Jack stood several steps back from Amy and Canton as the agent knocked on the door. This place gave him the creeps. An old decaying building set against a dark and stormy night. He hoped more than anything that this wasn't the place that they were looking for. Imagining Melody spending her early years here instead of with family, the people that love her, was making him physically ill.

River had never told him the details of her first incarnation, well, mostly because she had zero memories of what happened before she regenerated the first time. Jack had a suspicion as to why that was, but it still didn't make any sense. If Melody was found before she regenerated or soon thereafter, why was she still raised by a foster family instead of by Rory and Amy?

Unless she escaped on her own and found her family the only way she could. He shook that thought out of his head. Neither Rory nor Amy, nor Rose for that matter, would be born for almost twenty years in linear time.

The door creaked open. "Hello." A small man peeked his head out.

"FBI." Canton flashed a badge. "You must be Dr. Renfrew."

"The children are asleep," Dr. Renfrew said, studying the three people standing on his front step.

"This is about a missing child," Canton said in an all-business manner.

Amy smiled at the man, trying to put him at ease. "We'll be very quiet."

Waffling, Dr. Renfrew sputtered a few words before agreeing to let them inside.

The inside was more depressing than the outside, and Jack hadn't thought that possible. It was dark, musty and carried a heavy air of neglect.

"Please excuse the writing. It keeps happening. I try to clean it up," Dr. Renfrew said, indicating the various warnings of 'Get out' written in red on every wall.

Amy swallowed and tried to keep Renfrew at ease. "It's the kids, yeah? They do that."

Dr. Renfrew looked blankly at her. "Yes. The children. It must be. Yes." His sleeve rode up and they saw 'GET OUT' written on his arm. Jack's skin crawled, and his fingers twitched towards his blaster.

Canton's keen eye took in his surroundings and he knew that something was very off here. "We nearly didn't come to this place. I understood Graystark Hall was closed in 1967."

Dr. Renfrew nodded. "That's the plan, yes."

"The plan?" Amy asked

"Not long now, yes." Dr. Renfrew absentmindedly climbed the stairs.

"It's 1969." Jack spoke for the first time.

Shaking his head, Dr. Renfrew looked confused. "No, no, we close in '67. That's the plan, yes."

"You misunderstood me, sir," Jack said his body tightening even more. "It's 1969 now."

"Why are you saying that? Of course it isn't." The caretaker's voice rose slightly.

"July," Canton explained, looking to Jack and Amy. His gaze flicked up the stairs, encouraging them to head up to investigate.

Renfrew turned and pointed. "My office is this way." Canton followed him, leaving Amy and Jack to investigate.

Pushing open a door to one room, Jack and Amy stepped cautiously into a deserted room. It was sad, really, Jack thought, swallowing down the lump in his throat, knowing what had happened here. He hoped that they found the little girl soon. Although he wasn't sure that finding her before she was born would be the best of ideas.

"I'll keep watch out here." Jack stepped back into the corridor, weapon drawn.

Nodding, she stepped further into the room and pulled out her phone and hit the speed dial to call the Doctor.

"Hello, Amy," he said in quiet voice.

"Dad, I think we found the place where the little girl was taken from."

"How do you know?"

"It's weird. It's all deserted. There's only one guy here and he's lost it." Amy kept her voice low.

"Repeated memory wipes eventually take toll. Find out what you can, but don't hang around."

"Where are you?"

"Gotta go, I've got company."

The door swung shut, and Amy jumped. "Jack? Everything okay out there?"

"Yeah, nothing out here. You okay?" Jack's voice came through the door.

At least she wasn't alone. Amy took comfort in that. Time to go, though; there wasn't anything else to be learned in this room. She stepped forward to leave, but as her hand approached the knob, she noticed a red pulsing light coming from her palm. A message. That hadn't been there a moment ago. Tentatively she touched the Nano recorder.

