Thanks to my beta, Charina, she was amazing during the writing process and then edited it all at once because she's amazing like that :P

Chapter 8

When Amy stumbled into the kitchen the next morning, it was to find Rory fidgeting, pacing, rolling his mobile between his palms and taking deep shaking breaths, trying to stay calm. The Doctor sat at the table eating a Jammy Dodger, a frame of Melody's latest school picture in his hands, looking down at it curiously then looking to Mels who was by the open window, smoking a cigarette and murmuring unintelligibly under her breath, her eyes closed.

The Doctor spotted her, and placed the frame on the table, standing and walking over to hug her and sit her down. He gave Mels a look, and then flicked his eyes to Rory before back to Amy.

"Tea?" He murmured softly and numbly, Amy nodded.

Mels had snapped her eyes open at the broken silence and watched as the Doctor made four mugs of tea, setting them all on the table. He looked at her, an odd expression of his face. It was expectant, asking her to join them at the table, but also apologetic. Sympathetic. She dragged on her cigarette then put it out in the corner of the windowsill, throwing it out the window into the garden before moving to the table and sitting down. Rory looked over and quickly sat next to Amy, taking her hand and squeezing it.

Under the table the Doctor took Mels hand, mimicking Rory's actions. Mels pulled away, reaching into her pocket to pull out a piece of paper, placing it on the table and sliding it across to her parents.

Amy looked down at it curiously, "What's this?" Her voice was rough. Thick and broken, she must have cried herself to sleep. Cried herself awake.

Mels licked her lips, "It's my name," she murmured softly, "In the language of the uh, the Gamma Forests. We," she swallowed, "We saved this girl there, and I've always been good at languages, so I uh, taught, myself..." Mels cleared her throat, "The TARDIS will translate it for you, but it might take a second, it takes longer to translate a written word."

Rory let his gaze find the swirling letters written on the paper, and before them all they changed, Song River, Rory spoke them aloud softly, confused, "Song?" he asked,

"They, uh, don't have a word for... for Melody." She told them, "And River, is uh, well the only water in the Forests is the river. They don't have oceans or lakes or... or ponds."

Amy frowned at her, not following and Mels glanced at the Doctor who again took her hand under the table. "When I was seven," she told them, "I was at the park with my parents. I was lying on the grass and closed my eyes. I could hear some boys playing football, and my parents kissing. They had had a fight about me the previous night, but they had made up, like they always did, and I was happy."

"What are you talking about?" Rory asked her, "Why are you telling us this?"

Mels swallowed, "The Doctor says that I was exposed to the Time Vortex during my conception and that made me... Time Lord. Or partly at least. Enough that six months after that day in the park when I opened my eyes to find myself in New York City, in 1969; when I was dying, I was able to regenerate."

"I don't understand." Amy demanded, angry tears in her eyes, "What has this got to do with anything?"

Mels gripped tightly onto the Doctor's hand and he cut in, "Mels was sent forty-nine years into her past, and lived through from then to 2011, when she started travelling with me."

Before either of her parents could deny what they were telling them Mels opened her mouth and spoke, "You were fighting about me. That I was only seven. You wanted me to see the Doctor and I thought I was sick." she recounted softly, "Rory drove away and Amy cried again, then came up to my room and I pretended to sleep. Next morning we had pancakes for breakfast and I asked about going to see a doctor. We went to the park, and there was a dog, and boys playing football. I spun around as fast as I could until I fell to the grass and closed my eyes. You said I love you and kissed and I was happy everything was okay again. I felt at home." Mels wiped away her silent tears, unable to look up and meet either Amy or Rory's eyes. "I started to think about my dreams, the corridors and coral drawings I made. They were of the TARDIS, I realise that now. They scared you. That's why you would fight. But then I was in New York and I had to live by myself for twenty-eight years until I found you, told you my name was Mels. I never told you my real last name."

Silence hung in the air, and for minutes that dragged on like years, Amy and Rory stared at Mels. And Mels sat in tears, something they couldn't remember ever seeing before, the Doctor watching them all with old and sad eyes, his hand still held tight in Mels'.

Amy was the first to break it, scrapping her chair across the kitchen floor and standing so quick it fell over, cluttering loudly to the floor as she ran out. Mels watched her go and felt her entire body ache. She could hear Amy sobbing, but then felt a warm and familiar hand rubbing circles on her back and looked up to see Rory staring down at her, tears in his eyes, and she realised the sobs were coming from her.

He hugged her, "All this time?" he murmured, "All this time you've known us, and you're our Melody? Our daughter?"

Mels nodded, "Should- I should just go." she told him, "Amy doesn't want me, you don't, I get it." she tried to stand, but Rory had a firm hand on her shoulder,

"You leave now and you'll break our hearts a second time." he murmured,

Mels smiled weakly at him, "You're sweet, but, she doesn't want me. She wants her daughter."

"You are our daughter." Rory smoothed back her hair, "I don't care how bizarre this is, or different you've become. I know you're telling the truth, I know you're my Melody, I can feel it. And I'm so glad to have you back."

tbc