Once Amy and Rory had left, Rose smiled up at the love of her life. "You are such a liar. I'm dying and rather quickly."
Clutching her tightly, the Doctor kissed her forehead. "I am not lying, Rose Tyler. If I lose you now... I don't... I can't... I will fix this."
"I believe in you," Rose whispered, and he picked her up and carried her into the TARDIS.
The Doctor shifted Rose in his arms as he opened the TARDIS doors. "Extractor fans on!" he pleaded and the fans kicked into gear. "Oh. That works."
"She's more apt to do what you want if you ask her nicely instead of hitting her with a hammer," Rose murmured softly.
"Oi, still so cheeky." He smiled and continued straight through the console room to the med bay. Thankfully the TARDIS had moved it closer. He sent his ship a mental thanks.
"That's me, your cheeky Rose. Even as I'm dying." She winced in pain.
"Don't talk like that. I'm going to fix this." He gingerly set her down on the examination table.
"Then stop panicking and figure it out." Rose tried to prop herself up on her elbow but fell backwards.
"You lay down and rest and stop telling me what to do." He grinned at her, trying to make her smile. Thankfully, it worked.
Rose giggled. "I'm in charge, remember? You still owe me a badge."
"Survive today and I will have 'Property of Rose Tyler' tattooed on my bum, if you like."
"Oh, can we have it done on Renpar 5? They have the glittery tattoos." Rose smirked an evil little smirk.
"Your wish is still my command." He kissed her forehead and went back to examining her. Pushing down his panic, he pulled out some diagnostic instruments. A few short minutes later, the Doctor had his answers and they weren't good.
"Tell me," Rose demanded. "I know how sad and upset you are. I can feel it. It's bad, isn't it? I'm really dying, aren't I?"
The Doctor stepped over and took her hand. "It's fatal. She infected you with the poison of the Judas tree. It's dangerous enough that it would kill me and disable my ability to regenerate. You aren't immortal, Rose."
"Not that we know of," Rose joked. "You'll think of something. How long do I have?"
He brought her hand to his lips and spoke reverently. "You will be dead in thirty-two minutes."
"Better get cracking then, love." Rose moved her hand to cup his cheek.
The Doctor sighed and leaned into her palm. "Right. I think I may have a solution, but I'll need Rory's help."
Rory's day was really not going to plan, not that anything every really went to plan. Today, however, was particularly bad and getting worse. Since leaving his dying mum with his dad in a room that had Hitler locked in a cupboard so that he could go and find his newly regenerated daughter, he'd assaulted a Nazi and stolen his motorbike.
Yep, today might just be the craziest day of his life, and it wasn't even time for tea yet.
Amy clung to his back as he maneuvered through the streets of Berlin. He had no idea where he was going and with a sigh of frustration he pulled the bike to a stop. "Okay, all of Berlin. How do we find her?" How do we find her?"
"I don't know." Amy sounded frustrated. "She's telepathic and you're telepathic. Do your Time Lordy, TARDISy, Bad Wolfy thingy and find her."
He shifted so he could turn to look at her. "Time Lordy, TARDISy, Bad Wolfy thingy? It doesn't really work like that. It's not magic, Amy."
"Oh, shut up!" She smacked his arm. "And just concentrate on her."
Huffing, he readjusted himself in the seat and was about to do exactly as Amy suggested when another motorbike pulled up next to them. The man astride it stared at Amy almost as if he was scanning her. Then the man and the motorbike began to morph into a replica of Amy.
"Not again," Rory moaned as a blue beam shot out of the mouth of another doppelganger of his wife.
Almost instantaneously, Rory and Amy found themselves in a long corridor. "Hold on, this looks familiar," Rory said, spinning around. "Why does this look familiar?"
"No idea," Amy replied, looking around herself. "Where are we? And how did we get here?"
"I would say that we were miniaturized and are now inside a robot replica of you." Rory laughed. "And I thought this day couldn't get any stranger." He took her hand and began to pull Amy down the hall to investigate. "I think I know where I've seen this place before."
Before he could explain, something that looked like a floating, metal jelly fish blocked their path. "Welcome," it greeted them. "You are unauthorized. Your death will be implemented."
"Damn," Rory swore, backing away while trying to fish his sonic screwdriver out of his pocket. "Where's Jenny and her Vortex manipulator when you need them?"