"I can see them. I think they're asleep. Get out! Just get out!" Her terrified voice came from the recorder. Amy reached again for the door. It didn't budge. "Jack! The door won't open!" Her palms collided with the door, suddenly frantic to get out.

"Stand back. I'm going to kick the door open," the Captain yelled from the other side of the door.

Amy turned away from the door and screamed. The creatures were hanging from the ceiling. The door pounded open behind her, and Jack's arms wrapped around her and pulled her from the room.

"They're here," Jack said, holding up her arm and examining the tally marks she didn't remember making. She nodded. They must be, otherwise she wouldn't have marked herself.

"Come on," Amy said, trying to regain her composure. "We're close. I can feel it." She took Jack's free hand and they walked cautiously down the hallway.

Mr. Gardner, the head of security, stood over the handcuffed Doctor. "Now, one more time, sir. How the hell did you get into the command module?"

The Doctor sighed in exasperation. "I told you! I'm on a top secret mission for the President." He tried to bite through the handcuffs thinking that somehow, maybe, that would be an effective escape plan. It wasn't, and now his teeth hurt.

Scoffing, Mr. Gardner said, "Well, maybe if you just get President Nixon to assure us of that, sir. That would be swell."

"I sent him a message," the Doctor said casually.

The side door opened and Rose stepped into the room wearing a light pink pencil skirt and matching blouse. A pair of period glasses sat perched on her nose and her hair was swept up into a tight bun. The Doctor couldn't help but think about just how beautiful she looked and how long it had been since they had had quality alone time together.

"Doctor, what have you gotten yourself into now?" she said in a perfect American accent. Apparently she had been working on perfecting them since Scotland and Queen Victoria.

"Excuse me, ma'am, who are you and how did you get in here?" Gardner asked, standing up straight, his demeanor changing in the presence of a lady.

"Oh, I'm sorry." She batted her eyes. "We haven't been introduced. Rose Tyler, CIA." She produced the wallet containing psychic paper and handed it to Gardner.

"Ah yes," he stuttered, handing it back to her. "Do you know who this man is?"

Rose held out a hand to take back her 'credentials'. "Of course, I'm his handler. We're here on a mission for the President. Top secret, you know how that goes." Her voice was full of casual authority.

"He was inside the Apollo 11 command module," the security chief said urgently. "I have no idea to what extent he could have done damage."

To her credit, Rose reacted by doing no more than raising an eyebrow. "Did you get the memo? I know that it was sent. The letter from President Nixon? Your secretary assured me that you received it." She opened a file that the Doctor hadn't even noticed that she was holding until that moment. "Let me see if I have a copy."

"It still doesn't negate the fact that this man was left unsupervised tinkering with extremely sophisticated equipment."

The Doctor held back a laugh. Rose scrunched her face and held a finger to her left ear. "Don't worry, Mr. Gardner; this will all be sorted out momentarily. He's here." She took a large step back, and the double doors at the end of the room opened.

President Nixon entered, followed closely by Rory and River, both dressed appropriately for the period. The Doctor barely registered the President's placating words to the NASA men. Ah Tricky Dickey was very smooth with words; at least that was working to their favor. Very soon he was being released, and after shaking everyone's hands, he was heading back towards the TARDIS with Rose's arm tucked in his.

"My handler?" he whispered in Rose's ear as River and Rory piloted the TARDIS back to the White House.

"Well, I thought that it was an appropriate job description," she laughed, straightening his bow tie. "You know I think this is one of the few time periods where this outfit works."

Still treading lightly, Jack and Amy made their way down the dilapidated corridor, both of them wielding their weapons, hers a torch and his, a sonic blaster. As much as the Doctor hated weapons, he seemed to have no problem Jack and River carrying them.

Suddenly a panel in one of the doors slid open. "No. I think she's only dreaming," a severe woman with a metallic eye patch said before the panel shut.

