Aww, I see Rory wasn't feeling the love from the last chapter. But that is okay, he still deserves his time. Thank you to SilverStella for the review! :) Yes, everyone deserves a Rory.

This chapter obviously has a bit of it's inspiration from 'Closing Time'.

Please review! I appreciate you all!


The Doctor was surrounded in the bright light of the vortex. The vortex manipulator wasn't the most stable form of time travel. It could go wrong and slip him right out of the time stream and out of existence with even the most minor of malfunctions. Yet, he felt far more comfortable here than he did back in that delivery room.

River Song was a mum! He hadn't seen that one coming, no matter how brilliant he was. He couldn't picture it until today. And today he was picturing it quite a bit. Particularly when the bright light stopped and he stumbled forward into a table. A table in front of a woman who just happened to be River. And she also just happened to have a baby on her hip.

The Doctor stared.

It wasn't that he minded running into her or her running into him. Quite the opposite. She intrigued him. But twice in the same day was proving to be an overpowering experience.

"It's about time." She claimed, smiling and looking entirely happy to see him here. "You're late again."

"Again? Was there really a first time to this event?"

"What?" She didn't seem concerned that she hadn't a clue what he was on about. He, on the other hand, was well enough concerned with the fact that he had no idea what she was on about.

"How did I get here? I was on my way back to the TARDIS. You..." He looked down and tweaked the vortex manipulator. "You intercepted my time stream! You redirected me here. How did you manage that?" He was more puzzled than irritated. It was probably due to him being too astonished once again by the astounding and confounding River Song.

"It was simple enough. I just re-calibrated the time receptors on the same vortex manipulator you're using, at a different place in your time stream. I knew I'd get you here from somewhere. Where did I pull you from?"

He just stared at her some more. He knew she was clever, but her ripping him from his time stream to meet her needs was going a bit far. Especially since he'd just finished helping her with something rather massive. Not that she realized this.

He wasn't about to share too much information with her. Like how little he knew. If she found out he'd only just come from Jessica's birth, he thought she would be more anxious about seeing him than if she assumed he was from a later time.

"What am I late for?"

River was very used to his lack of responding. She didn't press him on it. She held the little one out toward him. He took a step back and squinted at the baby.

The child had gained a full year since he'd last seen her. She had a tuft of straight red hair sticking out and bright green eyes that were on him. Two drool covered fingers were stuffed in her mouth while she sucked away at them. The little one was in a bright pink one piece pajama set with buttons and would have been called adorable by any other doting parent.

"She's leaking." The Doctor informed River.

"Yes, she does that." River laughed as she stepped over to him.

"Why are you holding her like that?"

"I'm waiting for you to take her."

"And why would I do that?"

River sighed and placed Jessica squarely into the Doctor's arms. "You really do need to stop pretending you're so bad at this, sweetie."

"Who says I'm pretending?" He asked, his expression serious. He looked down at the child in his arms and then back up at her with a 'what am I supposed to do with her?' sort of look.

She just smiled and leaned in to kiss him.

Here she goes with the kissing again! She doesn't know we haven't done this very much yet.

The Doctor recalled the image of her despondent look the first time she'd kissed him. At least, from his perspective. He didn't want to see that look again. So, he didn't give even a scant hinted trace of pulling away. He shifted the baby to his side as her lips met his.

He kissed her back. He wasn't completely sure he was only doing it to convince her that they'd done it plenty before. He actually didn't mind kissing her. Her lips felt so soft against his, her taste wasn't bad. In fact if he were honest with himself about it, he would admit she tasted quite good, and she smelled nice too.

Baby Jessica stared at the pair as they kissed. "Yosh?" She asked in baby gibberish.

The Doctor laughed against River's lips and she pulled back. "What is it?" She asked, smiling as she looked from the Doctor to Jessica, and back.

"She just asked if we were stuck together."

River giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Well, that wouldn't be a bad thing, would it?"

Still smiling, the Doctor felt his hearts speed up. What was she doing, and why did she always insist on doing whatever it was she was doing, to him? Go figure out women! "I wouldn't call it that, no."