"What is that?" Amy asked, stumbling as they tried to get away.
"I don't know. Just give me a mo'." Rory adjusted the settings on his sonic and aimed it at the machine. It sparked and fizzed before falling to the ground. "Run!"
The two of them ran at top speed down the hall, now being chased by two more of the metal monsters. Finally they reached a closed door. Amy banged on the door. "Get it open," she screamed.
"Hold on," Rory yelled, aiming his sonic.
"Please remain calm while your life is terminated," the nearest machine instructed, reaching out a tentacle towards them.
"I don't think so." Rory soniced the first one and the second one advanced.
"Please cooperate in your officially sanctioned termination. It is normal to experience fear during your incineration."
The door behind them slid open, and a young man held up two fingerless gloves with a large disk. "Here, put these on so you don't have to destroy another one of our antibodies."
"Well, if you didn't want them destroyed, then you shouldn't have sent them to kill us," Amy snarked.
The young man rolled and pressed the disks now adorning Amy and Rory's wrists. Holding them up to the antibody, he said, "See, they're authorized."
The disks glowed green and the Antibody halted it's assault. "Thank you and have a nice day," it said before docking itself into the bulkhead. The doors slid shut on what was now obviously a lift.
"Hello, I'm Jim. This is Justice Department vehicle 6018. You're not guilty of anything. Welcome aboard the Teselecta."
Mels or Melody or whatever the hell people were going to call her now, she still wasn't sure, stood in an the window of an empty apartment overlooking a park in the center of the city. So much had happened today, so much that she had brought about herself. Even if she hadn't wanted to, it had been her hand that had dealt the fatal blow. And then she had run away when things got tough. Much more like the Time Lord side of the family then.
The door creaked open, and Mels turned to see her mother walk in. "You killed the Doctor and the Bad Wolf."
A sob escaped from the Mels' mouth. "I've never hurt Granddad or Pops, but yes… I killed Nan."
"You killed the Doctor and the Bad Wolf while under the control of the movement known as the Silence. In spite of the fact that you were pardoned by the Shadow Proclamation, do you accept full responsibility for your actions?"
Anger flared inside of her, and she lashed out at the being she believed was her mother. "I have never, to the best of my knowledge, done anything to Granddad. But who knows! I have zero memories from before my first body, not a single one. Why don't you check with the people who took those memories away?
"But yes, I hurt Nan. I could have fought harder against the instinct, but I was too weak. The fault of her death is entirely my own."
"Thank you," Teselecta Amy said just before opening its mouth and engulfing Mels in a beam of red light. Mels writhed in pain. Her eyes were forced open and every cell in her body felt like it was individually being ripped apart.
"Hello!" the Doctor called from across the room. "Sorry. Did you say she killed the Doctor? And the Bad Wolf?" He turned to Rose, who was leaning into him for support. "The last time I checked, that was us and we are both alive and kicking."
"Maybe not kicking." Rose grinned. "Dancing, I'd say." She did a shaky twirl in his arms, stumbling slightly. Gracefully, he caught her and turned her fall into a dip.
"Nan!" Mels cried. "You're alive."
"Can't keep me down, sweetheart." Rose winked and let the Doctor gently maneuver her in chair.
He then turned to the Teselecta and scanned it with his sonic. "A judgment Death machine in the form of Amelia Tyler. That is a first."
"Are you serious?" Mels asked, inching closer to Rose.
"Never knowingly. Never knowingly be serious." He grinned at her and then studied the scan results from his sonic. "Oh Rose, it's a robot."
He grinned cheekily at her. "With four hundred and twenty-three life signs inside. A robot worked by tiny people. Love it. But how did you all get in there, though? Bigger on the inside?" He checked the sonic again. "No. Basic miniaturization sustained by a compression field."
"Oo!" Rose giggled but it seemed to take a great deal of effort. "Watch what you eat. The gas is a really unpleasant side effect." She winced and held on tightly to the table. Her knuckles turned white, and Mels moved to help her grandmother.
Another red beam shot out of the Teselecta and trapped Mels in that beam of red light. Her mouth moved as she screamed silent agony.
"Don't you touch her! Do not harm her in any way!" Rose screamed, pushing herself into a standing position.
On the bridge of the Teselecta, Rory was angry. "Stop it! You're hurting her."
"She killed your parents." Carter stated nonchalantly. "Why do you care what happens to her."
