Melanie watched at the Doctor cobbled together some sort of device out of random odds and ends. "What does it do?" she asked.

"It's a generator", the Doctor replied "a few winds of this should give us enough to power up the monitor so we can see what's going on".

"You want me to…?" Melanie nodded to the device.

"I know you'd be capable but…" Rory then made an appearance followed by Amy "Ah, Rory, wind" the Doctor then gave Amy the attached wire "Amy, could you attach this to the monitor, please".

"I was promised amazing worlds. Instead I get duff central heating and a weird, kitcheny wind-up device", Rory grumbled.

"It's a generator", the Doctor answered "Get winding".

"Why is the Dream Lord picking on you? Why us?" Rory questioned at he wound the hand held generator. The monitor screen beeps to life showing the four of them a starscape.

"Where are we?" Amy asked.

"We're in trouble", the Doctor stated.

"What is that?" Rory questioned eyeing the screen.

"A star. A cold star", the Doctor answered before rushing over to the doors and opens them, letting in a blinding light "That's why we're freezing. It's not a heating malfunction. We're drifting towards a cold sun. There's our deadly danger for this version of reality", the Doctor closed the doors and goes to a large monitor on the wall.

"So this must be the dream", Amy stated "There's no such thing as a cold star. Stars burn".

"That star is burning too", Melanie pointed out "It's just burning cold".

"Is that possible?" Rory asked.

"I can't know everything. Why does everybody expect me to, always?" the Doctor headed to the console area and sits down, dejectedly. Melanie sat down beside him.

"It's ok Doctor", she said gently taking his hand "we'll figure it out together". The Doctor smiled at her knowing she was trying to make him feel better.

"So does that mean this is the dream?" Rory spoke up.

"I don't know", the Doctor sighed "but there it is, and I'd say we've got about fourteen minutes until we crash into it. But that's not a problem".

"What is the problem?" Melanie asked.

"We'll have frozen to death by then", the Doctor answered.

"Then what'll we do?" Amy asked.

The Doctor stood up, bringing Melanie with him "Stay calm", he answered "Don't get sucked in to it, because this just might be the battle that we have to lose".

"Oh, this is so you, isn't it?" Rory remarked, folding his arms, giving the Time Lord an annoyed look.

"What?" the Doctor asked.

"A weird new star, fourteen minutes left to live and only one man to save the day. I just wanted a nice village and a family", Rory said crossly.

The Dream Lord appeared behind the Doctor and Melanie. "Oh dear, Doctor. Dissent in the ranks. There was an old doctor from Gallifrey, who ended up throwing his life away. He let down his friends and…." He trailed off when he heard bird song "Oh, no. We've run out of time. Don't spend too long there, or you'll catch your death here".

~Leadworth~

Melanie stood arms wrapped around herself, trying very hard from swaying on the spot while she watched the Doctor examined the piles of dust that were dotted all over the place.

"You see, this is the real one. I just feel it. Don't you feel it?" Rory said to Amy.

"I feel it both places", Amy answered.

"I feel it here. It's just so tranquil and relaxed. Nothing bad could ever happen here", Rory said.

"D-doctor", Melanie said shakily making the Time Lord look up at her. He immediately jumped to him feet.

"What's wrong?" he asked quickly "do you feel faint? Sick? do you need to sit down?"

"T-TARDIS. Please", Melanie answered. The Doctor nodded and carefully picked her up.

"Where are we going?" Amy asked as the Doctor walked quickly away with Melanie in his arms.

"The TARDIS", the Doctor replied.

"But what about the deadly danger?" Amy questioned.

"I'll deal with it after I get my Bonded back to the TARDIS", the Doctor answered sharply. He hadn't gone very far when he saw several of the elderly line up along the path, facing the park.

Suddenly the Dream Lord appeared between the old people and the Doctor, Rory and Amy. "Hello, peasants", he said greeting the old people cheerfully "What's this, attack of the old people?" he remarked "Oh, that's ridiculous. This has got to be the dream, hasn't it? What do you think, Amy?" the Dream Lord asked "Let's all jump under a bus and wake up in the TARDIS. You first!"

"Leave her alone!" the Doctor ordered.

"Oh, do that again. I love it when he does that. Tall dark hero", the Dream Lord mocked "though it's funny how you're not much of a hero to your Bonded are you Doctor? I mean…if you'd taken her with you, that monster would never have gotten his hands on her. Your previous self would never have left her behind and if he did for any reason…he would've hunted that man down and shown him why he's called the Oncoming Storm". The Dream Lord turned back to Amy "Now…how about that bus?"

"Just leave her alone", Rory spoke up trying to match the Doctor's tone.

"Yes, you're not quite so impressive", the Dream Lord scoffed. He glanced at the ginger "but I know where your heart lies, don't I, Amy Pond?"

