A/N: Hello everyone, here's Chapter 4! So sorry it took so long to get out. I really did intent on having it out much sooner but real life just got in the way, unfortunately. That and this chapter gave me a bit of trouble and several parts of this were re-written a time or two. I still don't think it's perfect, but I'm pretty happy with it, overall. Thank so much to all of you reading, reviewing, following, and favoriting. It means a lot to me to get those notifications of reviews, so please keep them coming. Thanks for all your patience and I hope you all enjoy!

Chapter 4 – Starting it Off

Silence reigned until Brian, sensing that the Doctor's words were not just his way of starting the story, said, "Well, why not at the beginning?"

"The beginning is an excellent place to start a story," the Doctor said cheerily, "I usually recommend most storytellers start at the beginning! However, finding the beginning of this story is just about impossible. See, there are several beginnings to this particular tale."

"How can there be several beginnings to a story?" Brian asked.

"When there's time travel involved, of course!" the Doctor said excitedly. "Where it starts depends entirely on whose perspective you're talking about!"

Brian just looked at him blankly and the Doctor wondered, briefly, if he'd been right in his earlier assessment that Brian would be able to follow along just fine. But as he and River had agreed earlier, it simply had to be done. He decided to make matters a bit smoother and tried a different approach.

"Alright, how do you want to do this, dear?" he asked River quietly. Brian could still hear, of course; he was less than three feet away, but he felt better whispering, nonetheless. "To the point, or a bit more gentle?"

River seemed to consider the question seriously. "To the point, I suppose. But gently, still!" she scolded and he grimaced. He really wasn't looking forward to this and knew that being slower with the explanation would simply draw the coming awkwardness out. There wasn't another good way to go about doing this though.

"So, Brian!" he clapped his hands together enthusiastically, trying to instill some good old-fashioned excitement into the tale and throw the melancholy and hesitancy out of his vocal tone. "River doesn't come into the story until a bit later, but I assure you, it's all leading up to her meeting Amy and Rory. It just takes a bit of setting up."

"Alright, let's hear it then," Brian said casually, sipping from his teacup and setting it back down on the table once more. He settled comfortably into his chair once more and the Doctor tried not to think about how he wouldn't be sitting quite so relaxed for much longer.

The Doctor looked to River, who just smiled encouragingly at him and motioned for him to continue. He knew she was interested in how exactly he was going to start the story, and if truth be told, he was too. It wasn't until he actually opened his mouth and started speaking that he had any idea what he was going to say at all.

"The night of Amy and Rory's wedding, they left and came traveling with me," he started, trying to think through his next few sentences to ensure he didn't say anything to off-topic. "I was prepared to leave them behind to live out their lives but they decided to rejoin me. They traveled with me for a while after. I took them to a few honeymoon destinations - some turned out better than others, I admit. Eventually, we all agreed that it was time for them to come home for a bit and adjust to married life on Earth. They settled in, I traveled on my own for a bit… a few months later for them, about a year later for me, we all met up again, they came traveling on the TARDIS again and all seemed normal for a while.

"But I started noticing Amy displaying some… unusual symptoms and the TARDIS couldn't tell me exactly what was going on. I started to do some of my own research and came to the conclusion that the Amy that Rory and I had on board with us was not actually Amy at all."

Brian's eyes shot open in bewilderment. "What does that mean? Not Amy? Who was it then… and where was Amy?"

"The Amy on board the TARDIS the previous few months was a flesh duplicate," he said carefully, and seeing Brian's confused look, elaborated, "Basically, she was a fake body designed to look like Amy and which was being controlled by the real Amy's consciousness. She had been kidnapped and essentially made to unknowingly control the duplicate so that Rory and I wouldn't notice that she had been taken at all."

"What do you mean she'd been kidnapped?" Brian asked urgently, sitting upright in his chair. "Who took her?"

The Doctor sighed as he continued and looked to River, but she merely looked back at him, listening to him speak. "It was an organization called the Silence. I hadn't had much direct contact with them before but their main goal was to eradicate me from existence. They kidnapped Amy at some point after I dropped them off at home after their wedding and replaced her with the flesh duplicate."

"But why would they take Amy if it was you they wanted dead?" Brian's face still held no blame, which considering the news they had only just broken to him, was nothing short of a miracle.

"Because Amy had something they needed… but they couldn't get it yet. They had to wait, so they needed a way to ensure we didn't suspect anything was wrong until after they got what they wanted." He looked to River once more, who was now leaning over, her elbows over her knees and her hands interlocked. She seemed to be struggling with the decision on whether or not to open her mouth. He watched her a moment and when it seemed she had decided to let him continue, he spoke again, his head down as he avoided Brian's questioning gaze, "She was pregnant, Brian."