"Because the Doctor and the Bad Wolf are not dead, and Melody is my daughter. So either you stop this now or I will stop you," Rory growled.
Jim turned around from his seat. "He is family; he has privileges."
Looking rather annoyed, Carter pushed a few buttons on Rory's wrist device and then terminated the beam torturing Mels.
"Now who wants my parents dead?" Rory demanded.
Both on the bridge and through the robot's mouth the computer answered, "The Silence."
"What is the Silence? Why is it called that? What... what does it mean?" Rory questioned.
"The Silence is not a species. It is a religious order or movement. They were formed to silence the Doctor and the Bad Wolf from their reign over of tyranny over the Universe."
"Tyranny?" Amy scoffed. "It's not tyranny to help right the injustice."
The computer answered again. "The Silence believe that the interference of the Doctor and the Bad Wolf in the absence on the rules formerly enforced by the higher species known as the Time Lords is causing damage to the fabric of time."
"And they think they know better?" Rory laughed. "Earlier you said that Melody had been pardoned why?"
"Melody Rose Tyler-Pond was pardoned of her crimes, in absentia, due to her being under mind control from members of the Silence and her young age at the time that she killed the Doctor."
Amy surged forward and slapped Carter across the face. "You. Bastard! She was a child at Lake Silencio and she was forced to do what she did, both times. Melody is a victim and was pardoned. You Mother Fucking Bastard HOW DARE YOU?"
Rory grabbed Amy and pulled her away before she could strike again. "He's not worth it." Keeping an arm tightly around her waist, he glared daggers at the captain. "And just who the hell do you think you are? Who made you judge, jury and executioner of my daughter?"
"We have a certain responsibility, now that we have developed time travel," Carter growled cupping his injured cheek. "So we extract people towards the end of their timeline and give people the justice they escaped." He flipped a button on his control panel and locked the red beam onto Melody. "We give them hell."
"Rory! Stop them!" Amy screamed.
Without thinking, Rory pulled off his screwdriver and soniced the control panel. Sparks flew and the punishment ray stopped. But so did all of the wrist devices. Antibodies came from every direction. "Shit," he exclaimed, aiming a sonic blast at the nearest one.
"All privileges have been revoked," another Antibody said, advancing on a crewmember.
Carter grabbed the comm link. "Mother ship, come in. Emergency beam out now."
Each member of the crew of the Teselecta disappeared in the telltale flash of light of a transmat beam. Amy and Rory were left alone to run for their lives from the antibodies."We could use a little help getting out of here!" Rory thought to his parents.
Outside of the ship that looked like Amy, Mels' eyes widened. "I heard that. I heard Dad in my head."
"Of course you did," Rose said softly. "You're telepathic." The Doctor, who was now kneeling beside her, squeezed her hand.
"They need help," he whispered and raised her hand to his lips. "But I can't leave you."
"Yes you can, love." Rose took a shaky breath. "Our children need you and if I have any chance at surviving, I need Rory."
Solemnly, he nodded and turned to Mels. "I need you to stay with her, Melody. Please don't leave her alone. Can you do that for me?"
Mels shook her head. "You shouldn't trust me. I did this. I'm the one who poisoned her. They were right to punish me."
Moving beside her, the Doctor pulled her into a hug. "This is not your fault. You weren't in control. They hurt you and made you do this. I trust you." He pressed a kiss into her hair. "Please stay with your Nan. I'll be right back with your parents."
Nodding, Mels pulled away and went over to take Rose's hand. The Doctor sprinted towards the TARDIS and a moment later the ship dematerialized.
Rose's hand was almost limp in her granddaughter's. "Please don't die, Nan. I'm..."
"Stop," Rose said softly. "Not your fault." Her breath rattled in her chest. "Can we talk like this? It's a bit easier." Rose asked inside Melody's head.
"How?" Mels asked. "How do I do that?"
"Just think it and push the thoughts towards me. Oh, love, there is still so much for you to learn. And I promise that we'll teach you, but right now you need a crash course in something." Rose thought.
"What, like this?" Mels smiled at her newly found ability. "I'm doing it!"
"Very good. Now pay attention. In the back of your mind, do you hear it?" Rose asked.
Mels shook her head. "Hear what?"
"The wolf. It's a part of who you are and right now it may be my only hope. Let it find you." The grinding noise of the TARDIS rematerializing interrupted Rose's thoughts.