"Shut up!", Amy snapped "Just shut up and leave me alone".

"But listen, you're in there", the Dream Lord continued smirking at how uncomfortable Amy looked "Loves a redhead, the Doctor. Though I suppose he favours brunette now given who his Bonded is…"

"Drop it", the Doctor interrupted "Drop all of it. I know who you are".

"Course you don't", the Dream Lord countered.

"Course I do. No idea how you can be here, but there's only one person in the universe who hates me as much as you do", the Doctor said. It took him a while to figure it out but it finally made sense.

"Never mind me!" the Dream Lord said "Maybe you should worry about them". He then vanished. The old people open their mouths to reveal an eye.

"There is an eye in their mouths!" Amy exclaimed. Shifting Melanie slightly in his arms, the Doctor got out his sonic and used it.

"There's a whole creature inside all of them", he stated "They've been there for years, living and waiting".

Rory screwed his face up "That is disgusting. They're not going to be peeping out of anywhere else, are they?" he asked hoping that wasn't the case. Mrs Poggit leans forward and shoots a green mist from her mouth. The Doctor quickly stepped back not wanting Melanie, who was still in his arms, to get hit by it. Rory pulled Amy back to keep her safe too.

"Run!" the Doctor shouted at Amy and Rory as he tightened his arms around Melanie. The trio turned and took off.


The Doctor stumbled down the road, trying to fight off the urge to fall into a slumber as the birdsong echoed around him. His grip tightened on Melanie, desperate not to drop her as she was already unconscious. He really hoped that Amy and Rory were ok as they were forced to separate when a second group of elderly had joined the first.

The Time Lord practically fell into a butchers shop shoving the door shut with his shoulder and somehow managing to lock it even with Melanie in his arms. Behind the counter was the Dream Lord who was smirking at the Doctor.

"Oh, I love a good butcher's, don't you?" the Dream Lord remarked "We've got to use these places or they'll shut down. Oh, but you're probably a vegetarian, aren't you, you big flop-haired wuss".

"Oh, pipe down. I'm busy", the Doctor snapped.

"Maybe you need a little sleep", the Dream Lord commented. The bird song gets louder and the Doctor slips to the floor, fighting to stay awake. "Oh, wait a moment. If you fall asleep here, several dozen angry pensioners will destroy you with their horrible eye things" the Doctor struggled to his feet, jostling Melanie but she didn't stir. The Time Lord stumbled down the hall behind the counter as the elderly managed to get into the shop.

"Yes, we've got lots at 'steak' here this week", the Dream Lord said with a smirk "Lots at steak, get it?" the Doctor clenched his jaw and forced himself to walk faster. He was not going to let his Bonded be harmed by those 'elderly people'. "Are these jokes wasted on you?"

The Doctor ignored him and shouldered open another door. He set Melanie down against the wall and slammed the door shut, locking it with his sonic. Not a brief second later, he fell to the floor, fast asleep.

~TARDIS~

The Doctor woke up on the glass floor with something warm curled up against him. It was Melanie. He didn't move. He wanted to savour the warmth she was giving off. This had been one of the things that had helped him figure out who the Dream Lord was.

"How cold is it?" Melanie mumbled to the Doctor, having woken up to see him practically snuggled up against her.

"Very", the Doctor replied. Melanie got to her feet earning a pout from the Doctor which the brunette didn't see. She went over to Amy who was clutching the blanket tightly around herself. Melanie put an arm around her making the ginger jump at how warm she was.

"How are you warm?" Amy asked. It wasn't like she was complaining. She was very grateful for it as the blanket wasn't doing too much to keep the cold at bay.

"I have no idea", Melanie replied rubbing Amy's arm.

"That's it!" Rory blurted out "This has to be the dream because out Elle isn't cold and…burning ice? Come on".

"I think he could be right", Amy agreed.

"No, no, no. Ice can burn", the Doctor said "Sofas can read. It's a big universe. We have to agree which battle to lose. All of us, now".

"Okay, which world do you think is real?" Amy asked.

"This one", the Doctor answered quickly.

"No, the other one", Rory argued "Elle isn't cold so unless she's running a temperature…she should be feeling the cold just like the rest of us".

"Elle is perfectly healthy here", the Doctor told him.

"So this has to be dream", Rory insisted.

"No, the other one has to be the dream", the Doctor argued.

"Why?" Rory asked.

"Because Elle is sick!" the Doctor said loudly "and any reality where my Bonded is sick has to be the dream or in my case, a nightmare!"

Melanie moved over to the Doctor and hugged him. "Whichever is the real one, we'll figure it out together. Arguing isn't helping the situation", she said.

"You're right Elle", the Doctor agreed. He then checked his watch "if we're going to figure it out, we better do it quick because we're running out of time", he added.

