CHAPTER 6

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THE ONLY WATER IN THE FOREST

"Mum?" Astra said in a dazed voice as she finally regained consciousness hours later.

She slowly took in her surroundings and realized that she was lying there alone in a strange bedroom that she didn't recognize. She was initially frightened at first until she felt a concerned presence in her mind that she instantly recognized as that of her father's TARDIS.

"I'm okay, Old Girl. Well, mostly okay anyway," Astra said with a wince as she finally realized just how sore every muscle in her body was now when she tried to move.

As soon as she said this, Rose came into the room so quickly that Astra couldn't help but wonder if her mother had somehow developed the power of supersonic speed while she was unconscious.

"I'm here, baby," Rose said as she grabbed her hand and squeezed it.

"She's going to be very weak and disoriented at first. That's completely normal so don't worry about it," Penelope said as she came into the room.

"She's going to be alright though, right? You said that she would be," Rose asked in an anxious voice.

"She'll be just fine. She just needs a few days to completely recover, and then she'll be right back to causing you trouble in no time. Until then she'll be extremely weak and sluggish but it's only temporary. Don't worry about her so much, Rose. We Time Lords are amazingly resilient you know?" Penelope reassured her with a warm smile.

"Yes, I definitely learned that from the time that I've spent with your son, but almost killing yourself by using every last bit of power in your body is definitely pushing it even for you lot isn't it?" Rose asked as she lightly stroked Astra's hair.

"She's lucky she isn't dead is what she is. You had no business doing that, young lady. You worried your mother to death," The Doctor said as he stormed into the room with a furious look on his face.

"I saved my other Dad though, didn't I? Isn't that what matters?" Astra said with a defiant, smug smile on her face that Rose recognized all too well from her own face.

Then Astra's smile immediately faded as she said with concern, "I did save him, didn't I?"

"Yes, you did, sweetheart. He's going to be alright thanks to you," Rose said as she kissed Astra on the forehead.

"He's going to be better than alright. It seems that you remade John into a Time Lord while you were healing him with a full set of regenerations and everything. You were definitely very busy, weren't you?" Penelope said with an amused look on her face.

"Well, I figured since I was going to die anyway that I might as well go all the way while I was at it. It certainly wasn't going to make it hurt any less was it?" Astra said with seemingly no concern on her face whatsoever.

"Do you even care that you could have died? Do you know what it would have done to your mother if you had?" The Doctor said in an angry voice.

"Do you know what it would have done to me?" The Doctor said in an emotional voice as he suddenly started to tear up.

Astra's defiant aura completely faded away as she said, "I wasn't trying to hurt you or Mum, Dad. I had to save him though. I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if I had stood by and done nothing when I could have helped."

"She sounds just like you, Doctor. In fact, she's exactly like you. That's precisely the kind of stunt that you would have pulled if you had her abilities," Penelope said.

"I know. Why do you think that I'm so angry with her, Mother? I don't want her to be like me. I want her to be better. I don't ever want her to get into the kind of trouble and experience the amount of misery that I have," The Doctor admitted.

"You can't ask me not to save someone especially my own father. I won't stand by and do nothing no matter what you want. I will interfere whenever and wherever I please," Astra said.

"She's so much like you that it's scary sometimes, Doctor," Rose said.

"She's like you too you know? You did almost destroy the universe to save your father once, Rose Tyler," The Doctor said with a fond smile.

"You did? That is so cool," Astra said as she looked at her mother with renewed appreciation in her eyes.

The Doctor gave her a scolding look that instantly made her add, "I mean it's bad that the universe was almost destroyed of course."

"Yeah, I think we all know what you meant, sweetie," Rose said as she laughed.

"How did you and Handy ever handle her, Rose? She's just so . . . reckless," The Doctor said in exasperation.

Penelope began laughing as the Doctor said, "I really don't see anything funny about any of this, Mother."

"Oh, but I do. I had to raise you after all, Doctor, and she is just like you in every way," Penelope said with a smirk.

"So are you saying that I'm getting what I deserve? Is that what you're saying?" The Doctor said with a frown.

Then he began to smile as he said, "You're probably right."

"Oi! You all act like I'm some kind of monster or something," Astra protested.

"No, of course not. You acted just like any other little girl would have if her Dad was in trouble, Jen," Rose reassured her.

"Yeah, except an ordinary little girl couldn't actually do something about it could they?" Astra said sadly.