The other man's eyes shot open in surprise. "Pregnant?" he almost whispered, surprise and wonder and confusion etched into his voice. "But I thought Amy couldn't have any kids? That's why the two of them almost split up a few years ago. And…" his gaze darkened quickly as they put the pieces together. "Something happened didn't it? To the baby? Because they don't have one now… or didn't, I should say. That was years ago and I don't have any grandchildren. It's always been just the two of them here."

The Doctor looked at Brian once more, tearing his gaze away from the carpet and sighed. Brian's face burned, his expression pleading with them to answer his question and almost begging them not to add to the grief he'd already suffered that day. "By the time I knew for absolute certain what was going on, Amy was already in labor. The contractions had started to bleed through to the flesh version of her. I deactivated it and tried my best to explain to Rory what was going on. We searched for weeks, trying to find them. I called in all of my favors across the universe, assembled a team of some of my most trusted allies and we found out where Amy was being held."

"So you went and found them, yeah? You and Rory and River and your friends?"

River spoke up. "I wasn't with them on this one Brian. This wasn't something I could help with."

"And why not?" he blustered, his anxiousness showing on his face clearly.

"Because I already knew what was going to happen," River said gently, rubbing her knuckles with her other hand. "I couldn't interfere with what was, for me, an established event. The Doctor and Rory stormed their base and rescued Amy, sent the whole army running without even much trouble… but the Silence managed to escape with the baby."

Brian shut his eyes tightly and a tear slowly leaked out as he clenched his fists tightly against the pain inside his chest. The Doctor and River both looked on helplessly and he fought to control himself. Finally, he spoke. "Was it a boy or a girl?" he asked quietly.

"A girl," River said gently.

Brian nodded, a slight smile fighting across his face. "Rory would have been good with a girl," he chuckled gently. "He always figured he would have been rubbish with a boy…," he looked up, gazing beseechingly at both of them. "What was her name?"

"Well, that's a difficult question to answer, Brian," the Doctor said slowly, sharing a glance with River, silently asking if she wanted him to continue. She took her time, thought for a moment, and then nodded, giving him permission to go on. "Amy and Rory named her Melody. Melody Pond. Amy always did love her last name," he chuckled weakly before sobering his expression once more.

Brian smiled gently, the sorrow still predominant in his eyes, and opened his mouth to speak, but the Doctor cut him off, racing to speak first.

He took River's hand in his own, prying it out of the grasp of her other hand as surreptitiously and gently as he could. "She was born Melody Pond, but for most of her life now, she's been known, primarily, as River Song."

All the air seemed to leave the room at once. River's jaw tightened immediately and she fought to keep her head up and gazing straight ahead. He felt her grasp his hand back, grabbing hold of him desperately while still attempting to look unaffected by his words.

Brian's head, on the other hand, shot up once more, his eyes widening almost comically, his jaw dropped, and he struggled to get any words to come out of his mouth. It was very similar to earlier, when he had been frozen in shock outside the bedroom door. He seemed unable to move or speak while his brain processed the information that had been relayed to him. The surprise seemed to register on his face in tides. First shock, then confusion, despair, more confusion, and finally, the barest hint of joy, all seeming to register in the space of about five seconds, which afterward, all seemed to blend together into one facial expression which would have been rather comical if the situation hadn't been quite so serious.

His eyes traveled from the Doctor to River, then back to the Doctor, before finally settling back on River. His eyes continued to glisten as he finally found his voice. "You're their-" he stopped, unable to continue, and cleared his throat. "You're Amy and Rory's daughter? That's what you're saying?"

River didn't seem to know how best to respond. "Yes," she said finally. "Amy and Rory were my parents."

He didn't seem to know how to respond to that. His eyes kept darting back and forth between her and the Doctor, as if waiting for one of them to admit it was some kind of joke and looking like he wasn't sure if he wanted them to or not.

"How?" He manages to croak out helplessly and River laughed softly.

"It's complicated."

"If- if you're really Rory and Amy's... daughter," he spoke slowly, as if he were still working out his words as he spoke, "that makes you my... granddaughter?" he questioned hesitantly, raising his gaze to look her directly in the eye for confirmation.

"I suppose so, yes, it does," she said to him, meeting his gaze steadily.

Confusion and pain still dominated his face but slowly a smile affixed itself to his lips and he started to beam at her incredulously. "That's-that's- wow. I'm a granddad. Huh!" he chuckled slowly. "But I don't suppose you could explain exactly what happened? And why you're...well...not a child? 'Cuz Amy and Rory may have aged more traveling through time but I know they weren't old enough to have an adult child."

