A/N: Well, here comes the interesting part. Hopefully I won't have as many typos.

When we were all aboard the TARDIS, River took Susan beneath the console and sat with her. Susan had stopped crying shortly after I began trying to comfort her, but I could see her grief and confusion written across her face. Amy and the others followed River and Susan below the console in silence, while Rory went with the Doctor and I to the upper level.

I sat down on the seat by the stairs and stared straight ahead at the console, not speaking to or acknowledging anyone. The Doctor started skidding around the console, flipping levers, pushing buttons, and typing things into the scanner.

"1969, that's an easy one! Funny, how some years are easy. Now, 1482, full of glitches." The Doctor looked at the scanner for a moment and typed something in. "Now then, Canton Everett Delaware the third. That was his name, yeah? How many of those can there be? Well, three, I suppose. Rory, is everybody cross with me for some reason?"

Rory glanced at me, then back at the Doctor. "I'll find out," he said before hurrying below.

The Doctor watched him leave, which brought his attention to me. He walked over and sat down next to me. I flinched when his arm brushed against mine and had to turn my head away so he wouldn't see how distraught I was.

"What's wrong? Everyone's unusually quiet and I don't know why. Is it the thing River slapped me for?"

"I don't know," I choked, my voice thick with emotion.

"Diana? Love, what is it?"

He gently cupped my chin and began to turn my head towards him, but I jumped to my feet before he could see anything. "I'm going to check on Susan," I mumbled before running down the steps.

Everyone looked up at me as I walked towards the group and I had to fight to keep my emotions in check. My bottom lip began to tremble with the effort of not crying and the longer the others stared at me, the harder it became.

"Diana?" Faith asked. "Are you okay?"

"No." I shook my head and closed my eyes as a few tears leaked onto my cheeks. "But I will be. I… I have to be."

"You don't have to put on a brave face, you know."

I opened my eyes again and smiled partially at Faith. "Thank you. But I really do. For Susan, for him."

"Oi, I'm being extremely clever up here, and there's no one to stand around looking impressed!" the Doctor shouted from above. He swung his torso over the edge of the upper level and looked down at us. "What's the point in having you all?"

He disappeared again and River rolled her eyes. She looked at Susan and gestured for her to follow her. "Come on, Susan. Let's sit down up there, alright?"

My heart was aching. It was a deep, terrible, physical ache that made me feel nauseous. The Doctor's false death had torn his daughter apart, stunned his friends into silence, and almost turned the Ponds against him in anger. I knew that I couldn't tell them anything, but the guilt I would have normally felt was magnified by the fact that the Doctor had made me promise to lie to them.

I knew that when the Doctor revealed himself to be alive again, his daughter, my daughter, would know that I had lied about it. I didn't want her to look at me in disappointment and shame for what I was doing.

"Mom?"

I was drawn out my thoughts by the name Susan had called me by. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Did you know Dad was going to die?"

I stared wide-eyed at the young woman for an eternity. I had to say no, I had to keep my promise and make sure that time was not rewritten. But seeing Susan's red rimmed eyes gazing up at me made me falter in my answer for a moment.

"No, Susan. I didn't know." I took a deep breath and swallowed my guilt. "This is one of those times where I don't know what's going to happen."

Josephine cleared her throat, making us all turn and look at her. "Even if Diana had known, she couldn't have done anything to stop it. The Doctor obviously knew he was coming here to die. That means it was a fixed point."

Faith and Alistair nodded in silent agreement. I noticed Alistair hadn't said much since the older Doctor had 'died' and I worried that maybe he was hurting much more than he was letting on. I gently put my hand on his shoulder and smiled at him.

"Hey, how are you doing? You haven't said much since…"

"I'm… confused," he admitted. He looked back at his friends, then turned to me again and gestured for us to distance ourselves form the others. We walked out from under the console and stopped by the TARDIS doors. Alistair turned so his back was facing the console and crossed his arms over his chest. "I've known the Doctor for a very long time and throughout many of his lives. Including his next life," he added in a low voice.

I stared wide-eyed at the man in shock. "I see," I whispered.

"You know he has another life after this one. I know you do."

"Look, Alistair, I-"

"Before he died, he made me promise not to tell anyone about what I knew. I assume he told you the same thing."

I glanced back at the Doctor and watched as he started talking with Susan. "Yeah, he made me promise too."

"So how did he do it?"

"Alistair, you know I can't tell you."

"Then at least answer this for me: is he truly dead? Just say yes or no, that's all I need to know. Please."

I looked into Alistair's eyes and shook my head. "No." Then I turned and walked back towards the console.

Faith and Josephine gave me curious looks, obviously wondering what Alistair and I had been talking about, but I shook my head at them. Alistair came up the steps behind me and sent a similar look to his friends, making them sigh and look away.

The Doctor was bouncing around the console while the rest of us watched in silence. "Time isn't a straight line," he said, typing a few things into the scanner. "It's all bumpy wumpy. There's loads of boring stuff like Sundays and Tuesdays and Thursday afternoons. But now and then there are Saturdays! Big temporal tipping points when anything's possible. The TARDIS can't resist them, like a moth to a flame. She loves a party, so I give her 1969 and NASA, because that's space in the sixties, and Canton Everett Delaware the third, and this is where she's pointing."