She leaned in for another kiss and this time the Doctor was surprised to find himself eager for it. He not only kissed her back, but gently placed his free hand on her shoulder. He was tempted to run it through those curls he so desperately wanted to touch, but he held back. At least he didn't have to worry about what to do with his hands this time.

The kiss lasted quite a while. He didn't clock it or anything. Well, not on purpose...Necessarily. But he was usually very aware of time and as he felt her tongue against his, he counted out that they had been kissing for three full minutes. This was a full on snogging if there ever was one!

Only when Jessica started bouncing herself up and down in the Doctor's arm and babbling did River pull back and grin slyly at him. "There's more where that came from. Later." She added coyly.

She reached over and patted Jessica's head. "Be good. Mummy will be back in a short while."

Still in a daze from the kissing, the Doctor's hair was ruffled. He hadn't even noticed that she'd been running a hand through his hair nor was he aware that his hair was now all messy.

"What do you mean?" He asked, confused as he watched River.

"We're giving my mum and dad a rest." She informed him. "Remember?"

"But she's your daughter!"

"Oh." River sighed, rolling her eyes upward. "Not again..." She muttered under her breath, realizing that she was yet again faced with a clueless Doctor. "Well, we'll just have to make due, won't we."

He shifted Jessica back into both of his arms and bounced her since he heard her babble and understood she was asking for him to 'go bumpy' with his arms. It was surprising to him how humans couldn't understand their own babies' chatter. 'Go bumpy' in baby-speak was perfectly understandable to him.

"It's your turn, dear." River reminded him before disappearing in a flash with her own vortex manipulator. She needed to check in with the storm cage facility. Not that they could do much about it if she didn't, but she'd been neglecting her prison time more so since motherhood.

"My turn?" He mumbled, trying to find reason behind her words.

As it dawned on him that she was gone, panic struck him. "Wait! No, you can't! But your baby!" He held Jessica up towards the empty space where River had just been.

Jessica whimpered.

"I don't know where your mummy went, but I'm sure she'll be back." He frowned at the child. "I guess she thinks along with helping deliver you, I'm supposed to be a...Nanny." He said with distaste. He held Jessica up and stared at her.

What was he supposed to do with a baby?

"Well now. Let's see where we are." He started bouncing her some more and turned around to get a look at what seemed to be a very spacious room. It was a bright, colorful nursery, he saw. With toys and a cot and many other things little ones loved and needed. Judging by the look, feel, and smell, he knew it was Earth. He glanced out of the room. A perfectly ordinary house.

"Oh, Jessica, I shouldn't be here." He murmured, kissing the top of her head. "I really shouldn't. I've left people back on my ship that need me." He sighed, thinking of the strange, mysterious young girl with secrets, of upset Amy and Rory. He couldn't take Jessica there though. The vortex manipulator was too unstable, not to mention it nearly always gave a rough trip. He wouldn't trust it with a child placed in his care. He couldn't put her through that. Also, he was sure River would kill him again if he did that.

She looked up at him tearfully. "Zoh, zoh fooshhh!"

The Doctor carefully hugged her against him. "No, no, you don't need me. You've got your mum and grandparents and this lovely nursery, all that you need right here."

She repeated her babble, but he just shook his head.

"Bbrofm!" She screeched.

"Okay, okay, so you need me!" He gave up on arguing that point. "Although I can't see why. I gather you're as stubborn as your grandmother and mother combined!"

She calmed and went on with a more relaxed baby chatter.

He glanced over to see what she was talking about.

"Oh, I see!" He quickly carried her over to a rocking horse on the floor.

He sat down and gently plopped her up onto the toy wooden rocking horse.

He kept a hand on her back to keep her from toppling over as he rocked her back and forth. "You like the horse. Well, why wouldn't you? It moves and it doesn't bite like the real thing will."

She whined. He quickly went on. "Not that a real horse will bite you. No, don't worry about that. But it's safer in here. Not that safer is necessarily better." He said this last part as though he completely disagreed with safer being a better option pretty much ever.

Jessica grinned up at him as though she understood him perfectly.