"Would you be happier if you no longer had your power, Jen?" Penelope asked as she suddenly became serious.

Astra nodded as she said, "Yes, I'd like that more than anything. I still wouldn't be an ordinary child thanks to my intelligence, but I'd be able to at least fit in better with other people without them constantly putting everyone around me in danger."

"Are you sure that you'd really be okay without them?" Penelope asked.

Astra could see that something was wrong just by the way that she was talking to her. As she looked at her parents, the looks on their faces only confirmed her suspicions.

"My powers are gone, aren't they?" Astra asked in an emotionless voice.

Penelope took her remaining hand and squeezed it to offer her silent support as she said, "Yes. We're not sure if it's permanent or not but at the moment your body is no longer producing any Vortex energy whatsoever. You may have completely burned out whatever it was that gave you your abilities or you may have only strained your system so much that your access to your powers will just have to recover along with the rest of you. We have no way of telling at the moment. The rest of your body is just fine though and everything is working normally so at least you're otherwise alright."

"Are you going to be alright?" Rose asked Astra with concern as she saw the strange look that came over her face.

"I – Yeah, I think so. It's just so weird. I thought I'd be happy if this day ever came. Part of me is but there's another part of me that just feels so . . . sad. It's like I just lost a part of myself or something. I don't feel like me anymore," Astra admitted with a forlorn look on her face.

Rose looked at her with a compassionate smile as she said, "It's going to be alright, Jen. No matter what happens it's going to be okay. You'll see."

Astra nodded as she said with a chuckle, "I guess I'm giving off mixed signals, huh? One minute I'm saying that I hate being different and the next I'm complaining about losing what made me different in the first place."

"That's because often what makes us different is also what helps to make us special and unique, Jen. I think you would have eventually realized that one day and come to accept your powers and even to embrace them," The Doctor said.

Astra smiled as she said, "My Dad, my other one I mean, used to say that to me too."

"Well, he's a very smart man, isn't he? He's practically brilliant," The Doctor said smugly.

"If you do say so yourself, right, Doctor?" Rose said as she rolled her eyes at him.

"Well, can I help it if I can recognize and appreciate my own genius, Rose? It's not bragging if it's true, after all," The Doctor said with a grin.

"You said I couldn't use that excuse, Mum, and that it was wrong to brag about myself. Why are you letting him do it?" Astra protested.

"That's because he's not my child, Jen. Even though he definitely acts like one," Rose said with a giggle.

"Oi!" The Doctor protested as Penelope laughed.

"Where is Dad, my other Dad, right now? Can I see him?" Astra asked as she struggled to get up.

"You're not going anywhere until you can walk without falling over," Jenny said with a stern expression on her face as she entered the room.

"I want to see my Dad," Astra protested.

"I've seen him, Astra, and he's fine. He's asleep right now because he's still recovering just like you are so you wouldn't get to talk to him anyway," Jenny said.

"I still want to see him for myself," Astra said stubbornly as she tried to get up once again.

"Sit still and stop it. Right now," Jenny ordered.

Astra sighed and lay back down on the bed as she said in a resigned tone, "Fine."

Rose looked at Jenny in stunned amazement as she said, "How did you do that? I'm usually the only one who can get her to give up that easily?"

"You call that easy?" The Doctor said with a frown.

"It is where she's concerned. She can argue for up to half an hour or more when she really wants to do something," Rose said.

"I guess I just have the gift," Jenny said with a smile.

"Or maybe it's because you love her so much, right?" Penelope whispered in Astra's ear making her smile appreciatively at her.

Jenny must have heard what Penelope said because a moment later she leaned down and whispered to Astra, "I love you too. Now lie down and go back to sleep, okay?"

For one of the few times in her life, Astra did exactly as she was told.

Meanwhile back in the Console Room, Christina watched the rapid movement of the console with growing dread because she knew that with each passing moment that she was getting closer and closer to having to return Amy back home. The Doctor had already told her that she would have to bring her back as soon as they returned to Earth.

She didn't want to though. Why should Amy have to go back to what would probably be a miserable life with an aunt who obviously didn't want her when she could give her all of the love and attention that she so richly deserved?

Then again Christina was a wanted criminal and would always be on the run because of that. That meant that she would constantly be looking over her shoulder every single time that they returned to Earth.

What kind of life would that be for a child? Not much of one she knew.

Perhaps it was better this way. She had only just met Amy. How could she possibly know that she would make a good parent for her in that short of an amount of time?