Amy scooted closer to the scanner to see better. "Washington D.C., April the eighth, 1969," she read aloud. "So why haven't we landed?"

"Because that's not where we're going."

"Oh. Where are we going?"

"Home. Well, you and Rory are. Off you pop and make babies. And you, Doctor Song, back to prison. Susan, don't get yourself in trouble for trying to bust her out again. Alistair, Josephine, Faith… Well, you've got yourselves a vortex manipulator. God only knows what you three get up to when I'm not around. As for me? I'm late for a biplane lesson in 1911. Or it could be knitting. Knitting or biplanes. One or the other. Diana's coming, too." The Doctor sat down at the seat by the stairs and crossed one leg over the other. He noticed the strange looks we were all giving him and looked confused. "What? A mysterious summons. You think I'm just going to go? Who sent those messages?" He sighed and shook his head. "I know you know. I can see it in your faces. Don't play games with me. Don't ever, ever think you're capable of that."

"Shut up," I snapped.

"What?"

"I said, shut up." My frustration with the Doctor won out over my guilt and I felt anger rise up in my chest. "Don't threaten us. Ever. Do you understand me?"

The Doctor stared incredulously at me. "Diana, no. I wasn't-"

"You think this is a game? Do you think I'm crying over a game, that your daughter is crying over a game? You threaten your only family, your friends and think that's okay?" I stepped in front of him and looked down, anger burning in my gaze. "How dare you."

River put a hand on my shoulder and pulled me back. "Diana." I could see in her eyes how sad and hurt she was. She looked past me at Faith and nodded at her, silently telling me to let it go and stand with the others. Then River took my place and looked down at the Doctor. "You're going to have to trust us this time," she said softly.

The Doctor jumped to his feet. "Trust you? Sure. But, first of all, Doctor Song, just one thing: who are you? You're someone from my future. Getting that. But who? Okay. Why are you in prison? Who did you kill, hm? Now, I love a bad girl, me, but trust you? Seriously?"

Amy stepped forward and grabbed the Doctor's arm. "Trust me," she breathed. "You have to do this, but you can't ask why."

The Doctor's face grew serious. "Are you being threatened? Is someone making you say that?"

"No."

"You're lying."

Amy shook her head. "I'm not lying."

"Swear to me. Swear to me on something that matters."

Amy froze, her eyes flitting across the Doctor's face as she thought. Then she smiled a little and took his hand in hers. "Fish fingers and custard," she whispered.

The Doctor smiled, believing her lie. "My life in your hands, Amelia Pond."

River looked at Amy and nodded in acknowledgement. "Thank you."

The Doctor began walking around the console. "So! Canton Everett Delaware the third. Who's he?"

River followed the Time Lord to the scanner and watched as the information appeared on the screen. "Ex FBI," she read aloud. "Got kicked out."

"Why?"

River shook her head. "It just says he had 'problems with authority', which most likely means he doesn't follow orders very well. Then six weeks after he left the Bureau, the President contacted him for a private meeting."

The Doctor looked confused. "Yeah, 1969. Who's President?"

"Nixon," I answered. Everyone turned and looked at me in surprise. "What? I'm American. I'm supposed to know this stuff."

River smiled at me. "You're right. Richard Milhous Nixon. Vietnam, Watergate. There's some good stuff, too," she added as an afterthought.

"Not enough," the Doctor scoffed.

"Hippie!" River teased.

"Archaeologist."

"Doctor?" Faith called. "I think that since we don't know where we're going to land, we should probably silence the engines."

The Doctor looked at the young woman and smiled. "That is a brilliant idea." He ran over to her and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "You are brilliant, Faith."

He pulled on a lever as he ran by it, making a loud whine sound through the console room. Faith reached forward while the Doctor wasn't looking and flipped a lever right beside it. The sound stopped and the Doctor, confused, looked around the time rotor at us.

"Did you do something?"

Faith shrugged her shoulders, looking around at the others in mock confusion. "No, just watching," she assured him.

The Doctor looked suspicious, but didn't say anything about it. "Right. Putting the outer shield on invisible." He ran to the other side of the console and pulled a large button out, then twisted it. The sound of a machine shutting down sounded and I sent a concerned look to River. "I haven't done this in a while. Big drain on the power."

"You can turn the TARDIS invisible?" Rory asked, skepticism written plainly on his face.

The Doctor laughed in reply, turning another knob that caused the room flood with white lights. Susan leaned across the console and casually flipped a dial, making the lights turn off and revert to normal.

"Very nearly," River noted with a smile.

The Doctor looked over his shoulder at us, his eyes flipping from one person to the next. "Er, did you touch something? Diana?"

I shook my head. "Nope."

"We're just admiring your skills, Doctor," River added with a nod.

"Good. You two might learn something. Okay. Now I can't check the scanner. It doesn't work when we're cloaked." The Doctor bounded down the stairs and ran for the door, but skidded to a stop when he spotted the others following him. "Whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa. You lot, wait a moment. We're in the middle of the most powerful city in the most powerful country on Earth. Let's take it slow."

"What are you going to do?" Faith asked.