"Mummy!" She yelled out happily.

The Doctor blinked. "Oh, you can talk not-baby, can you?" He glanced around. "Well you're mummy isn't back yet, but she will be."

Jessica was looking at him. "Mummy!" She cried out again, joyously as she continued grinning at him.

"No. I'm not your mummy. I'm the Doctor, but nice guess." He kissed the tip of her nose. Babies were always worthy of kisses.

"Mummy, mummy, mummy!" She insisted reaching out for him. She was leaning so far over she almost did topple off the top of the wooden horse. The Doctor had to grab her to keep her from doing just that. She was flinging herself toward him.

"Mummy!" She settled herself against his chest.

"I'm not your mummy! I'm not even a girl! Mummies are girls! Well, nearly always." He was baffled as to why this toddler kept insisting on calling him mummy.

"Mummy." She argued, then went on in baby talk.

He frowned. "Fez? You've seen my fez? When did you see my fez? And they are too cool!" He didn't seem to find it the least bit ridiculous to be arguing like this with a one year old.

She yammered away before starting to suck on his jacket.

"Well, I don't know where the big noisy thing is, or what it is, but I'm sure it's very pretty as you say." The Doctor failed to recognize the one year old's description of his very own TARDIS.

He stood back up and started walking around the room with her.

She mumbled as she chewed at his jacket.

"Is it? I've never actually tasted it. No, wait, I lie. I did taste it. I prefer the taste of denim myself." Unlike any other adult alive, he didn't appear bothered at all by the slobber getting all over his tweed jacket. He didn't even attempt to stop her or tell her it was wrong to chew on clothing.

He smiled down at the baby in his arms. She was a bundle of energy and had a lot to say, but most tots did.

"If you're hungry, why didn't you just say so? Surely your mum keeps something around here for that." He carried her out to the kitchen in search of a bottle or baby food.

He supposed looking after a baby wasn't that difficult. It was just a lot of work and he was quite old for this sort of thing. He found a bottle of milk in the fridge and pulled it out, and held it up to her mouth. She grabbed at it with both hands, nearly falling out of his arms. He had to tighten his grip on her. She clearly fully expected him to keep her safe and had no doubts that he would do just that.

"You're a very trusting baby, aren't you?" He kissed the top of her head again as she drank from the bottle and gazed up at him with large, and indeed, trusting eyes.

"You have your grandmother's hair I see. Lucky ginger." He smiled then started back toward the nursery with her when a loud explosion rocked the entire foundation of the house.

Jessica burst into tears.

The Doctor dove to the ground. He kept his elbows out so they hit the ground first and buffered Jessica close to his chest. He carefully shielded her with his body as shelves and ceiling came crashing down upon them.

"Your mother didn't mention guests!" He yelped as something heavy and hard hit his shoulder. Jessica's bottle had flown out of her mouth and to the floor, forgotten. He pressed her face into his shirt as debris caused soot to rise, choking him. He couldn't let the baby get that into her lungs!

As soon as the dust settled, he quickly checked Jessica over to make sure she was okay. Then he slid his jacket around her, along with keeping an arm firmly around her. He rose to his feet to appraise the situation.

Where the ceiling once was, bright sunlight greeted them.

The house was in ruins. Shards of wall, furnishings, and plumbing were scattered for several thousands of yards. Whatever had ripped through the house had torn it apart from the inside out.

"An implosion..." He murmured, spinning around on the spot with Jessica still tucked protectively inside his jacket with him. She was whimpering softly, shaken by the trauma of the situation even if she was too little to understand what had happened. Her little fists were balled up and clutching at the Doctor's shirt.

The Doctor spotted a piece of metal that didn't look like it belonged. It was smoldering. He stepped tentatively over to it and peered down at it.

Jessica started to cry again.

"Shhh, shhh, Jessica, it's okay." He lightly pressed his lips to her head as he gazed at the metal object. "The bad alien metal thing can't hurt you anymore." He assured her. She settled down a bit. "But I need to take a closer look at it."