All of that made perfect sense to her in her mind. She had gone over this argument over and over again dozens of times in her head ever since the Doctor had set the coordinates to return Amy back home. She always agreed that she was doing the right thing for Amy every time.

So why couldn't she convince her heart of that?

She still hadn't told Amy what she was going to do yet even as the console finally came to a complete stop and the TARDIS finally materialized once again at last. She knew that Amy would never leave the ship if she did.

"Come on, Amy. Let's see what's out there," Christina said as she put on a fake smile and tried to pretend that everything was normal for Amy's benefit.

"It's okay. I understand. I'll go back without any trouble," Amy said with a sad smile that instantly broke Christina's heart.

"I'm sorry," Christina said as she began to cry.

"It's okay, Christina. It really is," Amy said in a comforting voice.

"I just want you to know that if it was all left up to me and everything was perfect that I would gladly take you in, Amy. It's got nothing to do with you whatsoever, alright?" Christina said.

Amy nodded but looked like she didn't quite believe her which made Christina even more upset.

"Let's go then," Christina said as she led Amy outside.

"That's not right. Those two belong together," Susan said as she watched them go.

"The universe isn't fair. You should have already figured that out a long time ago," The Master said.

"Oh, I can assure you that I did. That doesn't mean that I have to accept it though. Does it?" Susan said in anger.

The Master smiled as he said, "I suppose I've finally found something that we have in common then. I knew that we'd come up with something eventually. We both strike back against an uncaring cosmos only in very different ways. I seek to conquer that universe and subvert it to my will, and you actually think you can make a difference by staying within the rules. Maybe one day you'll realize that doesn't work."

"Well, your way didn't exactly work out for you either, did it?" Susan said with a smirk.

"Make no mistake. This is only a temporary situation. I will free myself sooner or later and then we'll see who winds up on top, child," The Master said.

"I did the last time that we crossed swords, Koschei, and don't you forget it. If you ever try something like that again, next time I won't be so merciful," Susan said in a cold voice.

The Master said nothing. Instead he looked away with what Susan would swear was almost sadness or possibly even regret in his expression.

"I really don't think he intended that as a threat against you, Susan. I believe your grandmother is changing him already," Wilf said to Susan in a low voice.

Susan shook her head as she said, "No, not even she could fix someone as far gone as he is. Don't trust him, Wilf. No matter what he says or does don't ever trust him or turn your back on him for a second."

Wilf nodded but he wasn't quite sure that she was right. The Master already seemed different to him somehow from how he had been only a couple of days ago. If anyone could change him for the better, he believed that Penelope could.

She had already made him feel like a new man again after all so why couldn't she do the same thing to the Master as well?

Outside the TARDIS, Christina slowly led Amy back to her front door without looking at her. She wasn't sure that she would be able to do this at all if she did.

As she walked along, she noticed that it was dark once again. She couldn't help but wonder if this was the very same night that Amy had left. If it was, then her aunt would never even notice that Amy was gone. That is if she ever bothered to notice her at all.

Christina quickly received an answer to her unspoken question as the front door opened, and a woman stood there with an angry look on her face. Amy immediately stiffened behind her and stopped in her tracks which instantly told Christina everything that she needed to know.

"And where have you been? You were gone when I came back an hour ago. Where have you been and who is she?" Amy's Aunt Sharon said to the child in a voice filled with venom.

"Oh, you came back an hour ago did you? So where were you the rest of the night when this poor little girl was here all alone and scared of the crack in her wall? Let's hear what you were up to, eh?" Christina couldn't help but say.

"And who are you to demand any answers of me?" Sharon said.

Christina knew that she was playing a dangerous game here. This woman could easily call the police on her and get her caught at any moment once they realized who she was. She had to play this very carefully and think of just the right thing to say.

Before Christina could give the woman any kind of answer though, another woman said from behind her, "She's the woman who wants to adopt your niece. That's who she is, dear. I think that you might just want to take her up on her offer if you don't want to face a series of very serious charges of child endangerment and neglect."

Christina turned to see a woman whose head was covered in blonde curly hair that was so big that it looked like she was wearing a helmet made out of it. She had never seen the woman before in her life so she was quite surprised to see her quickly wink at her as if to tell her to go along with whatever she said.

She couldn't quite explain why but she instinctively trusted this woman and decided to do exactly that . . . at least for now anyway.

