sitting position, suddenly remembering all the events of the previous night. Her parents, the silly Doctor, the TARDIS.
Was this her parents' house? Melody asked herself, looking around.
She slowly and carefully stood up from the bed, her bare feet hitting the cold floor. She dragged the blanket with her to wrap around her shoulders, like a cape. It was deep red, just like her father's centurion cape.
She walked to the door and rested her head against it, trying to hear if there was anyone on the other side. If there was, Melody couldn't hear them.
She stepped outside and started making her way down the stairs, the blanket trailing on the floor behind her.
It wasn't dark anymore, so Melody assumed it was morning. When she got downstairs she could hear talking, and followed the voices to the kitchen, where she found both her parents.
They were talking in hushed voices, Amy leaning against the counter while Rory was cooking something. Probably breakfast.
"Mom?" Melody said quietly, and they both spun around to look at her. Amy instantly smiled. "Melody," she breathed.
"Did you sleep well?" Rory asked.
Melody nodded. She walked over to them and hugged Amy tight.
She was a little scared last night has been nothing but a dream. But it wasn't. Those were her parents, this was her home. Whatever that meant.
Amy chuckled and hugged her daughter back, dropping a kiss on the top of her head. "Good morning, sweetheart. Are you hungry?"
Melody nodded, stepping back and looking up at her father "What are you making?"
She came closer and stood on the tips of her toes to look.
"You wanna see?"
Melody nodded, and her dad picked her up and set her on the counter so she could see what he was doing.
_
By the time breakfast was ready, the silly Doctor was there as well. Melody wasn't really sure what was his place in this scenario, but he was funny. She liked him, even though he seemed to be more of s child than she ever got the chance to be.
When he first came in and saw the pancakes, he pulled out something that looked a bit like a magic wand, scanned Melody's plate, and only then sat down and started eating of his own.
Melody stared at him with utter confusion. "Was that a sonic thingy?"
He looked at her with a somewhat proud look "Yes it is."
"What is it?"
"A screwdriver, of course."
Melody pursed her lips together "That's stupid. And completely useless."
The Doctor gave her an offended look, his mouth hanging half open. Melody kept staring at him, waiting to see what he had to say to defend himself.
Looking at that interaction, Amy tried but failed to hide her laughter.
"Oi, Pond!" complained the Doctor, which only made Amy's laugh grow. Melody looked between the two of them, then up at her dad. He smiled and reached a hand to ruffle her hair.
She smiled and kept eating her pancakes. It was much better than any food she ever got at the orphanage.
Between snippets of conversations and plans for the day and talking, Melody hesitantly asked a question that's been bugging her for a while. "Are we gonna be like a normal family now?"
Everyone paused in whatever it was they were doing. Amy took a deep breath and glanced at Rory, before returning her attention to Melody.
"Normal is a very relative term, sweetheart. You're going to stay with us, and we want to give you as much of a normal childhood as possible. But the most important thing is that you're staying with us, and we are never ever going to live you again. Okay?"
Melody nodded, then paused "Am I gonna go to school?"
"You will, but not yet."
Melody nodded and shrugged "Okay."
It sounded good, actually. Partly because she had no idea what a 'normal' family was like. But she knew for sure that she wanted to stay with her parents. No matter what.