"If only we could split up or something", Melanie mused aloud "two of us in one reality, two in the other".

"That's not a bad idea Elle", the Doctor remarked "it would give us an active presence in both worlds, but the Dream Lord keeps switching us between them. Why? Why? what's the logic?"

"Good idea, veggie", the Dream Lord said popping up right by the Doctor and Melanie. Immediately the Time Lord put his Bonded protectively behind him. "Let's divide you four up, so I can have a little chat with the ladies. Maybe I'll keep your Bonded but I'll give you Amy. So you can have both her and Pointy Nose to yourself for all eternity, should you manage to clamber aboard some sort of reality".

Bird song starts up. "Can you hear that?" Rory asked Amy.

"What? No", Amy answered worried about being stuck with the Dream Lord.

"Elle, its going to be ok", the Doctor assured her trying to fight off the song for as long as he could "I'll be back for you, I promise". He then collapsed onto the floor.

The Dream Lord smiled at the women. "We're going to have fun, aren't we?"

Melanie glanced at Amy and seeing her worried expression, resolved to stay strong, no matter what happened. She watched as the Dream Lord approached Amy "Poor Amy. He always leaves you, doesn't he, alone in the dark. Never apologises", he mocked.

"He doesn't have to", Amy said.

"That's good, because he never will", the Dream Lord glanced at Melanie "and some Bonded he is. He's left you with me".

"Not through his own choice", Melanie replied calmly "and he'll be back. He promised".

"You know, he made similar promise to Amy", the Dream Lord said "He promised her he'd be 5 minutes. He well and truly broke that one didn't he? But I suppose since you're his Bonded, he'll somehow manage to keep that promise".

"Who are you, and what do you want?" Amy suddenly demanded, starting to get annoyed with the Dream Lord "The Doctor knows you, but he's not telling me who you are. And he always does. Takes him a while sometimes, but he tells me. So you're something different".

"Oh, is that who you think you are? The one he trusts?" the Dream Lord asked raising his eyebrows.

"Actually, yes", Amy replied. Melanie looked at the ginger wondering if she realised that she was still present in the room.

"The only girl in the universe to whom the Doctor tells everything?" the Dream Lord questioned casting a glance at Melanie.

"Yes", Amy answered.

"Well that's a big lie right there", the Dream Lord said "She is the Doctor's Bonded", he stated pointing to Melanie "which you seemed to conveniently have forgotten was even here" Amy looked at the brunette with an apologetic look on her face "Elle is the one girl in the universe he'd tell everything to. She is the one he trusts the most, not you Amy Pond".

"Ok, you've made your point", Melanie spoke up seeing how the words were affecting Amy.

"Have I made my point Amy?" the Dream Lord asked "because if I have then all you've got left to do is pick a world. Choose a reality and this nightmare will be over".

Bird song started up and Amy fell to the glass floor, fast asleep leaving Melanie alone with the Dream Lord. "Why didn't you send me to the other reality with her?" she asked.

"Because in this one you're healthy, the other you're not", the Dream Lord answered.

"Yeah, well if the other reality is the dream then it's your fault I'm sick", Melanie shot back folding her arms. A flicker of regret passed over the Dream Lord's face. But as it passed so quickly Melanie couldn't be sure if that's what she actually saw or if she just imagined it. "Ok, answer me this: why don't I feel cold here?"

"Maybe you're running a temperature", the Dream Lord answered.

Melanie shook her head "the Doctor checked. I'm fine", she said "so maybe this is the dream". The Dream Lord didn't answer. He didn't even react. "If this is the dream, that raises another point. I'm the only one who is warm. You're the Dream Lord. You create dreams. So why make me the only one who doesn't fee l the cold? And…you're nice to me. Why?"

"Believe it or not Elle, I like you", the Dream Lord answered "and because I do, I have a little something just for you".

The bird song started up for the umpteenth time, Melanie quickly succumbing to it.


"Mummy! Mummy wake up!" a little boy shouted. Melanie opened her eyes to see a young boy with ginger hair was sitting there with his small hands on her shoulder. "Finally!" he huffed "I thought you were going to sleep all day".

The bedroom door opened and the Doctor walked in carrying a girl of about 4 years old with wavy brown hair. "Orion, I thought I told you to wait while I got your sister before you woke up mummy", the Doctor said in a mock stern tone.

"Sorry daddy", Orion said apologetically "I just want to give mummy her present".

"That's alright sweetheart", Melanie said, sitting up properly "mummy is awake now and daddy is here with your sister. You can give me the present, if you like".

Orion glanced at his father who nodded. The boy turned back to Melanie and held out a badly wrapped present. The brunette took it from him and unwrapped it. She smiled at the handmade pot that was inside the box. "Did you make this Orion?" Melanie asked the boy.

Orion nodded "yep! Daddy helped me paint it", he said.

