"Well hello Astra Song" the voice of the devil herself rang throughout the room in a sickly sweet tone. The Doctor felt his mouth go dry and his hearts quicken with fear. He held his sleeping baby closer to his chest and spun on his heels looking for the source. "Full Time Lord I see" she spoke again, closer this time. The Doctor pulled the baby tighter causing her to whine a little from the discomforting proximity. "Shh shh my love" he whispered kissing her curls but keeping his eyes forward. "And I thought Melody was the perfect weapon in this war" a piercing laughed filled his ears. He spun two more times searching for her face, for the women with the eye patch, for his devil. "You can't have her!" He yelled suddenly into the dark. "She is not a weapon! She is not yours to take and train and destroy! She is love, and happiness and mine!" The laughed echoed again. "Silly Doctor that's where you're wrong" he pulled Astra closer causing her to cry out, "She was never yours." The Doctor turned towards the direction he heard the voice, "but she was always MINE!" Kovarian's yell was followed by a blast of air throwing the Doctor to the ground. He recovered and attempted to pull Astra closer to silence her cries when he realized she was no longer in his arms. "No…no please…Please!" he begged scrambling to his knees. He looked around the floor before realizing someone stood before him. And there she was. His star, his hearts, his daughter. She was no longer the small newborn he held in his arms just moments before but was now a child. He knew it was her though, those oceanic blue eyes only belonged to one other person and this isn't how she looked as a child. Her curls were just as wild as her mother's and hung shoulder length, framing her face. "Astra?...Astra, come on…come here…come to Daddy" he waved her over with his hands. She was apprehensive at first but gradually stepped closer. He then realized she was barefoot, her feet calloused and bloody, the jean shorts she was wearing were torn and caked with mud, and her short sleeve pink t-shirt was covered in dirt and blood and badly ripped along her side. When she was close enough he slid his hands around her waist and pulled her the rest of the way until her body was encased by his. He held her head to his shoulder with one hand, brushing her tangled curls soothingly while his other protectively held her back. "Astra I'm so sorry…I'm so sorry" he whispered tearfully as he continued to scout the darkness for any sign of the menacing eye patch clad Korvarian. "No I'm sorry father" the Doctor was so new to hearing the voice of his daughter he didn't comprehend it at first. "I'm sorry you think you can fix this." At that the Doctor pulled away slightly. It was then he noticed that while he had been holding his daughter she had not held back, she was stiff and cold. "Astra…" She was smiling when he noticed her face this time. 'No…No!" He pulled back further to get a clearer view of her covered right eye. "No!...Take it off! Take it off now!" He shook her slightly and reached to remove it himself when, with sudden speed, she grabbed his hand and twisted his wrist. He looked up, groaning in pain to see a pearly white grin and matching eye patch hovering over Astra. "You!" he bit out noticing how Korvarian laughed in response. She placed her hand on the child's shoulder and Astra released him, stepping back to be closer to her mentor. "Astra no! Don't do this! Remember who you are…Remember the love you were born from! This isn't you! This isn't what you were meant to become!" He yelled frantically, hoping to see a glimmer of understanding in her eyes but there was no change. "You're wrong father. This is who I am, this is what I was meant to do. Mum couldn't accept it either; she was too weak to do the job herself and too weak to live with the fact I was meant for this. You should be proud! I'm stronger than both of you" the Doctor looked at his daughter in utter shock. "Where is she? Where is your mother?" He crawled slightly closer. "I told you! She was too weak to live with this! I'm sure you'll be seeing her soon though" the smile that spread across his child's face made him nauseas. "You…you kill-" she interrupted him. "You see father you were never meant to die by some bullet or sword or poisoned kiss…this was your fate all along. You were meant to suffer, to have everything you ever loved taken from you until your only way out of your miserable existence was death! This was your fate" she looked up eagerly at Korvarian, like a student in need of some gratification from her teacher. "I won Doctor" Korvarian bellowed, "I won!"
