The Rejection of River Song: What Will Happen?
The Doctor's gaze softened as he watched Angel step before him, swallowing hard as he pulled the sonic out and flashed the Dampening Bracelet, disabling the bio-coding. He knew it would only activate once he'd put it on and then the sonic would be no help at all, so it had to be now. He tried to smile at Angel, tried to give her one more smile...but he couldn't manage it.
How did one manage a smile when their hearts were breaking?
"Are you ready?" he asked Angel in a breath, slipping the bracelet on, trying to hide his grimace as every sensation of her was cut off.
He felt...numb, he felt cold, he felt...empty.
The Mating...it was so...filling, it made you so...aware of another presence that he really...he really didn't know how he'd be able to live like this, without feeling her or hearing her, the Mating letting him know she was there. He really had no idea how he'd managed it before when he'd forgotten her. But even then he knew, it was like a little faint buzz or tingle, the faintest brush of wind that was Angel, he'd felt her even then...but now? Now he felt...nothing at all...nothing of HER at least. Oh he still felt things. He felt his love for her. He felt his devastation. He felt his sorrow to have to do this. He felt everything FOR her, but he couldn't feel HER.
Angel nodded, taking a breath, "I've had 200 years to prepare for this," she added.
He nodded though he barely felt like he'd had 200 seconds to prepare, but now he knew...this was what she'd been keeping from him all that time. But in the little time he had left with her, he just couldn't find it in himself to be angry, not with what was about to happen. His mother had always told him never to go to bed or leave anyone being angry. And right now...this was the last moment he would have with his Mate...he wanted to cherish it. He stood there a long moment, just looking at her despite knowing every moment was another where the Silence might break through Amy and Rory's barricade and spot them, spot what they were doing, the bracelet. He knew time was of the essence, literally, but he just...he wanted another moment, and another, always just one more moment with her.
"I love you," he said softly, holding out his shaking hand to her, tears in his eyes.
"I love you too," she replied, reaching out and taking his hand, "Always," she added.
He pulled her to him the moment her hand touched his and kissed her as deeply as he could, not wanting a simple hand-hold to be their last memory together. It was a kiss goodbye, a kiss in promise of finding their daughter, and a kiss for just one last time…
And slowly time resumed…
~0~
The Doctor blinked and found himself in the museum, having just strapped the Vortex Manipulator to his wrist. He closed his eyes tightly, ignoring the alarms blaring and the shouts of the guards rushing at him, before entering a different code and slapping it.
And this time...this time he appeared inside the TARDIS instead of feet away from it, running to the monitor…
~0~
Angel closed her eyes with a small smile as the younger River fired at her twice, shooting out both her hearts...
~0~
Amy and Rory ran forward but the older River held them back.
~0~
Amy and Rory cried over her body.
~0~
Rory sent the burning boat adrift with her in it.
~0~
And all around the Earth, the steam engines, hot air balloons, and pterodactyls disappeared as time fixed itself.
~8~
The 10th Doctor clone, or John Smith as he liked to call himself, a human name for a human man, ran around the TARDIS he and Rose Tyler had grown, with a small gift he'd found in his coat pocket, a chunk of TARDIS coral from Angel with a small bit of instructions on how to grow one at an accelerated pace. He was laughing as they escaped yet another danger, and pulled a lever.
The TARDIS was off!
The new box was whizzing through space and time when suddenly…there was a sharp pang in his heart. He frowned, his grip on the knob he'd been about to turn loosening as the feeling grew. TARDIS gave a sad hum, the lights dimming. He looked up, a bit startled as he recognized the feeling, as though a part of him had died.
A hand touched his and he looked over to see Rose looking up at him with tears in her eyes, a similar pain reflected in them, before he pulled her to him, hugging her tightly...
~8~
Martha Jones smiled as she watched Mickey try and teach their toddler how to ride a tricycle, laughing as the large man pushed the small child and his equally small bike. Her grin faded though when her thoughts suddenly drifted to Angel. She let out a breath and put a hand to her check, surprised to see she was crying.
A moment later Mickey put a hand on her shoulder, the same sadness and loss in his eyes...
~8~
Donna Noble laid on the sofa with Shawn, just watching Monty Python with her husband, enjoying their time together, a nice quaint night after a brilliant dinner. She burst out laughing at the scene before her…only for her laughs to turn into tears and then sobs as Shawn held her tightly, rocking her back and forth as she cried...
~8~
Jenny shot up in bed from where she was sleeping beside her husband, Cline, with a gasp, waking him as well from the jolt. Cline frowned, seeing her staring at the wall with wide eyes that were quickly filling with tears and reached out to put a hand on her shoulder. Jenny turned and clung to him, allowing herself a brief moment of weakness and vulnerability her husband rarely ever saw as she cried into his shoulder, murmuring, "Mum…" heartbrokenly over and over...
~8~
Sarah Jane Smith hummed lightly to herself as she went to get the mail from her mailbox. She flipped through the envelopes in her hand as she walked back towards her house on Bannerman Road, only to slow down in the middle of her drive. The envelopes fell from her hand as the door to her house opened and her son, Luke, ran out with his friends Clyde and Rani. They ran straight for her as tears filled her eyes and pulled her into a tight hug as her heart broke.
~8~
Jack Harkness patted Ianto's back as he and the team walked back towards the Hub after a successful mission...only to stop dead. The team walked a few more steps before pausing, as though feeling the same thing he was, and looking back at him. He was staring at the ground before he spun around and looked up at the stars, a heartbroken expression on his face.
"Oh Angie…" he breathed.
~8~
"Tick tock goes the clock,
She gave all she could give them.
Tick tock goes the clock,
Now River's going to prison."
The song resonated throughout the Universe, through burning stars and supernovas, through black holes and swirling galaxies. People all across the space, through time itself, just…stopped and mourned, for what many did not know.
But none, none felt it more profoundly, that loss, that agonizing knowledge of something terrible happening, than a small group of humans on Earth and one 'Time Lady' on Messaline. For with that feeling…came the knowledge, the terrible, terrible truth…
The Angel was dead.
The Angel had truly fallen.
~8~
Amy sat at a table behind her house, looking out at the stars, with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders, a bottle of wine and two glasses before her. There was a flash of light and a crackle of electricity but Amy didn't even blink, all too familiar with the sound of a Vortex Manipulator by now, "Heard there was a freak meteor shower two miles away," she began, "So I got us a bottle."
"Thank you, dear," River Song walked over and picked up the bottle, pouring a glass.
Amy glanced at her, seeing her dressed in the familiar camouflage, but was too worn out with what had just happened, in her memory, to truly put an effort into remembering exactly what adventure that was, so she just went with asking River herself, "So where are we?"
River had been...making an effort to see her and Rory lately, in the few months they'd been on Earth, after the Doctor and Angel had dropped them off after the hotel...River had been, well, popping up. It was the older Rivers, nowhere near as young as the one that they'd just encountered in the pyramid. She winced, she had even more memories in her head now. She'd told Rory about it, the man had vague recollections of it. Something about wearing black and...being sad, SO sad...and she'd told him it was because of Angel. They'd felt it, they both had, the moment she'd died. Rory had been devastated, had refused to be in the same room as River at first, he'd been so...angry with her.
He was justified of course, the woman had chosen to kill his sister! It would have been one thing if she'd been literally brainwashed to do it, like she was meant to kill the Doctor, but...she'd decided, of her own free will, to kill Angel. And he couldn't forgive that. He just...he tried, he tried SO hard to look at River and see...Melody Pond, his daughter, but...he couldn't. He just couldn't. He hadn't conceived her, it was like...finding out you were a sperm donor or something. And even when Mels had been around, growing up with them, she'd never liked him, and he had really only put up with her for Amy's sake. Mels was AMY'S best friend, not his. All he saw when he looked at River was just...River Song. All he saw was the woman who had used his wife, manipulated one of his friends, been so cruel to, and killed, his sister.
