Landing back on Earth, he knew just where to go judging by the "when". 1969: The year of the moon landings- Kennedy Space Center. He showed his psychic paper, which apparently admitted him as a rocket scientist. He thought about how this would be the perfect job for him if he was human.
Figuring that she would be kept somewhere out of sight of the main projects, he headed down to the basement and followed a man's voice to the end of a dark and murky corridor. He knocked on the doorframe and the man jumped. He was the stereotypical mad scientist with gray unwashed hair, square glasses, and a white lab coat. "I…uhm…wasn't aware that there was an inspection today," he stuttered.
"Surprise," said the Doctor. "Just checking up to make sure everything's running on schedule, with the mission so close and such of the like."
"Yes, yes of course," responded the frazzled man. He took off his gloves. "Well, this here is one of our suits. It's designed for maximum oxygen capacity and to maintain very low temperatures."
"Good," said the Doctor. "Could I…see the others?" He was determined to move deeper into the facility.
The scientist appeared nervous. "This way."
The Doctor followed him down another flight of stairs and around a couple bends into a room that held three suits in glass cases. "Excellent," he whispered, instantly realizing what was wrong. "I was told that there were only three men on this mission."
"Yes, that is correct," the scientist replied, his hands shaking.
"Then, sir, why are you working on a fourth suit?" The Doctor turned to face him.
"Just a backup," the scientist answered. "If we're done here, I need to get back to work- very busy."
The Doctor followed him back out into the corridor and heard an all too familiar sound. He looked to his left and marked his wrist with his pen. The Doctor turned to face the scientist, who was now facing in the direction of the Silent. The Doctor casually glanced at his wrist, as he had been periodically since the moment he arrived in the basement. One mark. "You stare at it, but it doesn't frighten you," the Doctor pointed out. "It's almost as if you've seen them before."
The scientist looked back at the Doctor. "Seen who before?"
The Doctor kicked the man in the shins and pulled out his sonic, which he was glad to have back in his own hands. He raced down the corridor where the Silent had been and could hear the cries of a little girl in the distance. He followed them down two flights of stairs into a maze of underground tunnels. Then he saw her- in an open cavern straight ahead strapped to a stone chair surrounded by Silents. He made several marks and casually entered the room. The new Melody stared at him with dark eyes. "Doctor- help!"
"Hand her over," the Doctor ordered. He focused his eyes on the hollow ones of what appeared to be the Silent in charge, who was standing over the tearful little girl with a test tube.
"Leave," warned a voice from behind him. "They'll kill you, you know."
The Doctor turned to face the scientist, who was aiming a pistol at him with shaking hands. "Looks like you'd kill me too," the Doctor observed aloud.
"I didn't want to," the scientist said with a nervous twitch and appeared to choke back a sob. "She told me to. She told me I had to if the man with the bowtie came."
"Who told you?" the Doctor asked carefully, taking a couple steps toward him.
"The woman- the one with the eyepatch!" the scientist yelled. "She told me that they're always watching and she was right. Look at them- they're watching us now. And…they won't kill me if I kill you."
"Before you kill me, I think I'm entitled to one last question," the Doctor suggested. The scientist gulped and nodded. "What is the fourth spacesuit for?"
"The girl," the scientist answered, looking toward Melody, who was tugging at her restraints. "They want to use her as a weapon. They gave me access to technology beyond my wildest dreams to build this thing. Indestructible, they said. I just didn't realize when I took the job…"
"…that there was a price," the Doctor finished. He took two steps forward and whispered, "You can still get out of this. Lower your gun. Help me save her."
The scientist pondered the thought for a moment. He prepared his gun to shoot. The Doctor closed his eyes and heard the release of the bullet. He felt nothing and opened his eyes. Melody's body slumped to one side of the chair. All the hollow eyes of the Silents were on the Doctor and the scientist. The Doctor grabbed the scientist's arm and they bolted.
"What did you do that for?!" the Doctor screamed.
"She's out of her misery," the scientist replied with tears. "Their restraints are beyond our comprehension. It would have been impossible to free her."
"Get out of here," the Doctor demanded. "Get out of here now or else you'll never be free. I'm going back for her."
They stopped running. "It's all over now," the scientist said. "I don't expect to make it out of this- they'll kill me for what I did. You need to run. You have a chance."
"No!" the Doctor yelled. "You just made things worse for both of us. They're not going to kill you because they still need you."
"For what?" the scientist groaned.
"To finish the suit," the Doctor explained. "It's hard to comprehend, but the girl is still alive. I need you to tell me right now what the suit does."
The scientist looked bewildered. "The woman said it was a gift for the Doctor. I don't know who this Doctor is and why he'd need such a powerful weapon, but I was tempted by the technology and took the offer."
The Doctor fell silent for a moment. "It's not for me, it's to use against me," he said aloud.
"What?" asked the puzzled scientist.
The Doctor ignored him and turned to go back for Melody when suddenly the tunnel collapsed in front of him, blocking his path back into the chamber. "No!" he screamed.
"There's another way in," remembered the scientist. "Hurry- this way!"
The Doctor followed the scientist back up the stairs. Just as they were heading back through his main laboratory where the new suit was being made, the scientist cried out. He had been pulled back by a Silent. The Doctor grabbed hold of him, but another Silent pushed him hard into the corridor and he landed on the stone. The door slammed shut behind him.
The Doctor looked up and knew it was impossible to prevent. This was a fixed point in time. They had kept him alive just so they could kill him later, and when it was his time, he would bring Amy and Rory so they could see their daughter again. He found himself almost wishing for death, after he had failed to save Melody's chance at a wonderful childhood. He realized that her current regeneration would turn her into River- the River that would grow up and he would grow to love. Even if he wasn't destined to survive, she would still have parents to love her. It wouldn't be too late.
The Doctor stood, straightened his bowtie, and ran. Though he ran, he would remember.