The blonde quickly flashed a badge to Sharon as she said, "Detective Melody Malone. I'm more than ready to bury you under so many charges that you'll go away for the rest of your natural life and then some. Of course I could be made to reconsider all of that if you do me a small favor."

Sharon looked absolutely terrified as she said, "Of course. Anything you want. I didn't mean for any harm to come to her. I promise I didn't."

"Like I said before, this woman wants to adopt your niece. If you legally sign the child over to her, then I'll forget all about everything. Doesn't that sound like a good deal? You no longer have to worry about her anymore. You'll be able to stay out as late as you like, and she'll finally get a good home. Sounds like the deal of the century to me," Melody said.

Sharon looked at her suspiciously as she said, "How do I know this isn't some kind of trick? I admit that it's no secret that I'm really not cut out to be a parent, but I actually do care about her. I don't want to just give her away to someone who will hurt her."

"Oh, I can assure you that it isn't, dear. Just look at this paper. It's all nice and legal. If you sign it, it automatically makes Lady Christina and Lord Matthew Smith the child's official guardians. Lady Christina here is nobility so I believe that tells you that Amelia will have an excellent home to live in, won't it? She'll never want for anything and she'll never find a better person to love her," Melody said.

Christina looked at River in surprise only to have the blonde silently gesture to her to continue.

"Oh, a lady is she? You didn't tell me that. I'm still not sure about this though. I don't even know you," Sharon said to Christina in a hesitant voice.

"I want to go with her though. She loves me and I love her. Plus I know that you don't want me. Not really," Amy pleaded.

Sharon looked at her and then at Christina without saying anything for what seemed like an eternity. Then she finally said, "Fine. I'll sign it."

"Very good. Then consider the charges completely dropped before they're even filed then. Thank you so much for your cooperation," Melody said with a mad smile as she watched Sharon sign the paper.

"Good bye, Amelia. I hope that you'll be much happier with her than you ever were with me," Sharon said as she waved good bye to Amy and went back inside of the house.

A puzzled Christina silently led Amy back to the TARDIS followed by Melody. Then once she was sure that she was out of Sharon's earshot, she immediately began to question the blonde in a low voice.

"Who are you and what is this all about? I know that document can't possibly be legal. That's not even my real name plus I'm wanted. No one would ever sign a child over to me," Christina protested.

"Calm down, Christina. Everything's fine. No, it's not legal but it looked close enough to the real thing to fool her. Sharon won't ever question it and she won't really care either to be honest. As far as she's concerned, Little Amelia is safe and sound living in the lap of luxury somewhere and no longer her problem. That's exactly the way that she wants it too," Melody said.

"Are you sure that she won't ever look into it? That's all I need is to be wanted for kidnapping too," Christina said.

"She won't. You can trust me on that," Melody said.

"And who are you exactly that I should trust you so quickly?" Christina asked suspiciously.

Melody smiled as she said, "You're so young. I can't get over it. I'm not used to seeing you like this. Your eyes are still the same though. They're still filled with kindness just like always. You have to really look for it but it's there all the same. It's lying there just beneath the arrogant wisecracking exterior that you've put up to protect yourself from the rest of the world."

"Who are you? I mean who are you to me or who will you be?" Christina asked curiously.

Melody smiled widely as she said, "Spoilers! You'll find out someday though. You can trust me on that too."

"You still haven't given me a reason to trust you about anything yet. I don't even know your real name," Christina said.

Melody hesitated and then said, "You're just as bad as he is. No wonder you're so attracted to one another. I wish I had some kind of a secret to give you to make you believe me but I really don't. At least not one that I can give you without possibly changing the future anyway. As for my name, my name or at least one of them anyway is River Song."

"One of them? Who are you really though? Just give me a straight answer for once, River," Christina said in frustration.

"Sorry. I'm afraid that I can't do that. Not yet anyway," River said.

"Hello, Professor Song. Exactly why are you so interested in whether Christina keeps Amy or not?" The Doctor asked suspiciously as he stepped out of the TARDIS.

"So you know me then. I wasn't sure whether you would or not this far back," River said with a pleased look on her face.

"We met previously," The Doctor said as he tried not to show the sadness on his face that he suddenly felt at the memories that were brought up now of her dying in his place in the Library.

"Ooh, something to look forward to then along with that new title. Professor, eh? I like it. Say no more. You're already taught me the value of not telling anyone details about their own future, Sweetie," River said.

"You know her then? Who is she? Can I trust her?" Christina asked the Doctor.

