I just want to put this out here now - my chapters will probably be on the shorter side - 2,000 to 4,000 words - but that means updates are faster ;)

Thanks to PresidentTheAwesome for reviewing (check out her stories; great for 11/River lovers!), and A Daydream Away and NaviRebel16 for favouriting :)

Chapter 1

The outside of the blue envelope read Charlotte Amelia Rose Pond. It was tucked into the pink blanket decorated with white stars that was tucked tightly around the infant. Wrapped around her hand was a long chain the held a locket – which had, strangely enough, a picture of a blue police box on the front – and a plain Yale key.

Mrs. Lenore Potts, always the unlucky one, grimaced as she opened the door and saw yet another damned baby on the step. She sighed, dragging the basket inside, and went about the usual procedure as quickly as possible. She read the front of the note just to find out the girl's name, drew up the necessary papers, and took the child upstairs to the infant's room. Not bothering to remove the locket – it would be better for everyone if the child just choked to death or strangled itself – Mrs. Potts plopped the whole basket into the crib and left.

Charlottestirred slightly in her sleep, one tiny hand reaching around until it clasped the envelope tightly in one hand, her locket still firmly in the other.

Mrs. Potts never bothered to hold Charlie, so she had no idea that the young girl possessed two hearts, rather than one. She never spoke to her, so she never realised that sometimes Charlie knew things just too advancedfor her age, or even could predict things before they happened. She never read that letter, so Mrs. Potts never did and never will truly know who Charlotte Amelia Rose Pond truly was, and that she was and always would be brilliant.

Three years later.

"This is Alfie." Said Mrs. Potts, dropping a young boy into the crib next to Charlie. "He's your new bed mate, and he won't eat. Feed him."

She tossed two containers of cheep baby food down as well – peas and carrots, Charlie could tell by their colour. She hated them both, but she hated being hungry more, so the three year old picked up the carrots and handed them to Alfie, who took them hesitantly, sniffling. She noticed that Alfie was rather well-fed looking for an orphan – she herself was quite small and skinny. He had blond hair and blue eyes, which were red from crying. He looked about her age, so Charlie decided to try and talk him into eating.

"Kinda yucky, but hungry hurts." She said, pointing at the carrots and the peas. "We share. Carrots are better; you eats first."

Alfie sniffed again and nodded reluctantly.

"Spoon?" he asked quietly.

"Spoon?" repeated Charlie, mulling over the strange word. "What'za spoon?"

"Spoon!" Alfie repeated louder. "To eat with!"

"Oh!" Charlie nodded, tapping her chin with her finger in thought. "Tiny shovel?"

"Kinda…" Alfie said, looking at her strangely.

"We don't get 'ny tiny shovelses," said Charlie firmly. "Eat wiff hands."

Alfie did, obviously hungry enough to eat even the carrots.

"Charlie, by 'way," Charlie said, holding out her hand to Alfie the way she had seen Big Kids do with Prospective Parents. "Charlie 'Mellia Jes'ca Pond."

Alfie grabbed her right hand with his awkwardly. "Alfie Ow'nz, but I like Storm'geddon better. Stormy."

"Stormy." Charlie said slowly, smiling. "I like i' too."

Three more years later…

"It's just a little scratch," said Charlie gently, placing one of her few smuggled plasters over Stormy's newest boo-boo.

Stormy still cried, though. Unlike Charlie, who could only remember a few memories from her parents, like their faces and the sound of their voices, Stormy remembered more. Hugs, stories, holidays…After all, he was over three years old when they died. At times like this, when the bullying in the orphanage was worse, it was harder for Stormy to deal with the fact that he didn't have a parent to hug him and make him feel better.

But he did have Charlie.

"Read it to me." He said in a whispered. "Please, Charlie? Read me the letter from your mum."

Charlie smiled and reached into her dirty and ripped jumper, pulling out a creased and folded blue envelope. She had long ago memorised the letter thanks to a kind older girl in the orphanage named Rudy. She wrapped an arm around Stormy, and they both leaned against the dusty attic wall while Charlie read by the light of the single dim torch she had long ago nicked.

"My dear Charlie,

I'm sure you are wondering why I have had to leave you in such an awful place, and believe me when I say I know what it's like to be somewhere like that. I had to make a choice between keeping you and your father alive and…well, leaving you where I did. I hope you can one day forgive my, my love.