"No, no, no, no, NO!" The Doctor shouted as he jolted awake. River who had been sleeping peacefully on her side, cradling Astra within her arms, jumped at the sudden sound. Before she could even analyze what had happened a loud wail escaped from her daughter's lungs signaling she was awake. "Oh! Shh shh shh Daddy didn't mean to scare you, he's very sorry…Iota?" she cooed, sitting up and bringing Astra with her. River was staring at her husband as she spoke, he was breathing heavy and his eyes were searching the room frantically before coming to a halt on his wife and child. "Shh Shh Astra, Mummy's here…I'm right here" River searched his eyes for any kind of answer and just as he opened his mouth to speak, the lights flew on. "What? What? What's happening?" Rory, clad in his boxers and grey t-shirt, asked waving his sword back and forth. Amy, holding a bat, was right behind him wearing only a long night dress. The Doctor looked between River and her parents before answering. "I…I saw a rat! Yes that's it! A rat…the bloody thing scurried, yes rats scurry, across the floor!" He babbled noticing both of their annoyed faces. Rory slumped from his battle ready stance and tilted his head. "Seriously Doctor? You encounter Daleks and Cybermen and 5 eyed, 6 armed, 8 legged, green slimy beasts and you're afraid of a little mouse?" Rory, full of sarcasm and anger, lifted his arms and sword in the air only to drop them both in frustration. "I've actually never met a 5 eyed, 6 armed, 8 legged, green slimy beast…I did happen to meet the Solax! What a fine race they are? Very peaceful! They are green yes, 5 eyes, 6 arms but ah! Only 6 legs! What would another pair be good for anyway?" Rory shook his head, "I'm going back to bed." Amy moved so he could fit through the door, dragging his sword behind him. She dropped her bat then crossed her arms over her chest and slowly walked over to the bed. River had managed to calm Astra down, figuring that she was not only crying from being frightened but also from being hungry, and started feeding her. She was currently flush against River's chest, gurgling down her fill of milk. River gently traced the newborn's face before looking up to see her mother. "Is everything alright?" River had no answer so looked to her husband. "My dear Amelia, I told you…you have a rat problem. I would look into fixing that with a new grandchild and everything." Amy shook her head then peeked over at her granddaughter. "Rory had the entire house exterminated the week we moved in, Doctor…no rats here" Amy leaned down to brush the baby's curls. "How do you feel, Melody?" River who had been still trying to glare her husband into telling her what had happened turned to look at her mother. "A little sore mum…but I'm fine" she leaned down to place a kiss to Astra's temple. The baby was already drifting back to sleep. "Did you two think of a name?" She asked, not yet ready to leave the room and return to her bed. River graced the room with a smile at this moment and nodded as the Doctor carefully wrapped his arm around his wife, ghosting his fingers against her arm. "Astra…Astra Song" River smiled looking down at her sleeping daughter. She detached the newborn from her breast then lifted her up to Amy, who coddled the baby close. "Astra?...Astra….I like that" Amy grinned burping the baby gently allowing River to button back up. "She's our star…" the Doctor whispered, more to himself, as Amy handed the baby back. He moved his arms to intercept his daughter and brought the sleeping baby to his chest. He couldn't help but picture the Astra from his dream when looking down at his peaceful newborn. He fought the urge to pick up and run knowing that now he couldn't do that. He had a family, a family who needed him to stop running. He gently brought his face down to the crook of her neck and nuzzled his nose against her soft cheek. He whispered something so quietly Amy didn't catch it, but River did. She faked a yawn earning an apology from her mother for "staying too long" before receiving a kiss to the forehead and a "see you in the morning" from her as well.
Once she was gone and River heard the door to her parent's bedroom close she turned to her husband. "Iota what happened?" she didn't miss a beat. The question was direct and demanding. The Doctor pulled away from his daughter then set her in the small travel sized cot Rory had put together when River first arrived. He placed his hand on her stomach as she whined a bit, rocking her lightly until she fell back to sleep. He kept his eyes on his daughter as he opened his mouth to talk. "I had a nightmare River" he whispered still not making eye contact. "She was back…she came back to end the war for good. She came back to kill me." River touched his back lightly urging him to go on. "Korvarian took her" River heard the tears in his voice, the fear creeping up. She wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his back. ''Shh shh my love! We will never let that happen!" He placed his other hand over his eyes to hide his tears, forcing them back physically. He felt River's hand over his in an instant, pulling it away and turning his head towards her by his jaw. His eyes met hers and he cried harder. "Iota…" she cooed out just before his face fell into the crook of her neck. She scratched at his scalp soothingly with one hand as the other drew shapes in his back. His hands found her loose fitting shirt and fisted it between his fingers as he cried into her shoulder. Neither of them spoke for what seemed liked hours, content to just linger in each other's embrace. "I can't lose you both, River…I can't lose my family again" he whispered against her throat. River kissed the top of his head lightly as she pulled him back towards the mattress. Soon her back and his side met the soft material of the sheets and he wrapped his leg over hers carefully. His head remained hidden under her jaw and his arms loosely circled her waist. She continued to massage his scalp with her finger tips until he was calm enough for sleep to over take him. And once he was asleep she drifted back as well.