"She's . . . She's someone who I know that I can trust with both my life and my greatest secrets. At least I will someday anyway. I really don't know her that well yet but she knows things that only someone extremely close to me would," The Doctor said.

"How close exactly?" Christina asked curiously even as she dreaded the answer.

"She knows my real name, Christina. There's only one time that I can tell that to someone," The Doctor said.

Christina's heart fell as she said to River, "You're his wife?"

River shook her head as she said, "No, and I never said that I was either. He must have assumed that I was when I meet him in my own personal future, and I apparently go along with it for some reason. So I tell you your name, eh? I always thought that was what I would do if I ever came across a version of you who didn't know me. It's good to know that it actually worked."

The Doctor looked at her with concern then as he said, "I can only tell my real name to a person who isn't family when I marry them though. Who else could you be? How else could you possibly know it?"

"Sorry, but I'm afraid that's all spoilers, Doctor. I can say no more than that for now," River said with a grin.

"So we can't trust her then since she lied to you, right?" Christina asked as she became filled with relief that River wasn't the Doctor's wife.

The Doctor hesitated and River actually started to look worried for a moment. She looked as if she wanted to say something more but wasn't sure whether she should or not.

Finally the Doctor said, "I do trust her. She came through . . . will come through for me at a time when I really need someone to help me. I don't believe that anyone who is out to harm us would do something like that."

River smiled even though she had no idea what the Doctor was talking about as she said, "No, they wouldn't. So you trust me then?"

"I trust that you care about me so I suppose if you care about me then that means that you'll also care about the people that I care about as well," The Doctor said as he deliberately avoided the questioning glance that Christina gave him.

Her unspoken question was clear enough though by the expression on her face. How exactly did he care about her and in what way?

That was a question that he still wasn't sure about himself if he was being completely honest.

"You're absolutely right, Sweetie. I do care about everyone that you care about especially Amy and Christina, and that's why I helped them to stay together," River said.

"Why us in particular though? What makes us more important to you than everyone else?" Christina asked.

River smiled and opened her mouth to say something only to have Christina say, "And don't you dare say 'spoilers' again!"

River wisely said nothing but only smiled at Christina instead immediately causing her to sigh.

"I give up. She's impossible," Christina said as she held her hands up in surrender.

"No, that's someone else actually. That's another spoiler that I can't talk about though," River said with a look of pure amusement on her face.

"So I suppose thanks to you, Professor Song, that I have to take Amy with me whether I want to or not now," The Doctor said in an annoyed tone.

"Don't look at me like that, Sweetie. It won't be so bad I promise. Now stop your pouting and get underway before you really do start to make Sharon suspicious by talking so much just outside her window. Until we meet again, Doctor," River said with a large grin.

"Until then, Professor," The Doctor said sadly as he thought about what would happen to her the very last time that she would meet him.

River then waved good bye as she punched some coordinates into a Vortex Manipulator and quickly vanished.

"A Vortex Manipulator, eh? I wonder where she got that at? The only person I know who has one still has theirs and it's definitely not working anyway. I made sure of that. I guess that's something else I'll find out about our mysterious Professor Song someday. I hope," The Doctor said with a small smile.

"So we're going then? It's okay for Amy to come?" Christina asked.

"I don't think that we have any other choice now do we? There would be too many questions if we tried to undo what River did now. Some of them are questions that we don't know the answers to ourselves," The Doctor said.

Then he smiled at Amy and said, "Welcome aboard, Amy."

Amy grinned from ear to ear as she said in a deliberately hushed shout, "Yay!"

Then she turned to Christina and said, "Does this mean that you're adopting me then? Are you my new mother now?"

Christina smiled and said, "Yes, I'm adopting you. Not legally of course since I can't do that but I'll certainly adopt you in every other way. I'm not sure if that really makes me your mother or not though. I definitely love you as if I were."

Amy smile widened even more now somehow as she said, "I love you too, Mum. I love you too!"

Then she hugged the surprised Christina tightly as the Doctor smiled at both of them. He wasn't sure exactly how all of this was going to turn out in the end but he was sure of one thing.

Two people had never deserved to be with one another more.

Next: John finally wakes up at last just in time for Wilf to receive a desperate call for help from his daughter Sylvia. Will even two Doctors combined be enough to save Donna Noble from having her mind completely destroyed? What exactly has brought this on anyway? It definitely isn't what you think it is.