He glanced around and tugging his jacket off, he wrapped it fully around her then moved to set her down several meters away in a safe patch of grass. He patted her head and turned back to the scolding metal.

Baby Jessica crawled out from inside his jacket. She climbed unsteadily to her feet.

"Jessica, stay there." He pointed at her.

She wobbled and fell back down. She remained there obediently. She tugged her fingers back into her mouth as she watched him with large eyes.

He bent down before the metal and scanned it with the sonic. He frowned at what the sonic was telling him.

"Impossible." He muttered, glancing back at Jessica to assure himself she was safe. Then he turned his eyes to a particular spot on the metal.

It was large and shaped like the frontal part of a ship engine's casing. A ship that had been torn to shreds. So, it hadn't been just the house that was destroyed. A ship had been buried beneath it and somehow exploded upwards, taking the house with it.

But why would a space ship be buried under Amy and Rory's home?

He reached out to touch a non-smoking spot on the metal. "Ah!" He jerked his hand back. It was still far too hot.

"This looks like Time Lord technology. How can that be..." He scowled at it. It reminded him of the older ships that the average Gallifreyan had used to get around in. It was hardly as fancy or amazing as a TARDIS, but it got them where they needed to go in space, though not time. But how it had gotten here was a puzzle.

"It shouldn't even exist. Not now. Not anymore..." He grabbed a piece of a broken broom and used it to hoist a chunk of the metal up. He bent down further to peer under it. He could see something blinking. Probably some part of controls of the ship that whomever had gotten a hold of, shouldn't have. He reached in to grab it.

Jessica's sudden and shrill cries filled the air.

The Doctor didn't need to turn around and see if she was okay. The cries alone told him she wasn't.

He immediately dropped everything and jumped up to run to her. As he turned, he saw Silence surrounding her.

He held his hands out in front of him, his hearts plunging. "Okay..." Flashbacks of the Silence he'd previously encountered, ran through his mind. That was the only reason he recognized them, if recognized could be the word for such creatures that erased themselves and their images from minds. "You don't want her. She's human. Fully human." He said cautiously. He noted they'd formed a semi-circle around the baby.

Jessica was crying in fear and she had every right to, thought the Doctor.

"You want me." He reminded them. "So," He waved his hands toward himself. "I'm here. Come and get me, aye?" He suggested invitingly.

Already, he had analyzed the situation and knew he couldn't simply grab Jessica. They could easily kill him and then her before he could get to her. His best hope was to lure them away from her.

At least now he realized what they were after. They wanted Time Lord technology. The ship was that, from what he could tell. The ship, however it had gotten here, had been at their disposal.

He was absolutely positive River, Amy and Rory had no idea about the ship. They would never have exposed Jessica to living in such a dangerous place had they known the Silence were working diligently underneath them to get this ship working.

Now that their plans had apparently backfired, the Doctor offered up the only other thing he was certain they would want. Himself.

It had to work, and River had to return soon for her baby because the only thing worse than being dead, would be leaving another child alone and abandoned to the Silence in the process.

The Silence slid around Jessica, blocking her from the Doctor's view. He didn't like that.

"Come on then!" He practically shouted. He threw his hands up. "No weapons. No TARDIS. No friends to help. Completely unready for whatever you can do to me. So let's have it!" He stood there, once again thinking through his options.

He could try to lunge for her, but he wouldn't be able to make it to her before they could do anything to her or to him. If he did get a hold of her, it might put her in even more danger. But there was no way in hell he was going to let them kidnap another innocent child. He would obliterate them before he would allow that to happen.

He may not be able to remember them, but he would remember this, he vowed. He sent a message to his own psychic paper as well as to the TARDIS' psychic matrix. He continued updating the psychic messages each couple of seconds just so it would be fresh. When it came to the Silence, he spared nothing. They were too easily forgotten and only at the sight of them did he remember their existence.

"Doc...Tor..." One of them slurred at him, pointing toward him with it's over-sized hand. "You are death."

"I am a lot of things. You'd best be careful which one of those things you decide to play with." He threatened softly.

The Silence turned in toward baby Jessica which upset the Doctor greatly. He couldn't see her as they formed around her more securely.