"Well, as we said, it's rather a long story," River said, smiling. Her grip in the Doctor's hand relaxed somewhat and he relaxed in turn. The worst was over, the news was out, and Brian had taken it all rather well, all things considered.

"Well, I want to hear it," Brian said confidently, sniffing and wiping the last of his tears away. "I want all the details about them... and about you. I'm not gonna lie- this is all very strange, but I believe you. I don't think he'd lie about something like this, for one" he said motioning to the Doctor. "But I want to know the whole story. What happened? You- you said you were kidnapped? You obviously found your way back. How? And why didn't they tell any of us about you?"

He obviously had a lot of questions, and really, that was to be expected. The Doctor didn't like questions, at least not these sorts of questions. They were necessary, of course, which was why he was sitting here, listening as River explained and jumping in where he felt it appropriate. This whole situation, however, made him extremely uncomfortable. He didn't like to deal with intense, emotional scenes like he'd been forced into today and that, coupled with the grief still plaguing him, did nothing to improve his outlook.

So he sat there and listened intently as his wife started to explain, part of him wishing that they could just get on with things. All of the news was out, River and her grandfather could begin to develop whatever relationship they decided to have and then they could leave this house that was such a reminder of his loyal, lost companions. But he owed all four of them more than a rushed explanation, so he bit his tongue and put on a brave face.

"Well, I suppose the first thing you need to know, in order to really understand everything," River said, leaning forward and picking up her teacup for the first time, "is that I'm not completely human." She said it delicately but casually, as if it were the most normal thing in the world to tell someone.

But Brian barely blinked. He still looked confused, but after everything else they have heaped on him today, this wasn't exactly the most shocking. "How's that possible? Amy and Rory were both human- I would know! Unless Tabitha and Augustus have been keeping something from us all these years and are really from someone much further than Scotland," he said, laughing.

River laughed as well, and even the Doctor had to crack a smile and give a small chuckle. "No, both Amy and Rory were completely human and the Ponds were just from Scotland," she said, still laughing.

"Then how could you not be human? If you're the daughter of two humans, then you should be too, right?"

River still looked amused as she looked over at the Doctor. "Do you want to take this one, Sweetie?" she asked him, her eyes dancing merrily.

He glared at her. "Oh no, dear. They're your parents, it's your existence. You can explain… that part," he retorted, feeling his blush creep slowly up his neck once more.

"Oh, but Doctor, you were there when it happened," she said cheerfully. "I'm sure you can explain so much better than I can."

"I was not there for it, River. I was nowhere near them when… it… was happening!" he screeched out throwing his hands in the air in defense.

"Sorry," Brian interjected, "but what exactly are you two talking about?"

"Oh, just the reason I was born with non-human DNA. I wasn't around as an adult at the time of my own conception and birth, but he was," River said, merriment in her eyes still. "I figured he might prefer to explain it, seeing as he's the one who ended up putting the pieces together."

"Oh, you did not!" the Doctor exclaimed turning to glare at her sternly. "You just wanted to see me blush and stumble over my words! You thrive on embarrassing me, River Song."

"Of course I do, honey, you're ever so adorable when you're flustered," she laughed as he grumbled darkly under his breath.

"Anyway," she said to Brian, "basically, I was conceived on the TARDIS, in mid-flight, in the middle of the time vortex. Exposure to the vortex is what created the Doctor's people in the first place, so the exposure I received from it at that point embedded me with Time Lord DNA."

"So… you're like him, then? Alien and… weird?" he asked. He seemed apologetic about his word choice but River took no mind.

"God, I hope not," she muttered under her breath, but they both still heard her easily. The Doctor merely scowled and crossed his arms while Brian let out a bark of laughter. "I'm still human, but yes, I'm part Time Lord as well and I take after them in most of the important ways- I have the same instincts and the brain power… and I used to be able to regenerate like he can- change my face when I'm close to death," she said when Brian looked confused at her use of the word. "Which is why I really don't look like Mum or Dad at all."

It was the first time she had referred to them as such in front of Brian and the Doctor saw an almost somber look cross his face, his eyes widening.

"This is just crazy," he said incredulously, a few moments later. "Mad. I-I- it's completely surreal!"

"Brian, I know it's a lot to take in," the Doctor said quietly. "And there's a lot more to this story. All of this is just scratching at the surface, really. Amy and Rory had their reasons for not telling anyone about River. They didn't know how you'd react and, most importantly... it was too painful for them." He stopped and sighed deeply, rubbing his face wearily and clenching his eyes shut almost painfully against the memories and emotions rising in his chest. "One moment, they're grieving the loss of their kidnapped baby girl and literally the next, there's River- this dangerous, gun-happy, beautiful, time-traveling archeologist that they'd met several times already, who they admired and looked up to, after all that time, telling them that she was baby Melody."