The Doctor leaned against the doors. "I'm going outside to look around. The rest of you are staying in here. And I mean that. All of you have a tendency to run off, so stay put this time, alright?"

We all nodded and the Doctor, seemingly satisfied, nodded and quietly stepped outside. Once the doors closed behind him, Susan, Josephine, and River all ran back to the console and began working at it. I looked at Alistair and Faith in confusion.

"What are they doing?" I asked.

"We are turning the scanner on," Susan replied.

Rory shook his head. "But he said the scanner wouldn't work."

River smirked and plugged a thick chord into the scanner. "I know," she laughed as the chord sparked. "Bless."

The scanner went black and white, turned fuzzy, and then suddenly snapped into focus. The image on the screen showed us the inside of the Oval Office with two men seated by the President's desk. The man who I guessed was the President had his back to the TARDIS and was listening to a recording.

I didn't have to listen to the recording to know what was happening. I remembered enough to know that a small, frightened little girl was calling President Nixon from where she was imprisoned. And if I remembered the jumbled timelines correctly, the little girl was a very young Melody Pond.

On the scanner, the recording ended. The man sitting down, who I knew was a young Mr. Delaware, asked, "Surely this is something the Bureau could handle, sir."

The President shook his head as he looked out the window. "These calls happen wherever I am. How do I know the Bureau isn't involved? I can't trust anyone-."

The President cut himself off when he turned and spotted the Doctor writing down notes. Canton stood and turned, looking alarmed when he spotted the Doctor standing just a few feet behind him. The Doctor finally looked up and froze when he realized both men were staring at him.

"Oh. Hello. Bad moment," the Time Lord laughed. "Oh look, this is the Oval Office. I was looking for the, er, oblong room." I shook my head and covered my face with my hands. "I'll just be off, then, shall I?"

He turned and walked right into the cloaked TARDIS, making the ship jolt on the inside. I lurched forward, unconsciously grabbing onto Alistair to keep from falling over.

"Every time," River sighed.

Outside, Secret Service agents were running into the room with their guns drawn. They spotted the Doctor on the ground and quickly tackled him, holding him down while he protested.

"Susan, have you got my scanner working yet?" he shouted.

Susan rolled her eyes and sighed, "He's such an idiot."

"No, I'm not!" he shouted.

One of the agents began shouting orders. "Get the President out of here! Sir, you have to go with them, now!"

"Susan, make her blue again!" the Doctor shouted.

Susan and River hurried around the console and flipped a series of switches and levers that made the TARDIS visible again. This distracted the Secret Service agents long enough to let the Doctor slip out of their grasp and over to the President's desk.

"What the hell is that?" the President asked.

The Doctor spoke up form the desk. "Mr. President, that child just told you everything you need to know, but you weren't listening." The men all turned and aimed their guns at the Doctor again. "Never mind, though, because the answer's yes. I'll take the case. Fellows, the guns, really? I just walked into the highest security office in the United States and parked a big blue box on the rug."

River had waited until the men had turned around to exit the ship. She stepped out first, with Rory, then Amy, and then me behind her. The Doctor had braced his legs on the President's desk and was grinning like an idiot. I grimaced and shook my head, wishing pointlessly that the Doctor wasn't such an idiot.

"Do you think you can just shoot me?" he asked.

"They're Americans!" River reminded the Time Lord as she stepped outside. "What else are they going to do?"

The men turned around again and aimed their guns at us as we all stepped into the oval office. We kept our hands above our heads and moved slowly so the men wouldn't think we were about to do something dangerous and shoot us.

"Don't shoot!" the Doctor exclaimed as he jumped to his feet. "Definitely no shooting."

Rory nodded in agreement. "Very much not in need of getting shot. Look, we've got our hands up."

"Who the hell are you?" the president demanded.

Canton stepped in front of the President. "Sir, you need to stay back!"

"But who are they and what is that box?"

The Doctor sighed dramatically. "It's a police box. Can't you read? I'm your new undercover agent on loan from Scotland Yard. Code name the Doctor. These are my top operatives, the Legs, the Nose, Princess Di, and Willow Rosenberg."

River rolled her eyes, muttering under her breath about the ridiculous nickname. "I hate you," she grumbled.

The Doctor laughed. "No you don't."

The President looked in confusion between us and the Doctor. "Who are you?"

"Nah, boring question. Who's phoning you? That's interesting because Canton Three is right. That was definitely a girl's voice, which means there's only one place in America she can be phoning from."

Canton lowered his guard, obviously intrigued by the Doctor's quick thinking. "Where?" he asked.

"Do not engage with the intruder, Mr. Delaware!" one of the Secret Service men ordered.

"You heard everything I heard," the Doctor continued. "It's simple enough. Give me five minutes, I'll explain. On the other hand, lay a finger on me or my friends, and you'll never, ever know."

"Doctor, please don't threaten the people with the guns," I groaned as I prayed not to be shot.

"How did you get it in here?" Canton asked. "I mean, you didn't carry it in."

"Clever, eh?"

"Love it," Canton replied with a smile.

The Secret Service man spoke up again. "Do not compliment the intruder!"

Canton looked back at the TARDIS for a moment and smiled. Then he looked back at the Doctor and asked, "Five minutes?"

"Five," the Time Lord agreed.