The only thing that had gotten him to bear being in the same room as the woman after her first few attempts at speaking to them, had been when River brought up that Angel would have wanted him to forgive her. He'd snapped at her then, he knew, from the tone of her voice, that it was her attempt to manipulate HIM as well, and he'd reminded her that HE wasn't Angel. And stormed off. Unfortunately, the more he thought about it, the more he knew that Angel would have wanted him to forgive River. Angel had gone to the Lake, knowing what was coming, she'd chosen to go there and not fight River, for whatever reason. And he knew, it would be Angel's last wish for them to see River as their daughter, like she did Jenny. He wouldn't ever forgive her, he barely tolerated her as it was, but...he could at least be in the house when River came round.
Amy was always cautious though, when River was there, she...she hated to say it, but she didn't know why River was coming to see them, whether it was to try and atone for the devastation of what she'd just done, in Amy's perspective, or just because they were biologically her parents she didn't know. But, somehow, River was still her daughter…and, after long talks with Jenny before Demons Run and seeing how torn up the Doctor and Angel had been losing Ayla, she felt like...she couldn't ignore this opportunity to spend...time with the woman who was genetically her daughter. The older Rivers...the older ones she could deal with, those she felt like...maybe they'd matured, grown up a bit more, grown out of their obsession with the Doctor just a bit...whatever reason, she could look at the older Rivers and not see the younger one trying to kill Angel. They looked different, even if it was minutely, so she made an effort, in honor of Angel.
"I just climbed out of the Byzantium," River smirked.
Amy winced, not only because she knew this wasn't the oldest River she'd met, but also in recalling the questions she herself had asked River during that adventure, insisting she was the Doctor's wife. Now, knowing who Angel was and her condition at the time…she couldn't begin to say how much she regretted that. Regretted pushing the Doctor more towards River and away from Angel. She could only imagine how badly her questions and teasing had hurt Angel.
"You were there. So young," she sat down, "Didn't have a clue who I was...you're funny like that. Where are you?"
"Angel's dead," Amy whispered, sipping her wine.
River was silent a moment.
Amy couldn't read her expression. This River was far more adept at hiding her thoughts than her younger self, all her older selves seemed to be the same, more careful around her and Rory. Amy wasn't sure if that should worry her more or less that the Doctor and Angel would have a harder time trying to see if River was planning something, but then remembered...Angel wasn't there anymore and the Doctor had gone into hiding, alone, suffering with the death of his Mate, a death brought on by her daughter.
She drained her glass.
"How are you doing?" River asked after a minute.
"How do you think?" Amy nearly snapped, unable to really look at her daughter with the topic being Angel, if she looked at her now, all her work in trying to see this as a different River would be for nothing.
"Well, I don't know unless you tell me," she retorted sassily.
"I killed someone," Amy said instead, closing her eyes, seeing exactly how much she was like her daughter, how much her daughter was like her. It made her sick to realize how truthful she'd been when facing Kovarian, that River really HADN'T gotten it all from their training, there WAS a bit of her and Rory in her. She felt bile rising in her at the thought that both she and her daughter had murdered someone. She'd woken up screaming from nightmares of it on more than one occasion, but Rory had been there, had held her, had reassured her, or tried to, by saying...SHE had killed an enemy, River had killed a friend. It didn't make her feel better to know she'd killed anyone at all, "Madame Kovarian, in cold blood."
"In an aborted time-line," River sighed, "In a world that never was..."
"Yeah, well, I can remember it, so it happened, so I did it. What does that make me now?" she sighed, she couldn't just brush it off as easily as River was able to, "I need to talk to the Doctor," she needed to know that he didn't see her as as bad a murderer as River was, she...didn't want him to hate her for doing what River had done, "But I can't now, can I? He's gone off, hiding out there, keeping low so the Silence don't find him again," she knew that the only people in the Universe who knew that the Doctor was alive were her, Rory, and River and...knowing what the Silence had planned for her and knowing the danger that truth would mean for the Doctor...River had seemed to keep quiet about it, why else would she still be in Stormcage for Angel's murder if not to keep the illusion going that the Doctor had also died as a result? She swallowed hard, "…and Angel, she's…"
River put down her glass and paused in thought, "If you could talk to him, would it make a difference?"
"He wouldn't talk to me," she replied, tears in her eyes, "Angel's dead, he won't talk to anyone."
"Oh, mother..." River sighed, not wanting to say this but...she'd noticed, lately, she'd started to feel a bit, a tiny bit mind you, of...guilt, when it came to her parents at least, or her mother. Amy was, at least, making an effort to try and talk to her, even if she couldn't really bring herself to look at her much. All her time alone in Stormcage was starting to...get to her. She was left alone, forgotten about, unless Angel (of course, it just HAD to be HER) got the Doctor to take her on a trip, or if she was needed for a mission...otherwise, she was just...alone. Amy...talked to her, "Of course she isn't," she put her hand on Amy's leg.
"Not for you, I suppose, you're seeing the younger versions of them both, running around, having adventures..."
"Yeah, I am...but…" she sighed, "That's not what I mean."
"Then what do you mean?" Amy finally looked at her.
"Ok. I'm going to tell you what I probably shouldn't. Something that Angel mentioned once. Didn't have a clue what it was till just now, of course it would all make sense now," she added a bit bitterly at the fact that Angel could be cryptic enough where it would take HER this long to figure it out.
"What?"
"What's Rule 2?"
Amy blinked, confused as to what that had to do with anything, "Angel doesn't lie."
River nodded, "She doesn't, not really, but I do, all the time, I have to, spoilers. Pretending I don't know you're my mother. Pretending I didn't recognize the spacesuit in Florida…"
"What's that got to do with anything?"
"Angel is psychic," River told her, "She's almost as bad as the Doctor being one step ahead of everyone…"
"River, what is it!?"
"She's 'had 200 years to prepare for this,' didn't she?"
Amy's eyes started to widen when suddenly…a familiar wheezing noise filled the yard and she leapt to her feet.
"Hey?" Rory called as he ran out of the house, hearing the wheezing as well. He started to spin around, looking for it, much like Amy was, "Where is it?!"
~8~
A hooded figure carried Dorium's box solemnly back to its pedestal, "Who's carrying me?" he shouted from within, "I demand to know...I'm a head, I have rights! I want my doors open this time," the figure placed the box gently on its spot, "I demand that my doors are open," and slid the box open before walking away, "Is it you?! It is, isn't it?" the figure stopped and slowly turned, "It IS you, I can sense it. But how did you do it? How could you possibly have escaped?!"
~0~
The Doctor stood before the monitor, tears blurring his vision as he watched Angel close her eyes and River...fire. He flinched with each shot, his hearts shattering as he watched his Mate fall to the ground. He felt like he couldn't breathe when she started to regenerate, that orange-gold flare rising up around her...and he fell to his knees when River made the last two shots, blasting out both her hearts mid-regeneration just as the energy reached its peak. The pain in his hearts nearly broke him apart. The Dampening Bracelet may block the Mating bonds, but it didn't suppress his feelings for her at all.
Seeing her die…for him…
He fell back against the console, his head in his knees, just sobbing as his world shattered around him…
Angel was dead.
His Mate was gone.
His Nella...
Oh God.