Amy's pace quickened as she approached the door. It was solid metal, very unlike every other door in this place. "Hello," she called. "I saw you through the…" Amy's voice trailed off as her hands brushed a solid door with no evidence of a panel anywhere. Pushing the door open, she stepped inside.

"What did you see?" Jack asked before following her into the room. He stopped short. "I think we found where the little girl lives."

"Yeah," Amy said, looking around. It would have been a sweet little room if it hadn't also doubled as a prison. Dolls, books and other toys were all neatly put away. The photos on the bureau caught Amy's eye. "Look at these." She held one out to Jack.

"Poor kid," he said, his fingers brushing the photo reverently. Once again, Amy got the feeling that he knew more than he was saying. Did he know the identity of the little girl? She was about to turn and ask him when another photo caught her eye.

It was a picture of herself posing with a baby. "How is this me?" she asked before the words were out of her mouth. "Jack, look."

He took the picture away from her and studied it, a grim expression on his face.

"Tell me what you know, Jack," she demanded, and he had just opened his mouth to speak when the astronaut entered the room.

"Who are you?" Amy asked, trying to keep her voice level. "I don't understand so just tell me who you are! I'm sorry. You killed the Doctor. Or you're gonna kill him. But who are you? Just please, tell me, because I don't understand."

The astronaut raised the helmet's visor to reveal the little girl from the photos. "I didn't mean to hurt him. I didn't ever want to hurt him. Just please help me. Help me, please. I'm so scared."

"We're here, Sweetheart. We're here." Jack said, trying to calm her down. He stepped forward but stopped when two of the creatures entered the room.

"Dispose of the man," one of them said in that gravelly voice. "And the girl, her usefulness is complete. Bring the woman."

Jack stepped in front of Amy, using himself as a shield. The creature opened his mouth, and Jack was ripped apart. The creature approached her, and Amy screamed.

Downstairs in Renfrew's office, Canton rifled through the files. "This place, it's been closed for years. What have you been doing?"

Automatically and almost without knowing what he said, Renfrew replied, "Oh, the child, she must be cared for. It's important. That's what they said."

"That's what who said?" Canton asked.

"I'm sorry, what?" Renfrew looked confused. Apparently whatever these things were, they had damaged him permanently.

There was a light rapping on the door and Dr. Renfrew answered it. There was a soft conversation between him and whoever was on the other side. Canton could make out the words. "Just a few questions. Yes, I see."

"Who was that?" he asked the caretaker once he sat back down.

"Who was who?"

The door creaked open, and one of the creatures stepped inside.

Canton pressed the recorder in his palm. "What are you? You can tell me. 'Cause I won't remember. You invaded us. You're everywhere." Upstairs, Amy screamed for help and Canton tensed. "Are you armed?" he asked, keeping his voice calm.

The unearthly voice spoke. "This world is ours. We have ruled it since the wheel and the fire. We have no need of weapons."

This made Canton grin. "Yeah." He pulled out his weapon and fired three shots straight into the thing. "Welcome to America." Lowering his weapon, Canton ran from the room heading upstairs. "Amy! Jack!"

The Doctor circled the desk in the Oval office. "Now you have to record everything that happens in this office. Otherwise we won't know if you're under the influence."

"Doctor, you have to give me more than this. What were you doing to Apollo Eleven?" Nixon was a man used to getting his questions answered and the Doctor, as helpful as he was being, was beginning to make him angry.

"A thing. A clever thing. Now." The Doctor leaned over the desk. "No more questions. You have to trust me. And nobody else."

River poked her head out of the TARDIS doors. "Doctor! It's Canton. He needs us."

Without a look back, the Doctor ran back inside and had barely shut the door when Rose started the dematerialization sequence.

The ship landed with the smallest of thumps and the four of them piled out. Speeding down the hall, they heard Canton say something about shooting the door open.