The Secret Service man's temper had flared dangerously and he looked about ready to shoot the Doctor. "Mr. President, that man is a clear and present danger to-"

"Mr. President," Canton interrupted, "that man walked in here with a big blue box and four of his friends, and that's the man he walked past. One of them's worth listening to. I say we give him five minutes. See if he delivers."

The Doctor smiled. "Thanks, Canton."

"If he doesn't, I'll shoot him myself."

His smile fell and I shook my head. "Not so thanks," the Time Lord mumbled.

"Sir, I cannot recommend-"

"Shut up, Peterson!" the President ordered. "All right, five minutes."

The Doctor's smile returned and he bounced excitedly in the president's chair. "I'm going to need a SWAT team, ready to mobilize. Street level maps covering all of Florida, a pot of coffee, twelve Jammie Dodgers and a fez!"

Canton stared at the Doctor in disbelief for a moment. "Get him his maps."

"I told him that going in like this was a terrible idea, but you know how Brits can be," I finished awkwardly, forcing a laugh. "So stubborn sometimes."

"So why exactly is an American working with Scotland Yard?"

I swallowed nervously. "Well, Mr. President, sir… The Doctor and I…" C'mon, think of something. "We're married."

The President raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Is that right?"

"Yes, sir. It is. I, um… I went to England to study abroad for a semester and we met and it all just sort of fell into place."

"Hm, well I can't say I'm pleased that you left for England and never returned. But I suppose if living there with your husband is what makes you happy, then I can understand."

I nodded. "Yes, of course, sir. Thank you very much, Mr. President."

The Doctor suddenly called my name, making me jump. "Diana, could you have a look at this please?"

I looked back to the President and smiled apologetically at him. "Excuse me, sir. I'll be right back."

I hurried over to the President's desk, where maps had been strewn all across the surface. The Doctor smiled at me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders, pulling me against him. I flushed and looked down at the maps as I tried to focus on the task at hand.

"You looked terrified," he whispered in my ear.

I half smiled, half grimaced. "He's the President of the United States. It's like meeting the queen. It's absolutely terrifying. You start talking and then all of a sudden you realize how stupid you sound and you try not to babble, but then you end up doing nothing but babbling."

"He's really not that intimidating once you get used to him."

The deep voice behind us startled me and I jumped a little. Canton smiled at me and held out his hand when I turned to face him.

"I don't believe we've been properly introduced."

"I'm Diana Scott," I said, taking his hand and shaking it. "And you are?"

"Canton Everett Delaware the third. Pleasure to meet you, Miss Scott."

"Actually," the Doctor interjected, "it's Mrs. Smith."

"Right! Mrs. Smith. Sorry, I forgot."

Canton looked back at me in surprise. "Explain?"

I smiled and let out an awkward laugh. "We're married. Newly married. The Doctor and I are married. I'm still getting used to the name."

The Doctor nodded. "Yes, we got married a couple of weeks ago. The whole marriage thing is brand new for us."

"Where are your rings?"

"Our rings?" The Doctor's arm fell from my shoulders and we glanced at each other in alarm. I froze for a moment, trying to think of a logical explanation for our lack of wedding rings. "Oh, right. Well, um, Scotland Yard has this policy where, um, we aren't allowed to wear anything that will show we're married while we're on duty. It's for our own safety."

"Right. Well, you two better get back to looking at those maps," Canton suggested. "You have three minutes."

As Canton walked away, my gaze drifted to the TARDIS. I thought about Alistair and what he had said about knowing the future Doctor. Then I remembered how both Faith and Josephine had known how to work the controls on the console. The only people who really knew how to work the TARDIS were all Time Lords or people very, very close to the Doctor.

I looked back at the Doctor and asked, "So who exactly are Josephine and Faith, anyway? I mean, Alistair works for UNIT so he must be a friend of yours. But how do you know the others?"

The Time Lord stood very still for a moment, then set down the map he had been holding. "They're just family friends," he told me, flashing me an unconvincing smile.

"Doctor, I'm not an idiot. I know they're more than that."

"Diana, they're a part of your future. They're walking spoilers. I can't tell you."

"They know about fixed points and incarnations. Doctor, as far as I know they don't exist and yet you invited them to your-." I bit my tongue and cut off the sentence before I finished it, almost forgetting that the Doctor didn't know about his death yet. "My point is, they must be very important to you to know so much about you. I just want to know who they are."

"Diana, can this wait? I have to find these streets in the next two minutes, now that you've wasted one already."

"Fine," I sighed in frustration.

I turned on my heel and walked away before I said anything else. I was frustrated with the Doctor's older self for making me promise not to lie, but I was also angry at him for dragging his daughter into his mess. My anger mixed with my confusion about Josephine and Faith and I glanced back at the TARDIS.

I wonder how Alistair knows about the Doctor's next incarnation, but the others don't even though they're apparently so close to him. I glanced back at the Doctor and watched him as he continued looking over his maps. And why is he making such a big deal about their identities staying a secret? He wasn't nearly this worried about me discovering who Susan was, although that was mostly because Ace told me we were married.

I was jolted from my thoughts when a hand landed on my shoulder, making me jump. I looked back at the person in confusion and smiled weakly when I saw that it was Rory. He smiled back, but I could see worry in his eyes.