He could hear River and Amy and Rory shouting n the monitor but paid no mind to it, he couldn't really make out what they were saying. He couldn't listen. His pain was making him closed off, it was all he could feel. He was shaking, trembling, feeling pain shooting through him from his hearts. The Dampening Bracelet just meant he didn't physically feel her pain, it did NOTHING for his own pain. It made sure he didn't die with her...it did absolutely nothing in making him feel like he didn't want to die too, because he did, he just...he loved her, so much, and now she was gone.
All he could think about was all the times he'd spent with Angel, all the adventures, all the missing time when he'd forgotten. The regret of those particular memories near drowned him…especially remembering she'd been pregnant. All those times he'd missed, getting her food when she was craving it, feeling their child moving within her, discovering the fact together, being there for her when she felt rubbish...all those times, all those little times, he could have spent with her...wasted. All the time he'd planned to use making it up to her...gone.
He didn't know how long he sat there, letting the pain wash over him, the TARDIS humming behind him as he wept. When he finally managed to pull himself back up on shaky feet, reminding himself fiercely that he'd promised his Mate to protect their daughter, he could see that it was dark beyond the TARDIS. The lakeside was empty, he knew Amy and Rory wouldn't be able to handle entering the TARDIS after that and had likely walked back to the diner. Nothing was there...save for a boat burning on the lake and he nearly collapsed again at the golden flames rising and dying down from the wood.
He closed his eyes tightly against the sight, flicking the monitor off, he didn't want to see that, he hadn't ever wanted his last memory of his Mate to be her funeral pyre, less than he wanted his last memory of her to be her being shot. He let out a breath, reaching out to a lever, trying to keep the bile down and focus on finding Ayla...
When there was a soft whoosh behind him.
He spun around to see a hazy golden swirl, a very familiar golden swirl, forming. His eyes widened, scarcely able to hope…
And then the swirl solidified...and Angel stepped out of it.
The glow didn't subside however, simply turned more orange than it was with regeneration energy. He watched, eyes wide, as Angel morphed before him, her hair growing wavier, just an inch or two longer, lightening considerably till it was more a strawberry blonde color. She shrank just an inch, growing just a bit curvier than she had been, growing a bit older than she had been as well but still as lovely as ever, a timeless sort of beauty to her, and really age didn't matter to him at all. And...with a soft gasp...she fell forward out of the regeneration, her deep blue eyes with golden specks sparkling as she looked at him. A smile bloomed on her face and he truly thought he'd lost his mind and really gone barking mad...when she spoke.
"Theta…" she breathed, her voice now with more of a soprano tone to it.
"What?" he shook his head, his mind far too addled and worn to make sense of this.
"I'm so sorry!" she cried, lunging at him and hugging him tightly.
It took him a moment longer to realize that she was in his arms and he ripped the bracelet off him, nearly falling to the ground at the relief of not death but...love...that he felt. It was her! It was REALLY her! It was Angel!
"What?!" he shook his head, completely flabbergasted…
"I had to, Theta, I'm so sorry, but I HAD to do it!" she whispered in his ear as she clung to him.
He pulled away only slightly, his hand touching her face, feeling shivers go through him at how he could TOUCH her again, "What...Nella what are you talking about?"
"I had to make you think I was dying permanently," she told him, looking into his eyes so he could see what she meant, "Look..." she leaned her head to his and closed her eyes, opening her mind completely to him in a way she hadn't in nearly 200...
And the first thing he saw...was trust. She trusted him again, completely, what he'd done at the lake, how he'd appeared out of nowhere and tried to save her...it had restored her faith in him completely. Because she hadn't expected it, and for him to do that when she had no hope of it...she knew he'd save her again, she knew she trusted him again. That he'd always be there for her even when she didn't realize she needed him to be.
But beyond that...he saw it, everything.
Oh he'd always known his Mate was brilliant!
This entire thing, everything, right down to the smallest detail...had been planned! She'd always said that, if given enough time she could usually work things out, but she just...never had enough of it. But here, she had 200 YEARS to work it out! She had gone to the lake, on her own, so the Silence would KNOW he wasn't here, so they'd know that River wouldn't be able to get the bracelet on him, because he'd die somewhere else when she did.
But...she had NO intentions of truly dying forever at the lake.
She HAD died, yes, but she'd mixed the Vortex energy with the regeneration energy, much like she had facing the Daleks in the Crucible, she'd used it to control the regeneration energy. She'd started to regenerate, yes, she'd DIED, and then she'd used the Vortex to protect her from River's next blasts! She'd pulled all the energy inside her, made it seem like she'd died, the energy of the Vortex creating a sort of interference with River's scanners, and when she'd been put on the boat...she'd let the Vortex out, protecting her from the flames while also blending in with them so the Silence watching wouldn't realize. When the flames became too bright to look at...no one would be able to tell if she disappeared...and came here so she could regenerate safely and without anyone knowing!
Even more brilliant...the Silence would think her dead, they'd think HIM dead and...he'd mucked it up by getting in the way...
THAT was why she'd been so insistent that he touch her in the pyramid, it was why she hadn't told him her plan then...he HAD to fight her, he had to fight against her decision, because if he suddenly agreed to let River kill his Mate NO ONE would believe that. She hadn't been able to tell him, or Amy or Rory, because she needed their reactions to be believable. The sorrow that Amy and Rory would feel, THAT was why she had pushed him to take the bracelet before time resumed and not before while at the lake. She needed the Ponds to think she herself believed she was truly going to die and not come back, for their reactions to be genuine, it could be assumed that they were mourning both of them, whereas they knew HE was alive. River's undoubted irritation could be seen as her anger that he had died as well.
Every person who had been at the lake had been needed to get them to Washington, every action at the lake had been a clever ploy to get the Silence to believe that they had BOTH died, when really...neither of them had! She'd had to be the one who died so they'd know HE was dead as well and she knew that SHE could protect herself from the blasts.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, "I couldn't tell you. I saw this happen 200 years ago Theta, I had a long time to come up with a way to survive."
"I know," he nodded against her head, "Any slight deviation from how I'd normally act about that would tip them off," he took a breath, opening his eyes to stare into her blue ones, they reminded him very much of the oceans, "You're alive..."
She gave him a smile, "I would die for you Theta," she reached out and put a hand to his face, stroking his check, he quickly held her hand to his cheek, feeling her skin, needing more reassurance she was really there, "But I will NEVER leave you."
He let out a breath, just looking at her before grinning and pulling her to him into a deep kiss, he could feel his hearts lightening, she was here, she was really there! Alive and well! Alive…he pulled away suddenly and pointed a warning finger at her, "Don't you ever hide something like this from me again," he kissed her once more, "Don't you ever lie either…" a kiss, "Or I'll be very," another kiss, "Very," one more kiss, "Cross with you."
She laughed and was pulled into another very long kiss. She really had hated not tell him, but she needed it to be real, to seem real. If he hadn't reacted just as he had the Silence would be suspicious. She pulled away from him, "I promise," she smiled, crossing her hearts with one hand, stroking his check again with her other, before reaching out to pat her hand on his chest, "Now my love, I believe you have a promise to keep?"
He grinned widely, pulling her up, "Let's go find our daughter!"
~8~
The new and improved Angel dropped the hooded cloak to the floor, stunning Dorium, "The power of the Vortex," he seemed like he wanted to shake his head, "You used the power of time to fix time…"
She nodded, walking back to him, "A still point made into a fixed point, which means it was never truly meant to be a fixed point in the first place. When the Doctor saved me, he weakened the point in question. As long as I died…no one need ever know I just regenerated after."
Dorium chuckled, "They always underestimate you don't they?" he eyed her a moment, "So you're going to do this, let them all think you're dead?"