"No!" the Doctor called out, not wanting anyone shooting near Amy. "I've got it. I've got it." He pulled out his sonic screwdriver and started working on the door. After what felt like a lifetime but was in actuality only a few seconds the lock clicked open and Rory pushed past him into the room.

Despite Amy's pleas still filling their ears, she wasn't there. Jack was sprawled naked on the floor, no breath of life in him, just a fine mist reforming his body. River was at Jack's side instantly. The Doctor shuddered; it must have been a particularly painful death.

"Where is she, Doctor?" Rory asked helplessly, unable to find his wife.

Holding back her own tears, Rose examined the space suit on the floor. "It's empty," she said dully.

Amy voice filled the room again. "Dark. So dark. I don't know where I am. Please, can anybody hear me?"

Frantic, Rory searched again for the source of his beloved's voice. He held up the small blinking Nano recorder. "They took this out of her. How did they do that, Doctor? Why can I still hear her?"

"Is it a recording?" River asked softly as she gently rubbed Jack's still lifeless brow.

Once again pulling out his sonic, the Doctor scanned the device. "Um, it defaults to live. This is current. Wherever she is right now, this is what she's saying."

Cradling the device as if it was the most precious thing in the Universe, Rory said, "Amy. Can you hear me? We're coming for you. Wherever you are we're coming, I swear."

The Doctor reached a hand out and placed it on Rory's shoulder. "She can't hear you. I'm so sorry. It's one-way."

Shrugging off the older man's hand, Rory looked defiant. "She can always hear me, Doctor. Always. Our bond may not be as strong as what Dad and Mum shared or even what you and Mum share, but she can hear me, wherever she is. And she always knows that I am coming for her, do you understand me? Always." The Doctor simply nodded.

"Rory, Mum, Dad? Can you hear me? Oh God. Please. Please just get me out of this?" Amy's voice begged from some distant place.

"We're coming, Amy. I promise you that we're coming," Rory said, barely containing his sob.

Rose pushed the Doctor out of the way and wrapped her son in a tight hug. At that moment, Jack sat up with his customary inhalation. "Amy!"

"They took her," River said sadly as she brushed the hair from his face. "Come on, let's get you back to the ship, and get some clothes on you." Pulling him to his feet, River backed up to the bureau and inconspicuously slipped one of the photos into her belt.

Jack was unsteady on his feet as River led him away. At one point he stumbled and looked over his shoulder. There she was, the little girl, Melody. She wasn't alone though; a familiar blonde woman, with a distinctive haircut, was holding her hand. Jack gave a smirk and nodded as the blonde raised a finger to her lips before giving him a wink and activating the vortex manipulator on her arm. In a flash, both of them were gone.

At least he knew that young Melody Rose was safe now. Although by the looks of her rescue it would be awhile before she was found.

"Why is he naked?" Canton asked after Jack and River left.

"He was atomized by the creatures." Rose said after pulling out of the hug but keeping an arm wrapped around her son's waist. "It's how these things kill. They rip you apart piece by piece."

"But he's alive," Canton said lamely, pointing at the door that River and Jack went through.

"Jack can't die. He is a fixed point in time, a fact. His clothing, unfortunately, is not," the Doctor explained before turning to Rory and kissing his forehead. "We will find Amy. I promise we will find her."

"Of course we will." Rory said, his tone not quite as convincing as the words themselves. How could they be? He was panicked listening to Amy's strangled cries came from the recorder.

A knock came from the door, and Dr. Renfrew slowly stepped forward. "Hello, hello, is anyone there? I think somebody's been shot. I think we should help." The man blinked. "I can't remember."

The Doctor and Canton followed Renfrew back downstairs to his office. The creature that Canton had shot was struggling to get up.

Slowly the Doctor lowered himself to the floor, trying not to spook it. "Who and what are you?" His voice still commanded authority.

"The Silence, Doctor." The creature wheezed. "We are the Silence. And Silence will fall!"

"Canton, help me take him to the TARDIS. We have work to do," the Doctor said as he stood.