"Hey, are you alright?" he asked.

I nodded. "Yeah. Just… thinking. What about you? You look worried."

"Amy hasn't been feeling good since… Well, you know. I think she's taking this really hard."

"We all are." I looked around the room for the redhead and noticed that she was missing. "Where did Amy go? Wasn't she just in here?"

"She left to go to the loo."

"Oh. Right." Rory nodded and looked towards the door, anxiously waiting for his wife to come back. "Hey, Rory, it's gonna be okay. I know Amy is going to be fine. It's going to take time, but she's going to be okay and you're going to be there for her."

"Wait," Rory said as I turned to leave. "What about you and the Doctor?"

"What about us?" I asked in confusion.

"You've been snapping at him ever since we met this, er, younger version of him. Is everything alright between you two?"

I looked back at the Doctor and watched as he worried over his maps. Then I thought of my suspicions about Alistair and the others. "Do you know who the Doctor's friends are?" I suddenly asked. "Alistair and Josephine and Faith. Who are they?"

"I-I really wouldn't know. Oh, I think River needs my help. Sorry."

Rory hurried off towards River with a panicked expression on his face. Well that was weird, I thought. He knows, doesn't he?

The sound of the President's phone ringing brought me out of my thoughts. River looked between Rory and I in surprise. We all looked at the Doctor as he continued to look over the maps spread across the desk.

"The kid?" Canton asked, looking between the Doctor and the President.

The President looked startled. "Should I answer it?"

"Here!" the Doctor suddenly called out, pointing at a spot on one of the maps. "The only place in the United States that call could be coming from. See? Obvious, when you think about it."

Amy suddenly reentered the room with a Secret Service agent. Amy looked somewhat confused at first, but she seemed to relax slightly when she walked over to Rory's side. He asked how she was feeling and I could see relief wash over his face when she answered that she was better.

Canton looked down at the map and then to the Doctor, and smile. "You, sir, are a genius," he praised.

The Doctor shrugged. "It's a hobby."

"Mr. President," Canton said as he turned his attention to Nixon, "answer the phone."

The President turned his recording machine on before answering the phone. "Hello," he began as he sat down. "This is President Nixon."

"It's here!" the child cried into the phone. "The spaceman's here! It's going to get me! It's going to eat me!"

My hand flew up to cup my mouth. I could only guess how terrified and confused the little girl was. River inhaled sharply from her spot beside me and I spared her a worried glance. I guessed she was reliving those terrifying moments in her early life haunted by Madame Kovarian and the Silence.

"River?" I asked, lightly placing my hand on her shoulder. "You okay?"

The woman looked at me and I saw fear in her eyes. But before she could answer, the Doctor called out and began relaying instructions.

"There's no time for a SWAT team! Let's go," the Doctor said as he nodded towards the TARDIS. River pushed me forward and I stumbled inside the ship with the other three right behind me. "Mr. President, tell her help's on the way. Canton, on no account follow me into this box and close the door behind you."

The Doctor then dashed into the ship. I looked over my shoulder to see Canton scramble inside just as the doors slammed shut behind him. I paused on the steps and smiled when I saw that Canton was frozen in shock. Meanwhile, the Doctor was explaining his discovery.

"Jefferson isn't a girl's name. It's not her name either," he said as he set new coordinates. "Jefferson, Adams, Hamilton. Anyone?"

Faith smiled. "Surnames of three of America's founding fathers," she stated.

The Doctor grinned at the young woman. "I see you're better at history now? Lovely fellows. Two of them fancied me."

"Oh, Dad," Susan groaned. "We don't need to know that."

The Time Lord winked at his daughter before continuing. "You see, the President asked the child two questions. Where are you and who are you? She was answering where. Now, where would you find three big, historical names in a row like that?"

"Jefferson, Adams, and Hamilton are supposed to be the names of locations?" Alistair asked, finally speaking up.

"Yes."

"How did you figure that out?" Josephine asked.

"Because I'm clever," was the Doctor's only response as the TARDIS let out a wheeze and landed. "Now come on, everyone. Outside."

"Where are we?" Amy asked, trailing after the Doctor.

"Come on, everyone."

We started to exit the TARDIS in single file, passing Rory and Canton on the way. I smiled when I noticed that Canton was still in shock and coulnd't quite comprehend the TARDIS.

"Rory, are you taking care of him?" the Doctor called from outside.

"Why is it always my turn?" the nurse asked with a huff.

"Because you're the newest," Amy replied as she passed him and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Outside the TARDIS, I was hit with the realization that there was a mass infestation of Silence under our feet. I worked to block the thought from my mind and focus on helping the Doctor as best I could.

"So where are we, exactly?" Alistair asked.

"About five miles from Cape Kennedy Space Center," the Doctor answered as he walked over to a window. "It's 1969, the year of the moon. Interesting, don't you think?"

Faith was shaking her head. "Why would a little girl be here?" she wondered, pulling out her phone and using it as a light. "Why would she come here?"

"I don't think she came here," Josephine suggested as she copied her friend's actions. "A little girl afraid of an astronaut eating her wouldn't come here by herself. She'd only be more scared. She was probably brought here by someone."

