"If..." the Doctor began, standing from the couch. "If I can find her... Melody. If I can find Melody, it will have to be after our trip to America. She's the little girl in the spacesuit. All of that has to happen."

"But why?" Amy demanded. "I just want my daughter back!"

"I know Amy, and I'm sorry, but she'll have to come back as a seven year old. That's the only option." He looked nervously from one Pond to the other.

Amy stayed silent, but Rory nodded his consent. "Please bring her home."

xxxxxxxxxx

The Doctor bounded up the TARDIS steps, then stopped short to lean against the console. He was completely unsure of how he was supposed to find seven-year-old Melody. Florida was the most likely location, but where in Florida? Would he run into more Silence? Madame Kovarian again? Something even worse?

A sudden thought gave him an idea. Both humans and Time Lords had particular energy signals, signals that belonged to them only. Melody was half human, half Time Lord, a completely unique energy signal. That signal, being so unique, could be tracked through some simple technology. He set the TARDIS to scan for unusual Earth life at any time around 1969, to ensure the child's proper age, and waited.

In the meantime, he set off on a hunt for some Jammie Dodgers. He hadn't eaten in quite a long time, even for Time Lords. As he pulled the package from the kitchen cupboard, he heard a ding noise echo down the TARDIS's hallways. Pleased that it had only taken a few minutes, he ran back to the console room, Jammie Dodgers in hand.

He opened the package and stuffed two of the delicious treats in his mouth while he studied the results of the scan. "...But that doesn't make any sense!" he declared, though it sounded more like "Aht hosent hake any sensh!"

The scanner was telling him that the signal, though it moved from Florida to England, never once came anywhere near Leadworth. In fact, he charted the signal over time and it seemed to stay in London almost exclusively, except during strange periods of disappearance that he could not account for.

This troubled him, especially concerning what he should do next. What would warrant him never returning Melody to her parents? And how could a seven-year-old child survive like that on her own? He knew that this was what he had to do. What he didn't know was why.

The TARDIS, who usually voiced her opinion in the form of hijacking their trips, had been pleasantly quiet this entire time. He looked up at the ceiling. "Why are you even letting me choose?" he asked, picking out another Jammie Dodger. "You've been taking me everywhere for this little adventure. You know where I have to go next. What I choose rarely matters because we always end up somewhere else anyway. So, Florida or England. Wherever we need to go."

He popped the treat in his mouth as the TARDIS, happy that he finally realised who exactly the driver was, thrummed and set her time rotor into action. Realistically, she would have taken him precisely where he needed to go, whether he actually wanted to go there or not. She had been silent because she knew what was about to happen and she knew that nothing would be the same ever again.

xxxxxxxxxx

The TARDIS came to a halt in England, which surprised the Doctor. He swallowed his last Jammie Dodger and tossed the box over his shoulder. "Alright, old girl," he said, patting the console. "I trust you. Let's see where we are." He scanned the outside perimeter to find himself near a playground. Several children around eight years of age were climbing and swinging and generally putting the equipment to good use. The Doctor did a quick scan and found that one of the children was definitely not just human.

Her hair was fiery ginger, a color that he wouldn't expect aside from the fact that he was now completely certain she could regenerate. The scans showed that the girl was half human, half Time Lord. Tracing her timeline, he had a match. This was Melody, no mistake about it. And he actually had the opportunity to find out why he brought her here before actually bringing her here. Perhaps that was the whole point. Perhaps... He would not know to bring her here unless he knew why first. Bloody paradoxes...

He trotted down the stairs and opened the doors to find himself face to face with a blazing midday sun. The children were not too far away, screaming and carrying on amongst themselves. He wasn't entirely sure how to get Melody's attention. She seemed perfectly content to play with her friends. It wasn't until he neared the playground that several of the children waved to him in a friendly greeting. He waved back, watching Melody's face turn to a frown.

She ginger girl hopped off of her swing and marched right up to him, something that he was definitely not expecting. Her bright hair clashed terribly with the red dress and leggings she was wearing and he almost snickered. What fuel to tease River with. "What are you doing here?"

The Doctor blinked, thoroughly confused. He looked over his shoulder to see if she was speaking to someone else, then finally came to the conclusion that it was indeed him. "Excuse me? I think I should be asking you that question!"

"I'm obviously playing with my friends!" she said, putting her hands on her hips.

"Obviously," the Doctor replied with slight sarcasm. "I mean, what are you doing here? You should be in Leadworth with your mum and dad."

"Where's Leadworth? My mum and dad live over there!" She pointed to a small house at the end of the street, yellow with a white picket fence and a car in the driveway.

"Your mum and dad can't live there, they aren't even born yet!" The Doctor said indignantly, noting to himself that Amy would never agree to live in such a house.

"What are you talking about?" she replied, looking at him as if he'd gone insane.

"Hush Melody, I'm trying to figure this out." This made no sense at all. Why would Amy and Rory be here in 1969? What reason would he have for bringing them here? None at all was his first conclusion. He remembered seeing the couple waving to themselves in 2020 and they certainly hadn't looked seventy-something years old, even from that distance. They didn't stoop when they stood and they had no problems raising their arms or waving excitedly. It made no sense!

"Melody is not my name," she said sulkily, crossing her arms.

"River then!" he exclaimed, crossing his own arms in response. "I'm trying to think."

"That's not my name either!" She stomped a foot on the ground in sudden anger.

The Doctor rolled his eyes and threw his long arms into the air in exasperation. She was already so much trouble! "Then what is your name?"

"Donna," she snipped, attitude rolling off her tongue. "Donna Noble."