She looked sad, "I severed all the ties I had ever made to anyone, save the Doctor."
It had hurt her to do, being telepathic creatures by nature, Time Lords, much like a TARDIS could form a psychic bond to its Pilots, could create...ties...very VERY minor ones, to their companions, small things, more like a...sixth sense when it came to them. It was very weak, the humans actually felt it more powerfully than THEY did, it was why she knew Sarah Jane and Jo really WOULD feel the Doctor's death if he were to pass on like that. It was proven in how all those people she'd saved had come to Demons Run for her. It was slightly stronger with companions though, and...they had the ability to sever them. Which she'd had to do, she knew the Silence would be watching to see the impact of her death on the others as well.
"I needed them all to believe I was dead, truly."
"But…all those companions of yours, your friends…"
"Oh a few of them will find out the truth," another voice said as the Doctor entered, holding the hand of a little girl, "Someone wants to meet her aunts and uncles."
Dorium's eyes widened, seeing the little girl before him, "My God…"
~0~
Angel shook her head as the Doctor ran to the controls, "I think you mean, let's go get our daughter."
He froze and turned to her, stunned, "Get?" he looked at her a moment, "Did you…"
She shook her head, "No, I didn't know where she was till just before, when River said something at the lake..."
"River knew?!" his eyes widened and his grip on the lever beside him tightened, he'd KILL her!
Angel ran forward and put her hand on his, calming him, "No, no she didn't, she doesn't know where Ayla is. But…before she fired…" he flinched, "She said that, even if she wanted to, she couldn't stop the suit, it was too strong."
He looked at her, confused, "What's that got to do with anything?"
"If she couldn't fight it as an adult, how could she as a child?"
His eyes widened at the logic. They had both assumed that River had been the child in the astronaut suit in Florida, she had said the suit was made for a human in her scans. They thought that girl was just a means of the Silence to lure Amy and Rory there to get the DNA they needed to create her, a paradox of sorts. They knew the Silence had access to time travel...but, the child who had escaped, had to be stronger than the suit was! If she hadn't been the child…then the only other child the Silence had...was their daughter.
"That was…" he breathed, shaking at the revelation, at how close they might have been to their daughter and not realized it!
Angel nodded, tears in her eyes, "It might be…" she took a breath.
He slowly nodded, "River said the suit was meant for a human, but that there were about 20 different kinds of alien tech in there...yes of course!" he snapped his fingers, "Time Lord technology wasn't available so they had to substitute it! That little Dalek lied to us!"
Not technically lied really, a human could have been used for the suit, but the fact that her words had made them both believe it was meant ONLY for a human had thrown them...and it irritated him that he hadn't thought about the other alien tech that had been used till just now.
"Which means…" Angel continued, "She was lost in 1969 America…"
"And she might still be there!" he ran back to the console, getting to the controls just as Angel did, "Let's go GET our daughter!"
He flipped a switch and the TARDIS hurtled off into space...
~8~
Dorium looked at the Doctor as he looked softly down at his child, who beamed up at him, looking away only when Angel walked over to her, "How did you find her?" Dorium breathed, there had been numerous rumors on the wireless about the two Time Lords, spending 200 years looking for their daughter…
The Doctor grinned, "The TARDIS took us right where we needed to go…"
~0~
The TARDIS silently touched down, literally appearing in the streets behind an alley in New York, circa early 1970s. With the parameters of searching narrowed down from the entire Universe throughout time to simply Earth around 1969, the TARDIS was better able to get a lock on the signature of her niece. The yellow taxi cab it was now disguised as skid to a halt at the sight of the blazing orange energy shooting out of the little girl before them. The Doctor and Angel ran out of the cab, standing there, their hearts breaking at the sight of their daughter, barely 6 years old they could sense, already regenerating from an illness.
The Doctor couldn't help but think on how much that little girl must hate them while Angel couldn't help the tears in her eyes as she saw her little girl die before them. A moment later, the light died away and the girl gasped.
Her hair now a cross between golden blonde with just a hint of strawberry tinge, her eye a blazing dark green with a tiny little freckle by her nose. She looked down at her hands for a moment, turning them over before her, before moving to a little puddle beside her, examining her new appearance. She seemed about the same age, 6 years old, her hair thicker, longer, wavier, her face clean, her clothes hanging on her just a bit, still dirty and worn, now more so from the regeneration.
She straightened up a second later and tensed, turning to look at the duo standing before her, both just staring at her in awe, unable to speak.
But they didn't need to because…
She ran straight for them, half-throwing herself into their arms, "Mummy!" she cried, clutching at Angel as the Time Lady dropped to her knees to hug her daughter, the Doctor falling with her as the child hugged him as well, "Daddy!"
They hugged their little girl in their arms as tightly as they could, tears in their eyes, their hearts beating in their chests at the sensation of having her with them again, "We're sorry," Angel whispered, hugging her, tears falling from her eyes as she pressed a kiss to the top of Ayla's head.
"So sorry," the Doctor agreed, the tears in his eyes also evident in his voice as he rested his head on top of his daughter's.
And then Ayla did something they didn't expect.
She giggled.
She pulled away to look at her parents, just beaming at them, "It's ok," she said, "I know you were looking for me," she told them, "And…" she frowned just a moment, as though concentrating on something, "I know you couldn't be sure you'd be able to keep me safe without remembering those aliens…" she blinked, "But you can now, you figured it out, and you're here!" she hugged them again.
Angel and the Doctor exchanged a look over her shoulders, both stunned by her words, 'She sounded so much like you just then,' the Doctor remarked to Angel silently, reminded very strongly of how she sensed things, Ayla even had the same adorable look of concentration.
'I…I think she may have inherited some psychic abilities…' Angel admitted.
The Doctor blinked, neither of them had considered that her abilities might truly be hereditary till now, "Sweetheart?" the Doctor said softly, pulling away as he just looked at her, "How did you escape?" he needed to know, he just needed to hear from her what she had gone through.
"They kept me in the white suit," Ayla told them, thinking, "But I didn't like it, I wanted to get out…I wanted it really badly and then…there was this light…"
"A light?" Angel's eyes widened, speculating what that might mean.
Ayla nodded, "A yellow light, it cut through the suit and I got out. I just…kept running so they wouldn't catch me."
'Just like you,' the Doctor remarked to Angel, it seemed their daughter had control of the Vortex to a degree as well.
'And you,' Angel added, 'Remember, very strong and running away.'
'That's 'cos I knew you'd find me,' another voice intruded on their conversation.
This however, didn't shock the parents as much as the other things their daughter seemed able to do. Children on Gallifrey were very connected to their parents, especially when they were young, psychic links with them were very common. Being a part of them, being a part of their Mating, it meant she was a part of their bond as well. It was like a loophole in the mental connection. It was...weak...it would, equally, take time to strengthen if maintained, often children would grow out of a bond like that with their parents, but it let them hear her if they were close enough and she needed them.
Angel just looked at Ayla and ran a hand through her hair a moment, admiring the life she had created with the Doctor before glancing at him.
"That's why it didn't work," Ayla continued.
"Why what didn't work?" the Doctor asked, reaching out to take his daughter's hand, just wanting to maintain the contact, to know she was real, she was there and alive and with them. My, this last adventure was getting to him wasn't it, full of all sorts of terrible and beautiful surprises.
