Another chapter… seriously, writing this fic is just making me nervous! :/
Again, please let me know what you think! :)
"I'll see you very soon." River had promised before pressing a button on the Vortex Manipulator and vanishing into thin air.
Rory glanced at his wife nervously. Amy was still staring straight ahead of her, although it had been over two hours since the woman had left. He'd persuaded her to move from their bedroom to the kitchen and settled her at the table. While he made dinner she had simply sat. He had persuaded her that she needed to eat knowing, as a nurse, that it was vital that she keep her strength up. But Amy had been reluctant and it had taken all of his persuasive talents to convince her that she had to.
Then, he'd moved her into the living room while he washed up. The truth was that Rory didn't have any idea of what to say to her. His wife was far more complicated than he was. The young man only saw the facts that had been presented to him and used them to inform his feelings; Amy had given birth to their daughter, Melody had been taken away and then reappeared in the form of River Song. While it had been almost impossible to accept as the truth at first, the more he'd thought about it, the easier it had been to believe. Now he had no doubts that his daughter had been with him that afternoon.
Sitting with River, drinking tea and talking normally had convinced him beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was telling the truth. River Song was his daughter. And he believed what she'd told him; things would work themselves out and they would be alright. He trusted her and he trusted the Doctor.
Rory sighed, glancing over his shoulder and turning to lean against the counter beside the draining board where he'd just lined up the cutlery and crockery. Drying up was Amy's job, but she was in no fit state to do it so he just left it where it was, watching his wife carefully. He sighed again as he took in her blank expression and dull eyes. She was still clutching the prayer leaf tightly in her hands as though it was all she had left to tell her that their daughter had ever existed.
He knew that it must have been horrendous for her; giving birth in that place and spending such a short time with their baby before having her ripped away from them. But Melody was his daughter as well, something that most people seemed to have forgotten. He was slightly bitter about that. Emotions conflicted strongly in his mind and heart. On one hand all he wanted to do was hold his wife and convince her that everything would be alright. On the other hand he was finding it incredibly difficult even to look at Amy at the moment.
"D'you want a drink?" He asked after watching her for a moment or two. The red-head didn't respond so he repeated his question with an unintentionally harsher tone. Amy jumped and looked around at him as though she had completely forgotten about his existance. Her eyes were red and the tears that she had cried had washed away her makeup and created visible tracks down her cheeks.
"No… thank you." She whispered, barely audibly. Then she held out a hand, her eyes pleading with him to come to her.
After a split second of hesitation, the man walked slowly, sitting beside her and wrapping his arms protectively around her frail body. However he was feeling, he was devoted to his wife and he knew that he would never be able to see her hurting without doing everything in his power to stop her pain. She buried her head into his chest and Rory breathed deeply, closing his eyes and allowing one hand to stroke her hair gently. Amy sobbed, her body shaking against his.
"Our baby… Rory… our baby." She wailed clinging tightly to him. He winced slightly as her nails dug into his flesh through the thin material of his polo shirt. In a bizarre way the sharp, stinging sensation made him feel better. It focused his pain, giving him something to concentrate on. He half-wished she'd dig her nails in deeper so that it would hurt even more.
"I know." He murmured. Rory's eyes were fixed on the window and he set his jaw firmly to stop himself from crying as well, as he recalled the events that had led them to this point.
"We're never going to see her again, are we?" Amy asked rubbing her eyes and looking up into his face. At this close proximity she was shocked at just how deeply the pain was etched on his features. She'd always relied on him to be there and taken it for granted that he always would be. Now she realised that she couldn't afford to do that.
Rory's brow furrowed at her words. He pushed her gently away, holding her at arm's length and studying her face carefully, wondering if she was serious. He didn't understand why his wife was so obviously ignoring what they'd found out about the identity of their daughter. It was the truth. River would never lie about something like that. And he believed her completely. Rory had guessed that it would take a little longer for Amy to accept the knowledge but he had thought that when she'd taken River's hand mere hours earlier they were moving forwards. The two women had always been close, but Amy seemed to be disregarding all of that.
"Amy… we saw our daughter… River. River is our daughter." He stressed her name, making it clear what he thought about the situation.
"She's not!" The red-head maintained, pulling away from him. "She isn't. My daughter is called Melody."
Rory stood up, turning away from her slightly. He had to fight to keep his voice calm and stop himself from shouting at her. "Our daughter was called Melody. Now she's called River." He said firmly, turning back so that he could punctuate the point by jabbing a finger in his wife's direction. He crossed his arms over his chest indicating that, as far as he was concerned, the argument had been settled.
"No." Amy argued, shaking her head violently. "No, she can't be."
"But she is." Her husband softened his tone, realising that shouting at her wasn't the most effective way of getting through to Amy. Rory knelt on the ground in front of her and took her hands in his own. He held them gently, stroking the backs of them with his thumbs as he tried to reassure her. "It'll be alright. The Doctor will find our baby and he'll take care of her. River told us, didn't she? She said she knew that the Doctor would look after Melody. Because she is Melody, Amy. River Song is our daughter."
"No…" Amy murmured again, tears streaming down her cheeks as she shook her head weakly. But this time her protests weren't as vehement, nowhere near as certain as they had been. Rory knew that she was calming down, coming round to the idea. She'd been the same when they were children and her cat had had to be put down. Amy had been devastated and treated the verdict as the end of the world. She'd argued with everyone who would listen and denied the fact that her pet was gone until she couldn't any longer. Denial was Amy's defence mechanism.
Back then Rory had been there for her; he'd been the only person she'd needed to reassure her that everything would be alright. And he would be there for her this time, convincing her of the truth and making sure that she was alright.