"It's amazing. I love it", Melanie said and lightly ruffled his hair. Orion quickly smoothed it down but he had a pleased smile on his little face.

"Amy has something for you as well", the Doctor spoke up "isn't that right?" he asked, addressing the girl in his arms. She nodded. The Doctor walked forward and carefully deposited Amy into Melanie's open arms.

"Is this for me honey?" Melanie asked her daughter, noticing the envelope clutched in her hands. The girl nodded again. Melanie took it from her, opened the envelope and took out a sheet of paper. On it were four stick figures. Two females and two males. It was very clear to Melanie that it was a family picture that Amy had drawn. There were also names under the figures in wobbly handwriting which was a pretty big clue. "I love it Amy, thank you", Melanie said dropping a kiss on top of her head.

"I think we may have a little artist in the family", the Doctor remarked looking lovingly at his wife holding his daughter.

"Yeah, I think we have", Melanie agreed smiling as Amy snuggled closer.

"And I've got a little something for you later", the Doctor said giving her a look, making a faint blush appear on Melanie's face. It was rather strange for him to give her such a suggestive look, as the Doctor had never looked at her like that before. Melanie had to admit…she kinda liked it. "Right! Who wants to help me make mummy some breakfast?" the Doctor asked, his tone back to its normal childlike nature.

"Me!" both Amy and Orion cheered. Melanie watched as they both scrambled off the bed, charging after the Doctor who was running out of the room like the mad man he was. A smile worked its way onto her lips. Even though she knew this was a dream, she couldn't help but feel happy. She had a house, a husband and two wonderful children…to bad it wasn't real.

"So do you like it then?" the Dream Lord asked as he popped up in the room.

"I shouldn't because I know it's not real but yeah, I do like it. I like it a lot", Melanie answered honestly. She slipped out of bed.

"This is the life you deserve. A home…a family", the Dream Lord said "a life full of fun, laughter and happiness".

"You never know, I might get that one day", Melanie said "only time will tell".

"Yes, only time will tell" the Dream Lord looked around the room "its too bad I can't give you more time here. Amy has made her choice. So I will bid you farewell" he smiled at her. Melanie heard the bird song start up once more "it was nice to meet you Elle. The Doctor has no idea how lucky he is. Do me a favour and remind him every once in a while?" Melanie nodded slowly, her eyes drifting shut. The Dream Lord watched as she fell to the carpeted floor before he vanished completely.


Melanie sat up on her bed, coming face to face with a relieved Doctor. "Thank god you're awake. I was starting to get worried", he said.

"I'm in my room", she stated "Does that mean it's over?"

The Doctor nodded "Yes, it is. Neither of those worlds were real. The Dream Lord was giving us a choice between two dreams", he said.

Melanie shook her head "of course they were", she muttered "So what exactly was the Dream Lord?"

"He was me", the Doctor answered.

"How? He wasn't exactly nice to you", Melanie reminded him.

"That's because it was the darkest parts of me", the Doctor replied "but of course you being my Bonded, even that side of me still cared about you".

"And how did that dark part of you become the Dream Lord?" Melanie questioned.

"Psychic pollen from the candle meadows of Karass don Slava. It fell in the time rotor, heated up and induced a dream state for all of us", the Doctor explained.

"But why did it only target you? why didn't it go after me or Amy or Rory?" Melanie asked.

"Elle there isn't a shred of darkness in you, so it would've starved to death instantly. Same for Amy and Rory", the Doctor told her.

"So are they ok? Amy and Rory, I mean"

"They're fine", the Doctor replied.

"What about you? Are you ok?" Melanie asked watching his carefully for his response.

"I'm fine, just glad its over", the Doctor said honestly.

"The Dream Lord said something to me before I fell asleep", Melanie said after a moment of sitting there in silence.

"What did he say?" the Doctor asked. Melanie leant forward and kissed him softly.

"He told me to remind you how lucky you are that you have me", she said when she pulled back.

"If that's the way you're going to remind me then I wouldn't mind you reminding me often", the Doctor said gently touching her face. Melanie smiled at him.

"Would you like another reminder?" she asked.

"Yes please", the Doctor breathed. Melanie pressed her lips against his again. She let out a muffled noise of surprise when the Doctor tugged her onto his lap. As the kiss continued, the Doctor decided to be a little bolder by lightly nudging his tongue against her lips. Melanie parted them slightly, allowing his tongue entrance to her mouth. His Bonded let out a soft moan as his tongue lightly caressed hers. The Doctor closed his eyes, feeling the warmth flood over him as he kissed her. He loved this feeling. He loved HER. His Melanie. His Bonded.

Eventually they parted, resting their foreheads together. "I love you Elle", he murmured. His twin hearts soared when Melanie said in the softest tone imaginable

"I love you too"