"The pirate lady…she," Ayla frowned, "She wanted me to hate you!" tears filled her eyes at just the thought and the Doctor squeezed her hand, "But I couldn't," she told them quickly as though to assure them, "I just couldn't, 'cos I remembered you…I remembered. See," she reached into her dress and pulled a string from around her neck where...a small pink bowtie was dangling from the makeshift necklace, "I remembered that my daddy gave me my first very cool bowtie…and my mummy promised everything would be alright…"
The Doctor sniffled, quickly wiping below his eyes at the sight of the little bowtie he'd not seen in nearly 200 years dangling before him. She'd kept it, she'd kept his gift to her, she remembered him…she still loved him, the both of them, after everything. It made sense in a way, Time Lord children were self-aware from in the womb, able to hear and understand their parents.
Angel snapped out of her shock first, standing up and taking Ayla's hand, wanting to get her out of there quickly, they didn't know if the Silence might be nearby and she would NOT risk her child again, "Well…what's say we get you all cleaned up…I know your auntie is very excited to see you."
"The TARDIS!" Ayla gasped, excited as well.
"The TARDIS," the Doctor nodded, standing too, still holding her other hand as he turned, "Our very own adventure machine. What's say we have one eh?"
"Where are we going?" Ayla asked as she walked between her parents, holding both their hands, eagerness in her voice as she looked up at her father.
"Well, we've got three stops to make already," he told her.
"Where?!"
"Well, first," the Doctor thought, "We have to go to 1960s England where your mother will break the Chameleon Circuit," he looked at the yellow taxi cab TARDIS before them. When he'd teleported into the TARDIS by the lake he realized Angel had managed to fix the circuit and that it resembled a red car though now it seemed more like a yellow taxi, "No daughter of mine is travelling around in a TARDIS shaped like anything but a blue police telephone box."
Angel laughed, "And then," she looked at her daughter, "We're going to go back about a year to visit your Great Uncle, the Brigadier, he's been expecting your father for a very long time now."
"And then to your godparents and aunts and uncles," the Doctor added, "I think they'll all be excited to meet you, especially the Legs and the Nose, the Last centurion and the Girl Who Waited…or Auntie Red and Uncle Beaky."
Ayla giggled, shaking her head at her father, "Daddy!" she squealed in delight, before getting in the taxi-TARDIS.
The Doctor froze at the word and looked at Angel, who smiled softly at him, "She called me daddy," he breathed, his hearts racing at the simple word. She had called him it at least twice so far…but always in context with mummy, but now…to hear it just on its own…
Angel reached over and took his hand, "Get used to it, love," she smiled as he looked at her, "I have a feeling she'll be calling you that quite often."
He grinned and lifted her hand to kiss her palm, "You as well, mummy."
Angel beamed at him and they ran back to the taxi-TARDIS after their daughter. Come what may, they would protect her. Now that they knew about the eye drives, they would be able to remember the Silence, they would be able to protect her from them…
~8~
Dorium let out a breath at their tale as he looked at the child now standing on her tippy toes to peer into the box at him, ever so curious.
'Just like you,' Angel jokingly sighed to the Doctor, who beamed proudly.
"And Dr. Song?" Dorium looked at them, "In prison all her days?"
"As she deserves," the Doctor said bitterly, his happiness quickly dissolving into anger at the thought of the woman. Yes, Angel was still technically alive, but River HAD technically KILLED her. She'd killed the last incarnation of Angel.
Angel reached out and took his hand, "It wasn't her fault," she insisted softly, glancing at Ayla as she knelt to peer at one of the skulls...poking it with a small stick, "Remember…that could have easily been Ayla's fate…"
The Doctor sighed and nodded, Angel nodding as well, a pit of guilt in her stomach as she thought on the woman. So much had been done to River, so much had happened to her…she couldn't help but feel like most of it was her fault. If not for her and Ayla, River would have been born to Amy and Rory, grown up normally, a loved daughter…and just thinking that Ayla could have suffered that, been raised a psychopath, been set to target her and the Doctor, to kill them...she was sure it would give her nightmares.
"So many secrets," Dorium sighed, "I'll help you keep them, of course..."
"Well, you're not exactly going anywhere, are you?" the Doctor joked.
"But you're a fool nonetheless. It's all still waiting for you..."
The Doctor looked at Angel questioningly, "The fields of Trenzalore," she explained what she knew he'd been dying to be told already, "According to Dorium, upon the fall of the Eleventh, the Question will be asked and answered."
"By who?" the Doctor frowned.
"I don't know who will ask it," Angel sighed, "But everyone seems to think I'll answer it."
The Doctor shook his head, he really didn't want to worry about this right now…he had places to be, people to see…
"Come along sweetheart!" he called to Ayla who dashed over to them with a giggle, deftly avoiding a trap on the floor on the way. He knelt down and scooped her up, just taking a moment to enjoy the feel of holding this child again. She was so much bigger than the baby he'd held, but she was HIS, his daughter. Most would think he and Angel were put off from missing so much of their child's life, and they were. They'd missed so many firsts, first words, first steps, first solid foods, first time sleeping through the night...everything. But she was still a child, and she was still THEIR child, and after all that, they just were SO thankful to have her back, safe and sound.
"Goodbye, Dorium," Angel called as they turned and walked away, down the tunnel, the Doctor taking her hand as he carried Ayla in his other arm.
"What about the First Question!" Dorium shouted after them, "The question that must never be answered, hidden in plain sight. The question you've been running from all your life Doctor. Doctor who? Doctor who? Doc...tor...WHO?!"
The Doctor simply shut the TARDIS doors behind them, cutting off Dorium's shouts.
~0~
"Come on!" the Doctor called through the door as he stood outside the wardrobe, waiting for Angel, "We're going to be late!" she'd gone in there to get her and Ayla presentable, washed up and in fitting clothes before they went to see their companions again.
"Sorry!" Angel shouted back, "It's just…" she paused.
"What?"
"It's taking a bit longer this time," she laughed, "I think this me is picky!"
He chuckled at that, and then...the door opened and Angel stepped out. His mouth did in fact drop open at the sight of her. She was wearing a shirt that looked like a cross between a poncho and a t-shirt, like a smaller, thinner poncho with sleeves, it was white with thick TARDIS blue stripes across it. She had black pants on that were tucked into small boots. Her hair was hanging freely, clipped back on one side much like Amy wore her hair. He couldn't help but let his gaze trail down her, right to her legs before he snapped them back up with a flush on his cheeks.
"Interesting," he remarked as she stepped up to him and put her arms around his shoulders, his hands settling on her waist.
She just smiled and looked down, "Do you like it?" she asked him softly.
His response was to crook his finger and lift her chin, kissing her soundly, yes very much so.
"Do you like my outfit daddy?" another voice called.
He pulled away from Angel, turning so she was standing beside him, his arm around her waist, to see Ayla standing there, her hands behind her back as she swayed left and right shyly. She was wearing a very cute little light-green dress with small pink flowers on it, much like a sleeveless dress, over a short sleeved white button up shirt with a thick white belt around her waist and little white shoes. Her hair was parted in two, into French braided pigtails, her necklace now replaced with a real chain on which her little pink bowtie hung.
"You look perfect sweetheart," he knelt down and she walked over, hugging him lightly, "Just like your mum," he whispered, smiling up at Angel. She reached out and took his hand the three of them heading to the console room to meet their friends once more.
~8~
"Where is it?!" Amy repeated as she too looked around for the blue police box. But the sound faded and still no box.
Suddenly there was the sound of a door opening and they spun around to see an invisible TARDIS with the doors open inside. But what really shocked them was the little projectile that had attached itself to Amy's legs, "Aunt Amy!" a little girl squealed before gasping and running over to Rory, "Uncle Rory!" she leapt at him and he just managed to catch her in his arms and scoop her up.
"Um…hello?" he asked questioningly, not too sure who this little girl was.