Back in Area 51, Canton Everett Delaware III stepped outside the perfect cell coming face to face several armed soldiers. "Hello again," he said casually.

One of the men kept his firearm steady and said, "Sir, you've been in there for days. What the hell have you been doing?"

"It doesn't matter," Canton said casually. "I need Dr. Shepard now."

"I beg to differ. I need to get Colonel Jefferson."

"That really won't be necessary," Canton countered and held back a smirk as Nixon stepped out into the room.

"Hello, I'm President Nixon," the Commander-in-Chief said and the soldiers lowered their weapons.

Inside the warehouse, the Doctor, River and Jack examined the spacesuit.

"It's an exoskeleton, basically life support. There are about twenty different kinds of alien tech in here," River said as she pulled at some of the cables out.

"Who was she? Why put her in here?" the Doctor demanded, as he studied the different components.

"Put this on, you don't even need to eat," River said and Jack came up to put a hand on her shoulder. She gave him a sad smile before she continued. "The suit processes sun directly. It's got built-in weaponry and a communications system that can hack into anything."

"Including the telephone network?" The Doctor spoke to River but his gaze was on where Rose and Rory were sitting close together on the floor, a mother comforting her son while trying to keep her own fear in check.

"Easily," River answered.

"But why phone the President?" Jack said, using Rose's borrowed sonic screwdriver to examine a piece of the helmet.

"It defaults to the highest authority it can find. The little girl gets frightened; the most powerful man on Earth gets a phone call." River sighed before removing a glove to rub the bridge of her nose. "Night terrors with a hotline to the White House."

In the meantime, the Doctor had pulled out the invitation from the depths of his pocket. Cautiously he licked it.

"You won't learn anything from that envelope, you know." River sighed.

The Doctor flipped it over and over in his hands. "Purchased on Earth, perfectly ordinary stationery. TARDIS blue. Summoned by a stranger who won't even show his face, that's a first for me. How about you?"

"Our lives are back-to-front. Your future's my past. Your firsts are my lasts." River gave futile 'let it go' look.

"That's not really what I asked." The Doctor glared at her.

"Doc..." Jack started.

River shook her head again. "Ask something else, then."

"Alright, why pull us in Jack from a different point in time. One from my future, for sure, but apparently one from yours as well, Dr. Song. Why is that, Jack?"

"Can't tell you that, Doc," Jack said, crossing his arms.

"Can't or won't?" the Time Lord questioned.

"Both," the Captain said with finality.

"Enough!" Rose shouted as she stood and faced them. "This childish squabbling isn't getting us any closer to finding the little girl or Amy. Now what else do we know? What are the Silence doing? Bringing up a child?"

"Keeping her safe, even giving her a little bit of independence," River said coolly. She, like Jack and the Doctor, looked suitably chastised for their earlier argument.

Rory stood up and came to stand by his mother.

"The only way to save Amy is to find out what the Silence is up to," the Doctor said, coming over and laying a hand on the worried young man's shoulder.

"I know," Rory said blandly.

"Every single thing we learn is important. Brings us a step closer." The Doctor started pacing.

"I know," Rory said much more forcefully. "I get it, Doctor. I know."

The Doctor stopped pacing and looked at Rose. "It's possible she's not just any little girl."

River poked at the suit a bit more. "Well, I'd say she's human by the life support software."

"But?" Rose asked.

"She climbed out of this suit. She forced her way out. She must be incredibly strong," River replied, indicating the support structure of the suit.

The Doctor gave a half grin. "Incredibly strong and running away. I like her."

"We should be trying to find her," Rose said, coming over to examine the suit.

"Yes, but how?" the Doctor questioned.

Jack handed Rose back her sonic and sighed. "You won't find her until you know exactly who she is."

Everyone including River looked shocked at this revelation. The Doctor was going to say something but Rose cut him off. "So we should just stop looking for her?"