You've likely noticed that you're different than other children. To start with, you've got two hearts. Now this will probably be hard to believe, but your father and I are another species. We're what humans would call aliens. Our species is from a long-gone planet called Gallifrey, and we're called Time Lords. The last three Time Lords, to be precise. Because of that, and because of how…shall we say, 'well known', your father is, we attract a lot of trouble. That's one of the reasons you're where you are now.

I've left you a locket. On the inside is a photo of your father and I, and the key on the chain is to the blue box on the front. You may need it some day.

About your father, now. He's…well, don't tell him I said this, but he's the most amazing man in the universe. He may look young but he's lived for hundreds and hundreds of years. He has a name, but few know it; instead some call him The Oncoming Storm or the Time Lord Victorious. However, the people of our world know him best as the Doctor. And wherever and whenever you go, Charlie, however scared you are, I promise you, you will never be alone.

I wish I could tell you that you'll be loved. That you'll be safe and cared for and protected. But this isn't the time for lies. What you are going to be, Charlie, is very, very brave. Don't worry, he will come for you soon. He'll never let us down.

I love you, sweetie. Always remember that.

Your mum,

River Song."

"You're so lucky, Charlie," said Stormy with another sniff, running his fingers over the letter. "You have parents. And you get to be an alien."

"You have parents too, Stormy," said Charlie firmly, folding up the letter. "When they come to get me, you'll come too."

Stormy's blue eyes grew wide. "Really?"

"Of course!" replied Charlie matter-of-fact-ly. "I wouldn't go without you. You're like my brother."

Stormy beamed.

It was silent for a few moments in the tiny room. If you had looked inside the attic, through the small boarded-up window, you would have seen two small six-year-old children sitting together under a moth-eaten blanket – one with curly orange hair and the other with blonde hair.

"Where do you think they live?" asked Stormy suddenly. "In a big house? Or a flat? Or, or, or maybe on a spaceship?"

"I think they live in here," said Charlie, voicing aloud something she had felt for a long time, showing Stormy the Police Box on the front of her locket. "And this is my key to it," she held out the Yale key. "So maybe I'm supposed to find them some day and go inside."

"It's kinda small," observed Stormy, examining the picture.

"Well maybe it's magic," offered Charlie. "But anyway it's late. We should go to sleep."

So Charlie and Stormy climbed onto the bare mattress with their blanket, huddling together against the cold.

Just another day in the orphanage.

Three years later again…

She was a Prospective Parent, and she wanted two.

It was so rare it was ridiculous. Sure, many people came by wanting two babies or toddlers or even requested identical twins, but a person willing to adopt, as Mrs. Potts put it, "Two of you brats" who were siblings or friends and under the age of ten, was rare. Like, unheard of, rare.

Her name was Julie Thomas. She was just over thirty, had a nice job as a teacher, a pet dog, lived in a large house, and had the shiniest brown hair you've ever seen. She made a point to talk and play with all the children she could find in the orphanage, and all of the Good and Medium kids adored her almost immediately.

Charlie and Stormy hid in a corner, trying not to see the glares shot at them every few seconds by various other orphans. For some reason, many of the parents that came to visit liked Charlie and Stormy a lot. In fact, a few had even considered adopting them. But inevitably, someone – Mrs. Potts, the other orphans, or all of the above – would sabotage the adoption ("They're really quite the little brats – last couple they stayed with brought them back after an hour!" "They're always breaking things!" "They love making messes!" "I hear they steal money from all the adults who visit!"). Sometimes, when that wouldn't work, like on two occasions when the adult(s) in question weren't to be swayed, the other orphans would simply drag Charlie and Stormy off and 'convince them' (in a way that resulted in scratches, bruises, and crying) that they didn't really want to leave after all. So after six years of this, the two children simply gave up on being adopted, resolved just to wait for Charlie's alien family to save them.

"Oh no, oh no," said Charlie, looking adhemently at the wall. "Oh no – she's coming over here. What if she likes us?"

"You can just do what you did with Mr. Johnson," suggested Stormy. "Tell her about the letter. She'll think we're both mad."

"I suppose…" agreed Charlie nervously, looking up as Mrs. Thomas approached. The two children were never mean to the prospective parents; they just couldn't bring themselves to be that rude.

"Hello there," said Mrs. Thomas, sitting down on the floor beside Stormy, much to their surprise; the floor was filthy. "What're your names?"

"I'm Charlotte Amelia Rose Pond," said Charlie politely. She loved her name, and always used it in full when introducing herself. "But call me Charlie, please."