"Hold on…" Amy gasped, thinking about the ONLY child the Doctor would have ever brought in the TARDIS with him and returned to Earth to bring to them, "Are you…"
"Ayla," someone called. They looked up to see the Doctor dash out of the TARDIS, "We are going to have a discussion later young lady," he pointed a playful finger at his daughter as Rory just looked at him, stunned, "No running off. Most important rule, don't wander off."
"Sorry daddy," Ayla pouted.
The Doctor broke instantly, "Oh it's alright," he kissed her forehead, "Hello Ponds!" he greeted with a wide grin as the duo just stared at him in shocked silence.
"Doctor?" Amy asked him cautiously, unsure if she was really seeing him or not.
"Amelia," the Doctor greeted, earning a giggle from Ayla.
"Are…are you alright?" she eyed him, he seemed far too cheerful for a man who had just seen his Mate die even if he'd found his daughter.
"Perfect!"
"Doctor," Rory's eyes widened as he grabbed the Doctor's wrist, "You're not wearing the bracelet!"
"Course not," he pulled his arm away, "Why would I? Far too girly, and I am not a girl, not a dinner lady either. Am I dear?" he called over his shoulder.
"I should hope not," a woman's voice drifted over to them. They looked up, stunned to see a strawberry blonde woman with blue eyes step out of the TARDIS as well, "What do you think sweetheart?" she asked Ayla, walking over to her, ignoring the open-mouthed looks she was getting.
Ayla giggled, "He's a boy, mummy," she shook her head, thinking her parents a funny if they couldn't tell the difference.
"Angel?" Rory breathed, scarcely daring to hope as he took in her new form, she'd told him about regeneration, but...had she...
"Rory the Roman," she laughed, assuring him it was indeed her as she stepped up to him and hugged the side not holding her daughter, smiling a bit as she gently returned the connection she had with Rory through the hug, reestablishing the minor psychic bond between Pilot and Companion again.
"Oh my God," Rory breathed, hugging her tighter now that he knew who she was, feeling her real and solid in his arms, he pulled away suddenly, "But…how?!"
Angel simple closed her eyes and a golden swirl enveloped her, looking remarkably similar to regeneration energy except...not as orange, "Look familiar?" she asked with a small smile, looking between Amy and Rory as the swirl died down.
"You…you faked it?" Amy blinked, shaking both with joy and shock. They hadn't seen much of the Vortex, not much of it swirling and shooting out of her like regeneration energy, they hadn't known the difference.
"Not entirely," she told them, "I did die at that lake, but there was nothing that said I couldn't regenerate after. I just used the Vortex to block the second round of fire and hold off the regeneration till I could get away. I had far, far too much to live for," she looked softly at her daughter and Mate.
Amy ran over to her and hugged her tightly, "I'm so glad your alright!" she said, tears in her eyes.
"And I couldn't exactly leave this one to his own devices, could I?" she asked Amy quietly, returning her connection as well. They would have to visit the rest of their former companions and closest friends in order for her to have the physical contact to reestablish the bonds she had with them. It would be harder to reestablish the bonds with Rose and the Doctor's clone, but if she really focused and the TARDIS helped her, they just might be able to give them a faint reassurance she was truly alright at least.
"Oi!" the Doctor called, interrupting her thoughts, "I heard that!" he nudged her, "What?" he looked at Amy, "I don't get a hug?"
Amy laughed and hugged him as well, "Oh where did you find her?" Amy smiled.
"Turns out she um," the Doctor scratched the side of his face, still embarrassed that he hadn't realized this, "SHE was the little girl in the astronaut suit in the warehouse and orphanage."
"What?" Amy looked at Ayla, the little blonde girl and she didn't look a THING like the little brown-haired girl she remembered. She nearly gasped, realizing Ayla must have regenerated...and then she paled, considerably, when another thought struck her.
"Amy?" Angel frowned, "Are you alright?" she stepped up to the woman, putting a hand on her shoulder, seeing her go white as a sheet and turn a bit green too.
"She...she was the girl in the warehouse?" Amy repeated, staring at Ayla, horrified, though the girl didn't notice as she was currently poking Rory's nose, "I...shot her..." she swallowed, "I shot at her!" and then she turned to Angel, grabbing her hand as she looked between her and the Doctor, "I'm SO sorry," she started shaking her head, "I didn't know! I never ever would have done that if I'd known," she winced, "I mean, I know I shouldn't have tried to do that to anyone but...I just...the lake and the suit and...I'm so sorry Doctor, Angel, I'm SO sorry..."
"Amy, Amy, Amy, it's...it's ok," the Doctor moved to hug her, "I mean, it's not ok you tried to shoot our daughter but..." he swallowed, "You didn't know," he whispered, "WE didn't know, no one did..." he winced, except probably River though he expected she wouldn't have said who the girl was even if she had known, "You thought it was the same suit that you thought killed Angel, and you wanted to protect her," he pulled away, touching Amy's cheek, "You wanted to protect my Mate, thank you for that Pond," he hugged her again, "Angel stopped you," he reminded her, "She stopped you hurting Ayla, and Ayla's safe now...everyone's safe," he closed his eyes, squeezing her once more, "We're all ok," he repeated, more to himself than her that time.
"Why are you forgiving me?" Amy whispered to him as she pulled away, seeing Angel had moved over by Rory, knowing she'd needed her Pilot's comfort and forgiveness, "I tried to kill your daughter, River tried to kill Angel in Berlin and you didn't..."
"You didn't know who the target was," he said simply, "River did. You were trying to protect Angel, River was trying to kill her. And...Amy, most important of all...you feel guilty," he told her quietly, glancing at River who was watching them with a tight jaw, "Psychopaths...they don't," he looked back at her, "Maybe, years down the road they might feel a shred, but then, and even now I'd guess, River doesn't feel guilty at all for what she's done."
And THAT was why he could forgive Amy. The girl was nearly having a breakdown over the thought that she'd nearly fired a bullet at his daughter...River had sat there and smirked as Angel died...
Ayla squirmed in Rory's arms and he set her down, watching as she glanced at River ,who had been standing a bit off to the side, silently watching the reunion, before walking over to Angel's side and tugging her shirt for attention. Angel looked at her and she held up her arms, wanting to be close to her mother but Angel could see the slight fear in her eyes. The girl already knew who River Song was. She quickly picked up her daughter and glanced at River, who was now glaring at the two of them, yet another thing Angel had over her, being the mother of the Doctor's child. That was something she could NEVER be, she knew about the species, that Time Lords could only procreate with other Time Lords. And SHE was human.
Angel expected to feel her hearts shatter as they so often had in the past whenever River was involved, with a hopelessness, a sorrow, a resignation, a defeat…but…she had to admit she was...surprised by what she felt at that very moment. It seemed all the Doctor's reassurances and devotion over the last 200 years had paid off in regards to this body. She felt nothing of the sort. She felt...a protectiveness over her family, an understanding of the woman, even a bit of pity. But what's more...she felt confident and sure in the Doctor's love for her, in his choice of HER as his Mate, and she knew in her heart of hearts, she finally accepted it, she finally believed it...he really did love her and only her. And now...she felt strong and sure, of herself more than anything. She had proved she could be just as clever as the Doctor, she had managed to orchestrate ALL of that. She had managed to fool the Silence into believing they were all dead as she knew River wouldn't risk the Doctor's safety by telling the truth of her survival. She wasn't even sure that the River who was about to be locked in Stormcage for the murder even knew she was alive, but she doubted she'd tell as it would mean putting the Doctor in danger once more. The Silence had no idea that the bracelet that River had been wearing in the suit wasn't on her person anymore but had been with the Doctor, so they thought he'd died too. Amy and Rory's reactions afterwards, truly believing she was dead due to her insistence he take the bracelet, would convince anyone she'd died.