What did they want? What were they doing with her?

A light from the center of them began. They were attacking Jessica.

"No!" He bellowed, leaping at them. He drove himself between them. He was able to slip through surprisingly easily. But he understood their physical forms were less powerful than their electrical and mind manipulating abilities.

He threw himself on top of the toddler who was being bombarded by electrical currents from all directions.

Why are they doing this to her?

She was just a helpless baby! She was no threat to them! They'd already stolen little Melody away so there was no reason for them to take her child as well. Nothing was making sense here.

The Doctor yelled out as the streams of electricity hit him, bolting through his internal organs. He heard a loud thunderous noise, but couldn't be bothered with it.

He knew he wouldn't last long if they kept this up. His sole concern was Jessica. If he died, there would only be seconds before they would be after her again. He felt her form under his chest, barely moving.

He could tell by the weak, slow movements of her small body, that she'd been hurt.

"Jessica, hang in there. You've got to! Don't forget your mum, yeah?" He whispered to the little one. His eyes filled with tears. Her mother had left her in his care and now she was going to die. Why the hell did River think he would ever make a good, safe babysitter?

"Stop! Please, stop this!" He pleaded loudly with the Silence, jerking at each jolt of electricity. The only thing in his favor was that they didn't seem to realize the amount of electrical current a Time Lord could handle. The amount they were using would kill a human fairly quickly, but he had a bit more endurance than they did.

It still hurt like hell, though.

"Kill me, do what you need to me, but leave her alone! Please?" He sounded so meek and lost that anyone with a heart would have burst into tears at his situation and tried to help him.

He stiffened at the horrendous jolts of electricity shooting through him.

It abruptly stopped.

He fell on her, but gingerly kept himself up enough by his arms so as not to harm her. The pain vanished, although the electricity left some burn marks on his clothing. He glanced up and saw the Silence falling.

At first, he was confused. He didn't understand what was happening. Then he realized something else had been happening.

Now that he had a second to rationalize. He'd heard a noise before. A vortex manipulator. As he watched them fall, he understood. They were being shot. He tossed a glance over his shoulder.

River.

He dragged himself up to his knees and turned back to Jessica.

She lay unnaturally still. Her little body was riddled with scorch marks. He checked her breathing. It was shallow. Her heart was beating abnormally rapidly. "Jessica..." He was now pleading with her. "Don't." He sounded like a lost little boy. "Please..." He cried, tears spilling over.

She was dying and he couldn't do a thing to stop it.

"What's happened here?" River didn't know. "You decided to redecorate? I like it. Not sure mum and dad will." She said lightly.

She couldn't see her baby laying motionless on the ground. All she could make out was the Doctor hunched over amidst the debris. She wasn't even sure why she was holding her gun out. She assumed it was a reflex reaction to seeing her parents' home destroyed.

Quickly, she ran over to him and crumpled to her knees at the sight of their daughter. "Jessica! Doctor?" She looked at him.

All he could do was stare back with agonizing pain in his eyes. Pain she refused to acknowledge.

"We have to fix this." She informed him coolly.

"River, I am...Sorry."

"No." She glared at him.

He kept quiet. He was sure he was missing something, but none of that mattered now.

"Leave." River's shocking demand quietly left her lips.

The Doctor's mouth fell open in protest. How could she possibly expect him to abandon her now? With her child dying right here before them. And what had happened to the child anyway?

"Now. You have to." River told him shakily, refusing to allow any tears of her own to fall. She had hope. She also had the knowledge that the Doctor didn't yet know this was his own child. She couldn't let him find out this way. She had a double problem on her hands. Protecting her child, and protecting the Doctor. As horrified as she was at the thought of her child's impending death, she wouldn't neglect the other person in her life that she loved so dearly.

"I can't do that. I won't." He insisted, reaching down to try to assist with Jessica whose life was draining even as they spoke.

"You can. You will. Because I'm asking."

"River-"

She reached over and grabbed his arm, her tone softening now. "If you never do another thing for me, I will forgive that, but do this. Leave me alone with her. I'm asking you for this, as her mother."