The door to the TARDIS banged open and Amy, Rory and the Doctor flew across the room. "Mum!" Amy and Rory called. Rory dropped to his knees at his mother's side. Amy made to join him, but the Doctor held her back.
"Wait, Amy, stay back," he said wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "If Rose is going to survive this, we have to let Rory and River do this on their own."
"What are they going to do, Dad?" Amy's voice trembled slightly.
"It's the Bad Wolf. The Silence wanted to use it against Rose and me, but they don't understand it." The Doctor's arm tightened around Amy's shoulder as Rose, Rory and Mels began to be enveloped in a now familiar golden glow. "Love. It's what they didn't know that they needed. They tried to have Rose killed today. But they didn't count on the love that is shared between them."
The glow grew brighter and brighter. Rory took one of Mels' hands and moved it to Rose's temple. He moved his hand to Rose's other one. Rose arched out of the chair, her eyes golden and wide. After a moment she opened her mouth and a cloud of smoke escaped. With a heavy sigh she collapsed back into the chair.
Thinking it was over, the Doctor stepped forward but Rory turned to him. "Stop." Rory's voice had a slightly ethereal quality to it. He moved his hands and placed them on his daughter's temples. "The damage done can be undone, young wolf." Rory's hand glowed even brighter for a few seconds.
Melody smiled and then she too, collapsed. The glow from all three of them faded and Rory joined his mother and daughter in a state of unconsciousness.
The Doctor sat somberly on the windowsill near Rose's bed. Amy was sitting in a chair between Rory and River's sleeping forms. Her head was resting on her daughter's bed and her hand clasping her husband's tightly.
After the events in Berlin, he and Amy had brought Rory, Rose and River here to the Sisters of the Infinite Schism. It was the greatest hospital in the universe, save the TARDIS. He could have easily taken care of all three of them. But he'd come so close to losing Rose today. A few minutes could have meant the all the difference.
But it wasn't just about Rose. It was about River too. They had found out a week ago that River was Melody and had resigned themselves that they wouldn't be able to bring her home as a baby. Now though, they wouldn't be able to bring her home at all. Both of his hearts felt crushed by that particular revelation.
Rory and Amy would apparently never get to raise their daughter. It was already far too late for that.
Before leaving Berlin, he'd downloaded everything that the Teselecta had on him and Rose. He'd also adjusted the robot's memory banks to show that Rose died there. Hopefully whoever was after his Rose would believe that they had succeeded and they wouldn't come after her anymore.
They would, however, still be coming after him.
Both Amy and Rory had seemed unsurprised by the accusation that Melody had killed him. As soon as they got back to London, he would devote all of their resources to solving this mystery and to trying to find a way to fix this, if he could.
"How are they doing?" The familiar voice of Jack Harkness came from the doorway.
Somehow he was never surprised anymore when Jack showed up. "They're resting, but all of them will be perfectly fine. Though, I think that you knew that."
"River, a future version of her, asked me to come. She told me her story, asked for my help." Jack held up River's trademark journal, only this one was brand new. "She has a lot to learn and needs someone familiar with time travel to help show her the ropes. I would never turn down the chance to help out someone who is so important to you and Rose."
"She has us," the Doctor protested. "We can help her. We will help her."
Jack smiled sympathetically. "I know that, Doc. And I also know that right now a younger version of Melody is on her way back to Tony's house. That little girl needs you very much and Amy and Rory are going to need time to heal."
"We can't just leave her. We can't abandon her when she needs us the most." The Doctor shook his head.
"You won't be. River just needs a friend and that's what I am, just a friend." Jack clapped a hand on the Doctor's shoulder. "It's not like we'll be more than a phone call away. She needs independence, too, and she doesn't need to see how hard this is on her parents, how hard it's going to be on her entire family. Besides, this is how River remembers this happening."
The Doctor sighed. "I don't like it. I mean, I really don't like it, Jack."
"Didn't think you would, Doc."
"You'll take care of her? Respect her?" The Doctor's gaze was hard.
"Cross my heart and hope to die," Jack replied with a cheeky grin.
The Doctor raised an eyebrow and pointed a finger at the former Torchwood agent. "Mess this up, Harkness, and I will drop you into the heart of a supernova."
"I promise to protect her, Doctor." Jack looked very serious. "You have my word."