She'd felt terrible to lie to them like that, so she'd wanted to take Ayla to see them, to reassure them and to relieve them, to tell the truth of what happened. She...still couldn't believe it had worked. But all her work, her investigation, her planning, her trying to stay one step ahead of them. It had worked. She'd made her family safe again and...she knew...she had to be at least 'good' to do that. And she felt good, knowing she'd been able to fool their enemies and save the Doctor and her daughter...it meant everything to her. She finally felt strong, stronger than she had even at the start of her last incarnation. She'd faced SO much, lived through so much, from the Doctor's amnesia to River to her pregnancy to her capture to her daughter being taken, right to the lake and all that came in between. She'd survived it, she'd faced it, and she'd come away stronger each time.
And now...she wasn't going to back down, not now, not now that she had her family once again. River may have broken her in the past, but she would never let the woman do it again. This body wouldn't stand for it.
"River," she greeted with a nod of the head.
"Angel," River replied tersely.
The Doctor sensed the tension and stepped back to his Mate and child, putting an arm around Angel's shoulders which made River looked away. The Doctor shook his head at her and turned back to the Ponds, "Well, sorry to leave so soon but we really just wanted to pop in and let you know Angel wasn't really dead but," he held a finger to his lips, "Don't tell anyone, we're going to be sticking to the shadows for a while, don't want to cause a fuss."
Amy snorted, "You? Sticking to the shadows? Being all inconspicuous?"
Angel laughed, "I know, would you believe two regenerations ago his way of saying hello was blowing up buildings?"
Amy laughed heartily at that too, "I'd believe it."
"Well that's why I've got my girls," the Doctor said firmly, looking at Angel and Ayla, who was drifting off on Angel's shoulder, her little hand clutching at her mother's shirt, before glancing at the TARDIS, "All three of them," and back, "They'll keep me quiet."
Angel smiled, "I only let him come her with the noise this time so you'd know it was us."
Amy and Rory nodded, looking at them a moment longer, "Goodbye," Rory stepped up, giving Angel another hug, dropping a kiss to Ayla's hair too, before he stepped back to Amy's side, putting an arm around her.
"Bye," Angel smiled at them.
"We'll see you again," the Doctor promised.
"We'll be waiting," Amy agreed.
They gave their companions a nod and headed back to the TARDIS.
"Goodbye River," Angel offered from the doorway, just because she was stronger, didn't mean she was cruel, kindness was just too much a part of her.
But River just tensed her jaw and remained silent.
Angel sighed and headed in, the doors closing behind them as the TARDIS disappeared from view and, a moment later, from Earth without a noise.
~8~
Angel walked quietly through the TARDIS with the Doctor, Ayla now completely asleep but in the Doctor's arms, having been given to him as Angel got them into the Vortex.
"You are an angel you know," he whispered, leaning over to kiss her forehead.
"Why this time?" she smiled up at him.
"River," he said, his jaw clenching even at the mention of her name, "After everything she did...you still try to be kind to her."
"Maybe she just needs more kindness in her life?" she suggested, before she sighed, "But...I'm...I'm not sure how long that will last," she admitted and he gave her a confused look, "If she wants to go after me, fine, it actually doesn't bother me so much anymore. But..." she looked at Ayla, sleeping so innocently and had to smile, "If she treats Ayla the same..." she shook her head.
The Doctor smiled at that, "Motherhood looks good on you," he murmured, leaning in to kiss her again...and again...and again...and once more, pulling away when she laughed, "Now," he looked at the girl in his arms, "What should we do?" he asked her quietly as they reached the hallway of the bedrooms.
"What do you mean?" Angel looked at him questioningly.
"Well…her bedroom's a nursery," he nodded at the door the TARDIS had moved to be across from their own now, "She's not a baby anymore…" he was sad that they'd missed out on her first words, her first steps, but there would be plenty more firsts to come that he was determined to see. Her first scientific equation solved, her first time helping to pilot the TARDIS, the first thing she scanned with a sonic, things like that…
Angel shook her head at him, "You should know better than to doubt my sister," was all she said as she opened the door to the 'nursery.' And before his eyes was no longer a nursery but a beautiful room decorated in golds and browns with splashes of color here and there, a tiny bed and desk set up with a mound of stuffed animals and a small play area with a dollhouse…he let out a breath, this was the perfect room for a little girl, princess-like but not overly done…
Angel eyed the room a moment before looking at her daughter, "Though…" she began, drawing the Doctor's attention back, "I think we should wait to put her in here till she's awake to see it. I don't want her to wake up and be frightened, not knowing where she is…"
The Doctor smiled, he could sense what she was really saying. He simply stepped back and opened the door to their room, stepping in with her and walking to the bed, laying Ayla down on it gently in the center before crawling in on one side, Angel moving around to the other. They didn't get changed, just laid there with their daughter between them, smiles on their faces that their family was ok once more, their thoughts drifting to the bright future they would provide for her despite the danger of the Silence and the fall of the Eleventh…
No, they thought on the positives, on their lives together with their daughter, till they drifted off to sleep.
A/N: AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! They got Ayla back! ^-^ Sorry, I have been WAITING for this FOREVER! :) I picture the new Angel to look something like Nicole Kidman. For some reason my mind kept coming back to her when I was trying to think of a strawberry blonde actress that was old enough to possibly fit with PC if she didn't regenerate before then, but also had a sort of 'timeless' age to her that could have her fit with MS too :) As for the New Ayla I see her as someone like...Dakota Fanning with slightly more strawberry-blonde hair, both of the new girls with different eye colors :)
I hope Angel's plan made sense lol. It really was so simple, in my mind at least, but I probably made it more complicated than it was :) Basically she went to the lake, without the Doctor, so that the Silence would think (since River had the bracelet) that he died somewhere as she 'died' (I imagine she would have gone back to the museum and explained what happened if he hadn't interfered). That would get rid of the 'question' and the threat of the Doctor. She invited the Ponds and River because they were there first, and because their reactions would prove to the Silence she was gone, and the Doctor too. The TARDIS was fixed because the Doctor wouldn't ever fix it, so it was a representation that he wasn't there too.
But when he saved her, she had to get things back on track, now that they knew the Doctor was there, she had to make sure that it didn't seem like he was acting in his attempts to save her. She couldn't risk telling him and something slipping. Giving him the bracelet meant that, to the Ponds, she really thought she'd die, that the Doctor thought she'd die. It also meant that River would have to keep to her time in Stormcage to keep the Doctor safe. But all the while, Angel knew that she could use the Vortex to save herself, she just needed to convince the Silence she was dead.
It's sort of...SO Angel in a way. Her plan, her original plan, if the Doctor hadn't interfered, would have meant ONLY she 'died,' in a literal sense. She would be the only one really hurt. River would have been locked in Stormcage for her first attempt at killing her anyway, River would always end up in Stormcage and had to be there in order to have a few adventures she'd have in the future. Amy and Rory would be safe, so would all the companions, and the Doctor especially. The Silence would have given up their fight against him, and really only Angel would have been 'harmed' in terms of regenerating. She did it so that everyone would be safe and so the only one suffering any form of pain would be her. ...and then the Doctor got involved and it was a big old mess lol ;)
I can say Ayla will NOT suddenly have control of the Vortex too, she's a child and...there's more to her death here than we know. But we'll find out exactly what caused her to sicken very soon :(
I can also say, River's thoughts not to kill Angel even when she was about to kill her at the lake will be explained in the last chapter of this story First/Last night ;) But with a new Angel and a MOTHER Angel...River ought to be Very careful how she acts around the Time Family ;)
I was debating putting the family's reactions to Ayla in this chapter...but I didn't want to overload you all on TOO many feels, even if they were the good ones ;) But I can say we will definitely see what their reactions to Ayla and to Angel surviving were ;)
And! Sneak peek time! Oh my God you guys, you are SO amazing! Lol, only 200 more to find out more on how Angel forgets forever but not long at all eh? :)
~8~
"Mother!" Cyril called.