"I didn't say that. She's still the key," Jack said cryptically. "She will be saved, just not yet in your timeline."

Rory quickly changed the subject before the Doctor and Jack got into another argument. "Why does it look like a NASA spacesuit?"

The Doctor looked like he wanted to start another argument with Jack but Rose kept glaring at him. "Because that's what the Silence do. Think about it." He turned to Rory. "They don't make anything themselves. They don't have to. They get other life forms to do it for them."

"So they're parasites, then," River said, still pretending to study the suit while she was really just trying not to be sick at the thought of what had been done to her as a child. Jack came over and squeezed her hand.

The Doctor nodded. "Super-parasites. Standing in the shadows of human history since the very beginning. We know they can influence human behavior any way they want, if they've been doing that on a global scale for thousands of years."

"Then what?" Rory asked, trying to understand but his brain was moving so much slower than normal.

"Then why did the human race suddenly decide to go to the moon?" the Doctor asked. "Because the Silence needed a spacesuit."

"Doctor, a unit like this, would it ever be able to move without an occupant?" River asked.

"Why?" The Doctor came in for a closer look.

Rose picked up on River's train of thought. "Well, the little girl said the spaceman was coming to eat her. Maybe that's exactly what happened."

"Could be," the Doctor agreed and turned away from the group.

Rose moved to follow him. "What are you thinking?"

"Mostly that Jack and River know more than they're telling us and I am beginning to get annoyed," he hissed.

She placed a hand on his arm. "Look, there is no point in getting upset." He opened his mouth but Rose put her hand over it. "Obviously Jack and River know something we don't and I know how that makes you feel. But if they aren't telling us then there has to be a damn good reason. I trust both of them with my life and, more importantly, with Amy's life. Eventually we will know what they know and if you think about it, it was probably me or you or Rory who swore them to secrecy in the first place because if they tell us an entire causal nexus could implode."

The Doctor gave her a wolfish grin. "I love it when you talk about time like that."

Rose waggled her eyebrows. "Don't I know it? Now I need to go check on Rory. Play nice."

As she turned to leave, the Doctor caught her arm. "Let me." She nodded and stepped back, allowing him a clear path to where her son sat on the floor, desperately clutching the Nano recorder. Amy's voice was still audible.

"Rory, I love you so much. Please find me. I know you will. I know you're coming, just please hurry. I'm so scared. It's so dark. My life was so boring before you dropped out of the sky."

"She'll be safe for now. No point in a dead hostage," the Doctor said, sitting down next to him.

"Why haven't we gone to save her yet? It would be easy to trace the source of the signal and go right to her," Rory said, closing his fist over Amy's pleas, his eyes prickling with tears.

"We will save her, I promise. I know how scared you must be." The Doctor's eyes flicked over to Rose. "I know what it feels like when the woman you love is somewhere that you can't get to her. Please just trust me that I know what I'm doing and very, very soon you and Amy will be back together."

Rory swallowed. "Of course I trust you, Doctor. I know that you would never let anything happen to her if you can help it."

"Thank you," the Doctor said, wrapping an arm around the young man's shoulders and kissing his forehead. "I would never let anything happen to my family if I could stop it. Never."

Across the room, out of the range of everyone else's hearing, River hissed at Jack. "Why would you tell them they won't find me until they know who I am? And how are you certain?"

"Look, right now they need to focus on defeating the Silence and rescuing Amy." He let out a long slow breath. "When we were back at the orphanage, when you were taking me back to the TARDIS for clothes, I saw something."

"What?" she pressed.

Jack looked around to make sure no one was looking. "I saw you, as a little girl being rescued by your aunt."

"So what? Sabrina or Trisha could save me at any time." River was confused.

"Not them, the aunt that hasn't found them yet." Jack gestured to his head. "And she had that haircut, the one she got just before Demon's Run."

Realization filled River's face. "Oh."

"Yeah, oh."