I spotted Susan whispering something into River's ear in the corner of the small room we'd entered. River leaned back, gazing into my daughter's eyes, and eventually smiled. Susan mumbled something else before raising a hand to River's cheek.

What on Earth…?

The Doctor began speaking again and I snapped out of my trance. "None of this makes very much sense. But what I do know is that when the President asked the girl where she was, she did what any lost little girl would do." He leaned against the wall and peeked through the blinds of the window. Outside were three street names titled 'Hamilton Avenue', 'Jefferson Street', and 'Adams Street'. "She looked out of the window."

"Of course," Alistair murmured. "Stupid. Of course they were street names."

"The only place in Florida, probably all of America, with those three street names on the same junction. And Diana, you've got that face on again."

I started, not realizing until the Doctor had said my name that I'd been staring at him. "Uh, what face?" I asked, drawing a blank on what else I could say.

"The 'he's hot when he's clever' face."

I knew exactly where the conversation would lead and I followed the Time Lord's lead with a small smile. "This is my normal face," I replied.

The wicked smirk on the Doctor's face was enough to make me blush. "Yes, it is," he said smugly.

"Shut up."

"Not a chance, love."

Canton and Rory stepped out of the TARDIS then. When Canton saw that our location had changed, he reacted in a way that fondly reminded me of Harry Sullivan.

"We've moved! How… How can we have moved?"

"You haven't even got to space travel yet?" the Doctor asked, shooting Rory an incredulous look.

"I was going to cover it with time travel," Rory retorted.

"Time travel?"

"It's a thing, Canton," I said with a smile. "You get used to it. Trust me."

"Make sure you explain the four extra passengers, Rory," the Doctor suggested. "Brave heart, Canton. Now come on."

Canton looked back at Rory. "So we're in a box that's bigger on the inside, and it travels through time and space."

"Yeah, basically."

"Uh, how long have Scotland Yard had this?" the American asked.

I glanced back at the TARDIS as Canton and Rory stepped passed me, intending to add a witty response. But an idea suddenly came to mind that made me pause, an idea that was ridiculous to even consider. I shook my head against the thought and started to walk after the rest of the group. But I stopped again as I reconsidered the idea. I told myself to disregard it, as it was too simple an answer and too strange a coincidence. Yet the more I thought about it, the more I realized that maybe I was right.

"Diana? You okay?" I started and withdrew from my thoughts. Rory was looking worriedly at me. "You okay there? You just sort of froze."

"Hm? Oh. Sorry. I'm… I'm not here mentally right now."

The nurse smiled. "Yeah, I noticed. You okay, though?"

"Yeah. I'm just thinking."

"Well, don't hurt yourself, yeah?"

"Real funny, Pond."

"It's Williams," Rory sighed.

"I know," I laughed. "But it's so fun to tease you about it."

"You realize this is almost certainly a trap, of course?" the Doctor asked as Rory and I entered the adjoining room.

"I noticed the phone," River spoke up.

"What phone?" I asked. "And what did you notice about it, exactly?"

"There was a phone on the desk by that window, but the line was cut," Susan said before River could finish.

"So how did the child phone from here?" River asked.

Amy spoke up this time. "Okay, but why would anyone want to trap us?"

The Doctor shrugged, tossing his hands into the hair. "Let's see if anyone tries to kill us and work backwards."

I raised an eyebrow. "Pardon my language, Doctor," I interjected, "but that's a crap idea."

"Well, what's your idea?" he countered.

That the Silence are here and they want you dead. That a young Melody Pond is trapped inside an astronaut suit and she has been trained to kill you. That I think Alistair, Josephine, and Faith are more than just family friends.

I glanced down at the ground and bit my tongue to keep from saying aloud any of the things I'd thought. "I don't have one," I mumbled after a moment or two.

"Hm, well my idea still stands. So let's go look for a little girl and a killer astronaut!"

Someone tapped me lightly on the shoulder. Turning, I saw Alistair and smiled at him. "Diana, would you like to share my torch?" he asked, raising his flashlight.

"Sure," I answered. "Thanks."

"I, um, saw a few damaged crates over this way, thought we could see what's in them."

"Okay. Lead the way, Lieutenant."

Alistair started off towards one of the darker areas of the building, shining his light in front of us. "You can just call me Alistair," he said. "I would prefer it, actually."

"Oh. Sure, whatever you like. Although I think the Brigadier would probably like for me to call you lieutenant when you're on duty."

"He would appreciate it, I'm sure."

My gaze happened to drop to the gun strapped around Alistair's leg and I absently chewed on my bottom lip. "Why do you have a gun?" I finally asked when we reached the crates.

"Force of habit. Hold this, please," he said before handing me his flashlight. "Shine it over here."

"So you're a UNIT soldier?"

"Yes." Alistair continued looking through the crates, but I noticed that his face had grown rather serious. "You don't have a problem with soldiers, do you?"

"Of course not. Some of my closest friends are soldiers. The Brigadier, Yates, Benton, they're like my family. Why do you ask?"

Alistair shook his head. "Someone who is very close to me has… a great dislike of soldiers. He was very angry with me when I joined UNIT."

"A dislike of soldiers?" I echoed.