"I repaired it," the Doctor whispered to Madge as she eyed them a moment longer before walking out of the room.
The Doctor hesitated a moment, looking down before he felt someone take his hand. He squeezed Ayla's hand back when he felt someone else kiss his cheek. He looked over at Angel who smiled at him, a look of reassurance in her eyes. He started to smile as well, her new smile was even more contagious than her last. He leaned in, resting his head to hers a moment, before letting it slide to her temple, moving more to nuzzle his nose to the side of her face, making her laugh at the sensation.
~8~
I SO had to put that one there. I promised epic fluff didn't I? And that's not ALL of it for that little scene ;) And now that we have a new Angel, one who's finally healed from everything, and confident and sure of her relationship with the Doctor...fluff galore ;)
Some notes on reviews...
River is definitely a few fries short of a happy meal lol :) But we'll be seeing quite a bit of 'dark Doctor' when River's around. Now he's not just got the Mating instinct but the paternal one too ;) A man protecting his Mate and Child...oh boy ;)
Donna was trying to find the others and convince them that she knew the, she won't be saving Angel or finding Ayla nope :( But she'll definitely be meeting her niece ;)
If Ayla became River it would probably be a more just the psychopathy/conditioning instead of the obsession :) Angel's more worried that, if Ayla hadn't escaped, she'd have been raised to be a murderer :( We'll definitely see Amy-O again and find out what she's been up to and how she's coping being away from Rory, she'll be taking her promise to travel seriously so we'll see more on her thoughts about it very soon :)
I think that's a great theory, it reminds me of something one of my Tolkien professors said, that the reason Evil always fails is that...they can't understand or guess at what Good will do. They truly can't understand or see how they'd operate because they only know what THEY would do themselves. The underestimate Good and that's why they always fail. It's sort of the same with River, she truly can't see how other people operate in a scope that isn't like hers, she doesn't understand people who don't act like she does and can't see Angel's motives because they aren't her own. I didn't make the chooser the solution, nope, this time...it was Angel really trying to step up and save as many people as she could with the least amount of hurt happening :)
I can say River doesn't make Angel forget, nope :)
Yup, I've been made aware that the story that had plagiarized me first was being put back up. I'm not sure why it was removed, when I searched it and it didn't come up, it originally said Code 1, which...I think (I'm really not sure) is when the FF staff remove something, so it could be the songs :/ I hope that, as she revises her story, it maintains originality and I wish her luck on it.
The story will be over in about...oh, wow, 1 week! We've got a prequel, 5 chapters of the Widow, and 1 mini-sode left! Oh boy!
Lol, I think River's sort of obsessing so much over being the Doctor's Mate that she's not seeing what it actually means to BE one. We'll have to wait and see what Clara does though ;) But I can say Angel and Clara will be VERY close and that Ayla will certainly travel with her parents ^-^ As for the amnesia...we'll have to wait and see }:)
That's what I love about River, for some odd reason, how she thinks one thing and then, immediately after, criticizes Angel for either doing/not doing the thing she's mad about. I like playing with that aspect of her personality, the way she sees things :) I hated Umbridge too lol, I think she's the one character that everyone in Harry Potter universally hates which is awesome :) I can say that she doesn't see the Doctor's name in the book. There'll actually be a moment that will portray how the TARDIS reacts to River being allowed in her corridors that would keep River from ever finding the book ;)
Kovarian doesn't have any idea that Angel gave the Doctor the bracelet ;) So, as far as she and the Silence know/think, Angel died at the lake and, somewhere out there, so did the Doctor :(
I don't mind at all :) I can say that I won't EVER be splitting a story up into 3 chapters per episode again lol. This story is killing me to do that now :) The Widow might just be a good one, not counting acid rain, mostly because...Ayla! Yay! ^-^ It'll depend on the episodes for River, like...First/Last night will be right after this episode, so a not good River, but TNOTD will see River after the Library so a better River :) There's 1 week (1 prequel, 5 chapters, 1 mini-sode) left of this story :)
I agree, River doesn't feel love for the Doctor, but more...obsession and wanting the most amazing man to be hers :( That's why I like the Library so much, that's when she really realizes it, when the Doctor, UN-Mated to Angel, says the same exact thing the Mated Doctor says in Berlin, that's when she starts to see he really does love her of his own free will :)
It'll definitely be easier for Angel to deal with River now, this new her will not let River treat her the way she has :) And neither will the Doctor ;)
I can say that Angel might not be able to keep in touch with the Ponds after TATM...but she DOES have a way to keep the family all together, including them ;) But I won't say how }:)
Angel forgetting will be a sadder episode/chapter :( It, so far, seems like it'll be happening more around the Pond era than Clara :)
I have no idea what I'd do if I hit 1000 on the next story too...I'd do a little happy dance for sure. And probably offer to answer a question that might come up in the next story :) It's looking like it'll be about 77 chapters so far :) If we got to 2000...I'd die, I would literally die of happiness...and then have to post the chapters from beyond the grave lol :)
River, at first, doesn't understand what Mating really is, she's told that Angel is the Doctor's Mate, which is like his 'wife' and then learns in Berlin, if she dies he dies. She'll be finding out what it is as the story goes on, but she DOES know in the future what exactly Mating is all about :) I think, for now, she sees it as being the one woman that means everything to him, being his 'wife' in a way :)
Lol, no worries, it makes sense to me :)
Oh, there'll be something the Doctor does to River in First/Last night that I think will have a lot of people cheering and laughing, it'll hint at his attitude towards River for the future ;) But he'll definitely be very non-River ;)
I think the Doctor was more mad at the situation, at what it came down to, at not being able to help, but also a little mad that Angel kept all that from him :(
It's not stupid at all :) I didn't comment because I thought the chapter had answered the questions :) Sorry! The Silence didn't know Angel could tell the secret, but they DO know that, if they kill Angel then they kill him too. They were fully planning to STOP River from using the bracelet so that the Doctor would die with Angel. It was like a last resort/backup plan. They didn't kill Angel the first time (at Demons Run or in Berlin) because she still possessed the bracelet and could give it to him. With RIVER having it, they were the ones in control of who did or didn't get it, meaning they could control the Doctor's fate :) Angel was mostly there because she knew that, if she went to the lake and the Doctor wasn't there, that if she died, they'd think HE died. She had NO plans to actually really die forever, but just make it look like she had so that they'd assume the Doctor had :) And thanks! I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far, I'm excited for Series 7 too :)
River is a big pain yup :)
That's good to know :) Thanks! I like the ways I've written River in other stories too :) I'm excited for TL4 so that we can see a good River again :)
Ayla didn't tell River the Doctor's name nope. Even children don't know their parents' names :( They just call them mum and dad :) Ayla won't find out their names, the Time Lords will be very careful not to say it around their daughter, it's a natural thing for them to do, when there's someone else around, they don't say the other's names, even if it's their own daughter who's there :)
River will definitely mature the nearer she gets to the Library :) As for the bracelet, they'll definitely keep it for emergencies or until Ayla is old enough to survive on her own :) Oh there's plenty more of River watching, flusters, and kisses to come ;) Lol, I love River's twisted mind :) There might be a time coming up where he tells her that he'd only pick Angel, we'll have to wait and see ;)