"I'm Alfie Owens," said Stormy. "But–"

"Oh yes, Mrs. Potts told me about you two." Interrupted Mrs. Thomas slowly. Charlie and Stormy both grimaced. "She told me you–" she gestured to Charlie. "Are the mad girl who believes her parents are coming back for her, and you–" this time to Stormy. "Are the boy who follows her around and wants to be called 'Stormy', right?"

Charlie and Stormy nodded, looking down at their feet and waiting for the inevitable footsteps. Mrs. Potts had never gone so far as to tell a Prospective bad things about them before they had even talked to them, but it didn't matter. They were used to it.

Then, to the surprise of both Stormy and Charlie, Mrs. Thomas suddenly said, "And that's why I want to adopt you two."

"Come again?" said Charlie, sure she was hearing things.

"Sorry?" said Stormy at the same time.

"And don't worry, I'll keep this private," Mrs. Thomas assured them. She pointed discretely to a much older girl in the corner – the very same one who had taught Charlie how to read and helped her to memorize her letter. "Rudy, I think her name was. She told me how the other orphans and even that horrible woman, Mrs. Potts, always try to convince parents not to adopt you two."

"She did?" Charlie gasped, glancing at Rudy, who gave her a little wave and a smile. Usually she was painfully shy and would rarely speak to anyone other than a few people. Charlie felt like she could have kissed the other girl.

"She certainly did." Said Mrs. Thomas. "Now, what do you two say? Do you want to come live with me?"

Charlie and Stormy both cried out, "Yes!", but then Charlie surprised everyone in the room, including herself. She collapsed onto the floor.

"What's going on, Charlie?" demanded Stormy as he was dragged upstairs. Charlie, after collapsing downstairs, had promptly popped back up, face white and eyes full of tears, proclaimed she was fine and that she and Stormy were going to pack her things, and proceeded to tow Stormy up to their attic room.

"Wait." Charlie said simply.

Finally they were in the room, and Charlie pulled Stormy down next to her on their bed.

"I…I saw something." She said, eying him warily.

"What do you mean?" asked Stormy.

"I…when we said yes, to Mrs. Thomas, I had like a…like a vision. Of the future. And this feeling…"

Stormy's blue eyes grew wide. "Do you think it could be an alien thing?"

"It has to be." Charlie said. "I…I think I can show you it. If you want."

"Yeah!" said Stormy without thought, grinning.

Charlie promptly grabbed him by the face, fingers on his temples, and said "Hold still."

Stormy gasped as he saw the vision. It was like a fast-forwarded movie; he and Charlie were packing clothes, meeting Mrs. Thomas downstairs with huge smiles on their faces, taking in Mrs. Potts' furious look with glee. They were arriving at a small but lovely home, being shown their own bedrooms, new clothes, toys just for them, piles of delicious food. They were being taken to a new school – small, a private school, the same one Mrs. Thomas taught at – and the other children were nice to them, and they never got hurt. It was three weeks of bliss.

And then one day Vision Stormy and Vision Charlie arrived home and Mrs. Thomas didn't. They slept on the sofa that night. She still didn't come home. The next day, they decided to call the police.

It was deduced that Mrs. Thomas either abandoned them or was kidnapped. There was no trace of her. Not anywhere. She had simply vanished.

Mrs. Thomas had no living family. Stormy and Charlie stood in front of the orphanage again, suitcases in hand, and trying not to see Mrs. Potts' ecstatic smile.

"What – what – h-how?" gasped Stormy when it ended, out of breath.

"I don't know." Said Charlie, staring out of the window. "But it has to happen. It's our future."

"But – but I like Mrs. Thomas!" said Stormy. "If we just didn't go with her…couldn't she be safe? Maybe she wouldn't disappear!"

"No." said Charlie firmly, still looking outside. "We have to go with her."

"But why?" cried Stormy.

"I don't know, Stormy!" Charlie yelled back. She turned back to him, and Stormy saw now that she was crying. "I just know that we do! We can't change all that; it's got to happen! Trust me!"

Stormy did. He said so.

"Thanks," Charlie said, giving him a watery smile. "Now…let's pack."

The next three weeks went as expected.

The first night back at the orphanage, Stormy asked why. He said it wasn't worth it, that lovely time with Julie (as they had come to call her), only to loose her. Charlie replied with something like a quote, though she had no idea where she had heard it or when. It just seemed right.

"I wouldn't say that. Think of it this way, Stormy: every life is a pile of good things and bad things. The good things don't always soften the bad things, but vice-versa, the bad things don't necessarily spoil the good things or make them unimportant."