The Doctor looked deeply into River's eyes. She was asking this, and he couldn't understand why. But he saw that for whatever reasons, she needed this.

The last time he'd ignored the instincts of a mother, it destroyed lives. Including hers. He couldn't do that to her again. As much as he didn't comprehend her reasoning, he decided it was best to trust her instincts. He may have neglected to do so with her mother, but he could keep from making the same mistake with her.

He nodded and slowly stood up. He knew she would find him if she needed him. He wanted to tell her how sorry he was, that he would do all he could to help her, but all he could do was decide he'd done enough damage.

River would need time to grieve, and she should be allowed to do that however she saw fit.

He used Rory's vortex manipulator and left the mother and daughter alone.

River turned back to their baby as she heard the thunderous vortex open up and swallow the Doctor.

"Jessica, I know it hurts, but mummy is here, and...You can fix this." She coached the barely conscious little one. She wasn't at all sure that Jessica had the ability, but she had to believe it was possible. She was her father's daughter, after all, she reasoned.

She ran a hand across the baby's forehead and down her cheek. "You can change. You can stop the pain. Make yourself all, baby." She let the tears accumulate in her eyes as little Jessica's eyes fluttered open to gaze up at her dazedly.

"You can do it! Do it for mummy and mummy." She pleaded, recalling that the toddler referred to her daddy as mummy too. The two people she trusted to care for her more than any others naturally were both 'mummy' in her young mind.

"Fix yourself Jessica. Make your mum proud. You can do it!" River encouraged, trying to keep her tears in check. "Do like mummy and daddy, well mummy and mummy do. Go on then." She nodded at her with an encouraging smile.

How did Time Lord mums and dads handle this? That wasn't something the Doctor ever bothered to mention. It wasn't something she could just ask him because he wouldn't answer it. At least, she knew he would never give her a proper answer.

She didn't want to just sit here watching her daughter die, but this was all she could do. She didn't question why this was happening. Her life was such that she knew life happened and it was how she dealt with it that counted.

The light in Jessica's eyes dimmed. River was about to gather her up into her arms when the golden light slowly started emanating from the toddler. River quickly got up and moved back, but kept talking to her, keeping her voice soothing. "That's it, Jessica. You can do it!"

The baby's body was soon surrounded by the beautiful golden glow. River kept just enough distance to be safe, but close enough to her daughter just in case she needed her.

Jessica's body exploded in the light, and River slung an arm across her eyes at the painful power of the regenerative energy pouring from the child. Jessica remained oddly silent during all of this. River assumed she must have been taking in whatever was happening to her with the same wonder she took in most new experiences.

As soon as River felt the power recede, she pulled her arm away from her eyes. The glow was quickly fading off Jessica and the limp red haired child was replaced with a tot full of energy. Her eyes still glowed, she popped up into a sitting position and then stood, toddling several steps toward her mother. Her legs were more muscular than they had been, her face slightly more elongated like the Doctor's yet softer than his, prettier for sure, and more feminine.

River laughed and clapped, allowing herself a few tears. "Yes! You did it!" She rushed toward her and grabbed her up into a snug hug. "I'm so proud of you, Jessica!" She reached up and touched the child's new hair. No longer ginger. Dark like her father's, curly like her mother's. It was all over the place and River thought it was absolutely perfect!

Jessica grinned at her mother. "Sha sha!"

River laughed again. "I don't speak baby, but I have a feeling you're proud of you too." Everything would be okay, she sighed, utterly relieved. She didn't mind her child's physical appearance changing. She was still her daughter and she'd experienced plenty of that with the Doctor and even she, herself had done the same thing.

The house was another matter. How had it come to this? She looked around. Indeed, her parents would know the Doctor had been around and they wouldn't be very happy with the aftermath. But she didn't care because Jessica was alive and safe.

The Doctor believed the child was dead. He headed back to the TARDIS, appalled as his lack of ability to protect River's baby.


Next up: The Doctor finally back on the TARDIS. He has to deal with older Jessica, Rory, and, yes, another River!