He stopped and looked over at River. She looked as if she were on the verge of shutting him up. He knew she wasn't comfortable with this route the conversation had taken. Talking about her past wasn't something she did easily or often. She never even properly discussed it with Amy and Rory and had only spoken with him about it on a few very rare and special occasions over the years.

On their occasional, quiet nights alone in the TARDIS, where they'd each confided in one another and discussed the things they never would have with anyone else in the universe, he'd regaled tales of Gallifrey, of his family, the Time War, all of his past companions and how he'd lost each one. In turn, she would open up and tell him about her years in the orphanage, her time growing up alongside her parents in Leadworth, and all of the training and brainwashing she had endured at the hands of the Silence during all those years. She certainly wasn't liking this- putting those details on display to someone else, even if that person was her grandfather. Maybe especially because it was him.

But he didn't stop, he just pressed on. "They missed everything, Brian, and what they didn't miss, they didn't realize what it was they were experiencing until much later because they didn't know who she was. Then they found out about her childhood- the abuse and the brainwashing-"

Apparently, he had crossed a line. She seemed to have reached her limit on what she was willing to listen to. "Doctor!" scolded harshly, her facing showing a mixture of fury and pain. "What are you doing? Stop it!"

He wasn't having any of that though. For too long, the guilt over River's past (and, indeed, her future, try as he might not to think about it) had plagued him. River's upbringing had been a primary reason for the Ponds' pain, and thus, part of the reason their families hadn't been informed of this part of their lives. Brian deserved to know the very basics of what had happened, if not any of the details.

"No, River, no. No!" he snapped back, as he bent low over his own knees and fisted his hands in his hair. "Your grandfather deserves to know about the pain you and your parents went through because of me."

Brian, who until now had simply let them speak, started to open his mouth to ask a question, concern and worry and grief etched on his face, but River beat him to the punch.

"Oh, shut up!" she exclaimed angrily, sitting upright, then leaning forward as well to better look at his face. "I have dealt with this guilt complex of yours for far too long. If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times, what happened to me was not your fault, so stop that. But you have no right to go about telling any of that to anyone; I don't care who it is."

"Well, I'm glad he did," Brian said quickly. Both River and the Doctor looked up sharply, surprised to hear him jumping in at this point. "I know it may be hard for you to talk about, but… you're my granddaughter. I… want to know about your life, even the unpleasant parts." His eyes shone with more unshed tears as he spoke and he looked intently at River. "And I get why Amy and Rory didn't tell me anything. It is pretty unbelievably, especially if they'd told me before I met the Doctor, but… they still should have. We would have coped. We could have gotten to know you sooner, when we still had a chance of all of us being together. Now they're gone, you're all I've got left. You don't need to go into any details or anything if you don't want to, but I'd still like to… get to know you."

River's eyes softened as she looked back at him. She held eye contact with him for a few seconds before turning away to glance at the Doctor, who was sitting back into an upright position. He smiled comfortingly at her. "So, what do you say, dear? Ready to stop hiding the damage?"

She continued looking at him for a moment, thinking it over. Finally, she smiled softly and turned back to her grandfather. "Alright. I'd like it if we could get to know each other. "

Brian grinned back at her and the Doctor smiled fondly at the both of them. This really had gone rather smooth, all things considered. It certainly could have been worse.

Now, he sat back, finally closed the rest of the distance he'd put between he and River when they'd both sat down earlier, draped his arm across her shoulders, and leaned back against the couch contentedly. River smiled back at him and leaned into his arm, making herself comfortable. Brian watched them, happily as he also sat back, relaxing in his chair.

"So, he said you're an archeologist, yeah? Do you carry a trowel? I always told Rory to carry a trowel. Damn useful, they are." He asked her, restarting the conversation off lightly.

She laughed. "Of course. There are two in my bag on the TARDIS. Basic tool for an archeologist."

That seemed to kick-start things pretty well. He asked her what kind of digs she went on and she answered. They went back and forth asking and answering each other's' questions, getting more comfortable as time ticked by. The Doctor watched them happily, watching grandfather and granddaughter bond and get to know one another. Smiling, he hugged his wife closer to his side and answered the occasional question steered his way or correct some archeological fact River spoke of while she rolled her eyes back at him.

He watched River's eyes light up as she spoke and decided things really had worked out for the best today. He continued to sit and listen comfortably and contentedly as the conversation continued on, happy that several issues and conversations had been taken care of so well today.