"He hates them. Told me and a… friend how much he hated them, even insulting my friend's partner for being one."

I smiled reassuringly and patted Alistair on the shoulder. "Well, I definitely don't hate soldiers and I never will. I think what you do is very brave and I respect any person who is willing to become a soldier. So don't worry what this person thinks about you. He's probably just a stubborn idiot."

"He is," Alistair replied with a faint smile. He then stood up and brushed the dust off of his hands. "Well, nothing that can tell us anything in here. Let's go back to the others and see if they found anything."

The Doctor, River, and Amy had found a few crates full of NASA materials. The Doctor was babbling on about the coolness of the astronaut attire to Canton and Rory, while Amy, Susan, and River were talking over an opened crate. Alistair and I were conversing in hushed tones when the lieutenant tripped over something.

"Oh! What was that?"

Alistair shone his flashlight onto the object he had tripped over, revealing a small metal circle that covered up a hole in the ground. River, who was whispering something to Amy, grabbed Susan's hand and pulled her over to where Alistair and I were standing. Amy followed in silence while the Doctor, Canton, and Rory walked over.

"Where's Faith and Josephine?" I asked as I looked over the group.

"They're looking around," River answered. "They'll be fine, so why don't we focus on this?"

"Where does that go?" the Doctor wondered, a giddy smile on his face.

River pulled some kind of scanner out of her jacket pocket. "There's a network of tunnels running under here," she said as she pressed a few buttons.

"Life signs?" Alistair and the Doctor asked in unison.

River shook her head. "No, nothing that's showing up."

"Those are the worst kind," the Doctor muttered.

River knelt down and removed the metal cover, which revealed a dark manhole. Susan protested as River started to shimmy down, but the archeologist scoffed and laughed. I knew what she would see and forget in the tunnels and couldn't help but be worried for her, but I knew she would be alright.

"Be careful," the Doctor said seriously.

"Careful?" River scoffed. "I tried that once. Ever so dull."

"Shout if you get in trouble," the Doctor told her.

River smirked as she lowered herself into the manhole. "Don't worry, I'm quite the screamer. Now there's a spoiler for you, Susan."

I turned my gaze to Susan and saw her blushing. Confused, I looked back at River and felt my eyes widen when she winked at my daughter. I looked at Susan again and saw her smile fondly at River.

"Oh my God!"

Everyone turned and looked at me in surprise. I looked between Susan and the manhole River had shimmied down, realization suddenly dawning on me. The way that River had comforted Susan earlier and the closeness between them at the diner and the flirting at the picnic suddenly made sense.

"Diana? What is it?" the Doctor asked, obviously concerned for my sudden exclamation.

"Oh. My. God." I ran over to the manhole and looked down, trying to find River through the darkness. She turned her flashlight on and I could just make out the shape of her hair. "River Song, what have you been doing with my daughter?" I heard the woman laugh and narrowed my eyes. "Don't you laugh at me!"

"Spoilers, Diana," she called.

A strong maternal instinct rose up in my chest. I looked back at Susan, placing my hands on my hips and raising an eyebrow at her. "Are you two…? Susan, are you and River together?"

Canton suddenly cleared his throat, staring uncertainly at me. "Tell me what's going on here."

I jumped and stared at him, my mouth partially open. "I think River's dating my daughter."

"Um, I think he's talking about the possible alien incursion," Rory suggested.

I blushed and looked down. "Oh. Right," I mumbled.

"Daughter?" Canton repeated. Then he shook his head. "No. Never mind. Just don't tell me." He walked over towards Amy, who was inspecting something with her flashlight, and began speaking with her.

Susan hurried to my side, a panic stricken expression on her face. "You're not mad, are you?" she asked.

"Mad? No, sweetie, I'm not mad. I'm surprised. Definitely surprised. Absolutely, definitely surprised, but I'm not mad at you."

Alistair snickered from behind me and quickly stifled it when I glanced at him. "I'm sorry," he chucked. "That was just very amusing."

" 'Stair, shush!" Susan grumbled.

I looked at my daughter with a smile. Her cheeks had flushed and despite the embarrassment on her face, I could also see worry. I reached forward and took her hands in mine.

"Susan, this may take a while for me to completely adjust to, and for many different reasons. But I don't want you to think that I'm mad at you. Like I said, I'm surprised. I wasn't exactly expecting that. But if being with River makes you happy, then... that's all that matters."

"Really?"

I nodded. "Really."

Susan smiled in relief and threw her arms around me in a brief hug. "Thanks, Mom."

I shook my head and laughed a little. "It's gonna take me a while to get used to that," I sighed. "Considering that you almost look old enough to be my mom instead of the other way around."

"Oh, I was thinking aunt maybe," Susan suggested with a smile.

"Hm, maybe."

"All clear!" River's sudden declaration from the manhole startled me. I turned to look at her as she popped out of the manhole with a brilliant grin. "Just tunnels. Nothing down there I can see. Er, give me five minutes. I want to take another look around."

"Stupidly dangerous!" the Doctor scolded.

"Yeah, I like it too," River retorted with a smirk. "Amy, look after him."

"River, wait!" Susan exclaimed, rushing to the manhole and starting to crawl down after the woman.

