For the Doctor, it took two months to find Melody. Those two months were agony. He spent them in a frenzied race across the universe, absorbing himself in his search to avoid the pain and guilt that haunted him. He felt responsible for what had happened, for his carelessness. Still, he eventually found her. For Melody, almost a year had passed since Demon's Run. She had grown and changed, but certainly wasn't a weapon yet. She had learned how to crawl and eat solid food, all without the influence of her parents. For the Doctor and Melody, the separation hadn't taken too long. But all Amy Pond and Rory Williams could do was wait. And they had to wait five years.
After the Doctor had left on his search, River had tried to explain as much as she could. It had taken Amy and Rory a while to get over the shock, but they still needed their baby daughter, not their old friend. River managed to find two more vortex manipulators, and soon the couple was back on planet earth. For months all they did was wait for a sign of their baby daughter. Amy spent hours every day watching their backyard for the police box. Rory made hundreds of phone calls to UNIT and Torchwood, hoping for some way to find the Doctor. Nothing ever happened.
Eight months after their return, Rory went back to work at the hospital, and Amy found a job at a shop. Still, they both came home right after work, and almost never saw their old friends. River would visit occasionally, and the three of them would stay up all night talking. Every time Amy asked, but River couldn't-or wouldn't-tell them when they would see Melody again.
Slowly though, life returned to normal. The Ponds started to find pleasure in things again. Amy started to smile again and started volunteering once a week at a homeless shelter. Rory decided to go back to medical school and study to be a doctor. Amid the happiness, the sorrow still existed. Though they desperately wanted to have more children, they couldn't bear to replace their missing daughter. Melody's parents never forgot her, and they never stopped waiting.
Then one Monday morning Amy was off work. It had been five years and thirty-six days since Melody had melted out of her arms. She decided to surprise Rory with brownies and was in the middle of mixing the batter. Suddenly there was a knock on the back door.
"Just wait a minute! I'll be right there," she called, quickly hiding the evidence of the brownies, in case Rory was the one at the door. Just as she was putting away the bag of sugar, she heard a voice behind her. A voice she knew very, very well.
"Waiting is not one of my many talents, Amelia Pond. And, as it happens, I have something rather important to deliver." Amy froze and then slowly turned to face the doorway. She didn't even notice the man standing there, wearing a bow tie and suspenders. All she saw was her daughter sitting in his arms. Her beautiful baby girl.