He woke up the next morning on his back with Rose on his left snuggled against his chest. She was still sleeping soundly. He looked to his right to see Kiam sleeping soundly and to the right of Kiam was Donna. She had her eyes closed but by the way they were darting around she looked like she was having a nightmare. He briefly wondered when his room had become community property. For almost 500 years his room had been his sanctuary away from his companions. The beautiful blond in his arms had changed that.
Now his bookshelf had his books as well as romance novels and on the lower shelves kids books. A daybed sat in the far corner with stuffed animals and kids blankets. His desk was still covered with his notebooks and writings as well as pictures of Him and Rose together or them as a family. Various pictures of Kiam decorated the wall above the desk. He had told her once he didn't do domestic, obviously he was wrong. He gently dislodged himself from her and got out of bed.
He went to the kitchen and went about making breakfast for everyone. The tea had just started to whistle as Jenny and Vastra entered the kitchen.
"Have a seat," he told them and gestured towards the table. "We have pancakes, eggs, sausage, toast and tea." He said happily and then kissed Jenny on the head and left the room to wake the rest.
They all sat around the table eating and laughing except for Donna who sat there quietly picking at her food and Strax who was still in the Medibay recovering.
"So, Jenny," Rose asked. He sipped his tea but he had promised her an answer today. "Who is her mother?"
"Technically, I am," He responded.
"How?"
"I am a child of the machine," Jenny answered her.
"They take DNA from one person and rewrite it and then grow a child from the DNA very quickly. Donna actually named her and it's been oo roughly two years since I have seen her. You haven't changed a bit by the way. How long has it been for you?" He smiled at her.
"About ten years." She replied.
"So you left her behind?" Rose asked.
"I only knew her about two hours, I thought she had died. She didn't regenerate right away."
"You never talk about her, is that what's going to happen to me when I die. I will be forgotten by you as you find someone to replace me."
"I don't talk about them because it hurts, but I have never forgotten any of them. My parents, my siblings, my wife, my children, my grandchildren. I remember them all." He told Rose, "And long after you are gone. I will remember you, even if I don't speak of you."
He reached out and gently took her hand before turning back to Jenny. "How did you get to the 1800's," He asked.
"I was exploring and I ran into a time agent. He promised to show me space and time. Our first stop was 1880 London. He left me there and that is where I met Vastra. She told me all about you and how you had saved her. We've been together ever since." She leaned over and kissed Vastra.
Donna stood up and left the room and he watched her go, before standing up himself.
"Where are you going?" Rose asked him.
"I need to talk to Donna," He replied and went out of the room and found her in the control room with her feet up on the console.
"How are you doing?" He asked her gently.
"How do you think?" She snapped.
"Right, right, Sorry." He swallowed hard.
"No, I'm sorry. I just want Melody back?" She said clutching the prayer leaf tightly.
"Tell me about her? Like how did you pick her name?"
"I named her after my cousin, Melody. I use to babysit her all the time as a kid. She was always causing trouble and I was the one bailing her out of it."
"What happened to her?"
"She took off several years ago to find her real parents. She was adopted and had wild stories of who they were. She decided she wanted to find them." He gave Donna a tight hug as he realized what he had to do.
He took Donna home to her mother, with the promise he would make things right and then took Jenny and Vastra back to their home in 1888. As he dropped them off he realized he had forgotten Martha and Mickey back on Demon's Run.
He materialized the Tardis in the main control room to find the two of them baracaded in the office the asteroid filled with troops again. He apologized over and over again as he took them home to Cardiff.
Martha didn't even look back as she stormed off the Tardis with Mickey mumbling that he was the tin dog again. With everything sorted out he landed the Tardis in 1962 New York. He started scanning the area for Timelord DNA and finally received a hit. He found a toddler wearing a dress that was too big for her. Her hair was wild and her skin a light mocha color. She breathed out and a gold trail exited her lips.
He felt nauseous as he scooped her into his arms and carried aboard the Tardis. He wondered what horrors a child had gone through to make her regenerate so young.
"Whose this?" Rose asked as he came on board.
"Melody," He answered and started flicking switches.
"You found her! Donna will be so happy."
"You can't tell her." He told Rose. "We aren't taking her home."
"Why not?" She asked sounding disgusted at him.
"Because if we do, the Master will just take her again. I am going to take her to Donna's aunt and she will be raised as Donna's cousin. She will be safe and Donna will get to watch her grow up." He saw the tears rolling down Roses face. "I have no choice." He tells her.
"I know what it is like to lose your child." She replied.
"So do I."
He landed the Tardis and took the little girl out and dropped her off at the orphanage. When he got back to the Tardis Rose was still in the control room waiting for him.
"You can't do this." She said looking at the scanner, where the little girl was clearly visible.
"I have too." He says and takes Rose in his arms and rubs her back as she stands against him shaking. He looked at the screen one last time before sending the Tardis off. Now it was time for River to make her own way back to them.