"Susan!" The Doctor didn't bother shouting his daughter's name again. I guessed she had the same adventurous streak her father had. "Rory, Alistair, would you mind going with them?"

"Yeah, a bit," Rory grumbled.

"Then I'd appreciate it all the more."

Alistair drew his gun out from its holster and nodded at me. He looked to Rory, who heaved a deep sigh and started towards the manhole.

"Hang on, River," Alistair called after the other three. "Rory and I are coming too."

The Doctor looked past the two as they crawled down after River and Susan, and flashed me a smile. My anger towards him had lessened already and I was still a little frustrated with the promise his future self had made me keep, but I couldn't keep a straight face when the Doctor smiled at me.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you."

I raised both eyebrows at the unexpected apology. "Thank you. I appreciate that. I should probably apologize, too," I added with a sigh.

The Doctor shook his head. "No. I know you're curious about Alistair and Josephine and Faith. I was just feeling a bit pressured."

"Truce?" I asked, thinking fondly of the last time I'd asked the Doctor that same question.

"Truce."

The voice of the little girl suddenly cried out. "Help me! Help! Help me!"

The Doctor and I froze, staring wide-eyed at each other. I ran off after Canton and the Doctor started after me, but stopped when Amy suddenly cried out in pain and doubled over. I paused and looked back to see Amy grasping at the Doctor's jacket.

"Help me! Please!" the girl cried.

"Amy, what's wrong?" the Doctor asked.

Amy looked desperately up at the Time Lord. "I need to tell you something. It's important."

"Doctor!" Canton shouted from a distance.

"It's really, really important," Amy said.

"Doctor, quickly!" Canton shouted.

"Hang on, Canton!" I called. "Amy, can this wait? That little girl needs us!"

The Doctor suddenly rushed past me, leaving Amy and I behind as he dashed around a stack of crates. We hurried after him and slowed almost immediately when we spotted Canton lying on the floor.

"Canton!" I exclaimed.

"Is he all right?" Amy asked.

The Doctor nodded. "Just unconscious. Got a proper whack."

I knelt next to Canton and gently ran a hand over his forehead. "Come on, Canton. Wake up, man. We need you."

"Doctor, I need to tell you something," Amy said with a grimace. She was partially doubled over again with a hand pressed against her stomach. "I have to tell you it now."

The Doctor shook his head. "Not a great moment, Pond."

"No, it's important! It has to be now."

"Help!" the little girl cried. "Help me! Help me!"

Amy grabbed the Doctor's forearm and leaned in close to him. "Doctor," she whispered, "I'm pregnant." There was the sudden thudding of heavy footsteps behind us. We all turned and saw the astronaut walking towards us. "That's it. The astronaut."

The astronaut stopped and slowly lifted its visor, revealing a tiny girl inside. "Help me!" she sobbed.

"Oh, Melody," I whispered.

Amy shoved past me and grabbed Canton's gun from the ground by his hand. "Get down!" she shouted.

The Doctor looked at his best friend in shock. "Amy, what are you doing?"

"Saving your life!"

I leapt t my feet with a shout as Amy screamed and fired a shot at the astronaut. The Doctor cried out just as two more women screamed somewhere in the building. Panic gripped my heart and I immediately turned towards the sound.

"Where's Faith and Josephine?"

The Doctor spun around and stared at me. "They're not back?"

The screams sounded again and I took off running towards them. I spotted an open door across the room and headed for it. I ran through the doorway just as Faith hurried through on the other side. We collided and fell to the floor with a few strangled shouts of surprise.

"What is it?" I asked as Faith helped me up. "What happened? Are you alright?"

"Nothing happened," she answered, flashing me a confused expression. "I'm fine."

"I thought I heard you scream."

Faith shook her head. "No, I didn't scream."

"Where's Josephine?"

"She's not with the others?"

"Not when I left," I answered. In the distance, more screaming and shouting began to sound through the building. "Come on, back to the TARDIS! Run!"

We ran towards the main room, hearing another scream. Faith let out a gasp and called out Josephine's name in a panic. "Jo, where are you? Where are you?"

"Dad! Help!" a woman cried out.

Faith and I rounded a corner and a large stack of crates, and skidded to a halt when we saw a Silence blocking our way. Just beyond the creature was the rest of the TARDIS team, all of them staring in horror at the Silence. I felt my breath halt in my throat when the creature turned and locked its gaze on Faith and I.

Faith's hand suddenly clasped itself in mine. "What do we do?" she breathed.

"Run. Run, run!"

"But what about you?"

"Go!"

I shoved Faith behind me and bravely took a step towards the Silence. The Doctor called my name in a panic and begged me to step away. I looked away for a split second, meeting the Doctor's gaze just long enough to keep from forgetting anything.

"Faith, are you okay?" I called, still staring at the creature.

"I'm fine! Diana, come on! Just run!"

"Diana," the Silence suddenly hissed. "Diana Scott."

I stumbled backwards in shock, my arm extended to protect myself from the creature. "Oh God. Oh God, oh God," I breathed. "What was I thinking?"

"We are coming for you and your Doctor… Silence will fall!"

A/N: I'd love some feedback. I sincerely hope it was interesting or enjoyable or anything other than basically not good. Please leave a review and let me know what you thought.