Parenthood

Tick tock goes the clock, the girl was once their daughter

Tick tock goes the clock, she ran until they caught her

"How can she be our daughter?"

Rory was sitting on the warehouse floor, his sword resting across his lap, Amy curled against his side. "I mean, she's older than us. She's a little bit scary… and in jail. And she never got that hair from either of us."

"I don't know," Amy said. "I just don't know." It was all Amy had said since River left with Vastra and Jenny, promising to return as soon as their allies were safely back in their own times.

"So know we're waiting," Rory mused. "What is it the Doctor called you. The girl who waited? And I waited thousands of years for you. Now we're sitting all alone at Demons Run, waiting for our grown up daughter to come back and take us back to Earth, where we'll have to wait again while the Doctor searches the universe for our baby."

There was a sudden flash, then River reappeared before them. Rory jumped up to grab hold of her shoulders, his sword dropping to the floor with a clang.

"Where is she?" he shouted. "Where's Melody? You're her, you must know where she is."

"Rory, what are you doing?" Amy protested.

"It's really not that simple," River said gently. "I don't know everything, and what I do know can't be changed."

"Do we get you back?" Amy asked urgently. "Do we bring Melody up?"

"This isn't the right place for this," River said, looking around at the remnants of the headless monks scattered across the floor. "I'll take you home, then I promise I'll answer any questions I can. Somewhere we can sit down with a cup of tea. God I miss tea, the slop they give me in Stormcage is more like fermented waste water."

Amy stood up wearily. "How do we get home? The Doctor left with the TARDIS."

River held her wrist out, showing a delicate instrument strapped to her wrist. "Vortex manipulator."

"Vortex what?"

"You remember," Rory said. "She lent it to the Doctor when the Pandorica opened."

"Spoilers," River interjected. "You mean there really is a Pandorica? I always thought that was a fairytale. Wait, don't answer that."

"What about that?" Amy pointed over to the wooden cradle sitting in the middle of the floor, a mute reminder of the theft of Melody. "Do we just leave that here?"

"Oh," River looked at the cradle with a wistful smile. "I'll take that back to the TARDIS, but we have to leave the mobile."

"Leave it?" Amy looked incredulous. "Why would we leave the mobile? They were the Doctors first stars."

"Mine too," River spoke softly. "Kovarian gets her hands on it somehow, but not on the cot."

"I remember," Amy said wondrously. "At the orphanage, in the little girl's room, there was the mobile, and a photo of me with Melody. River, that was her wasn't it? I mean, it was you."

"We're not having this conversation here," River said firmly. "Give me your hands and I'll get you home first."

Amy reached out her hand without hesitation to River. Rory stared at her speculatively for several second before reluctantly extending his hand. River placed their hands on her forearm, touched the vortex manipulator and there was a flash of light. The warehouse vanished and the three were standing in the kitchen of Amy's house.

"Tea?" River asked, walking over to the sink, filling the kettle and putting it on the stove. "If ever there was a conversation we all needed to be sitting down for this is it."

Amy sat at the kitchen table and watched in confusion as River bustled around the kitchen, gathering mugs from the cupboard, tea from the tin and making three mugs of tea.

"How did you do that?" Rory asked, sitting down abruptly.

"I told you, vortex manipulator," River said, sitting down and sliding the mugs of tea in front of Amy and Rory.

"Not that," Rory looked down at the mugs. "How do you know your way around the kitchen? And how did you know how we take our tea?"

"Oops," River looked down at the mugs then smiled at them sheepishly. "Here I am being ever so careful what I say, and it's simple things like cups of tea that'll give me away. Suffice to say that this isn't the first time I've sat in this kitchen, but that really is all I can say."

"Really?" Amy said. "Exactly how much are you going to be able to tell us in this conversation anyway?"

River sighed. "Not as much as I'd like to. But I can't risk the universe just to tell you everything you have a right to know. And it's not just me, I know that the first time you meet your daughter again you'll know things about me that you can't tell me.

"So what can you tell us?" Amy asked angrily. "Will we ever get Melody back? Or will we meet you as a grown woman? Do Rory and I get to have any part in bringing up our daughter?"

"God, whatever I say is going to sound like some cryptic prophecy. You get to see Melody when she's a young girl. You play a part in Melody's upbringing, you'll teach her more than you know, but not in the normal way. Could it ever be the normal way with us?"

"What about now, with you? How can we be your parents when you have to be older than we are? You are older, aren't you?"

"Are you asking how old I am?" River asked with a smile.

"Kind of," Amy admitted.

"Surely you know better than to ask a lady her age?" River said archly. "But yes, Amy, I am older than either of you at the moment."

"God," Rory sounded sad. "Parents aren't meant to be older than their child. You were a baby, then they stole you, and not half an hour later you're… you're you."

"I know," River said. "It's not fair, and nothing anyone can do now is going to make it fair."

"You could though," Amy clutched her mug in both hands. "All you have to do is tell us where they're keeping her, or tell the Doctor, then you could be rescued."

"But then I wouldn't be me," River said simply. "They try to make me into what they want, but they don't succeed. If I hadn't been through what I went through, lived through those experiences, I wouldn't be who I am today. That's even aside from the danger that anyone who took me away from the Silence would be in, they wouldn't have let me go easily. Also there are a couple of fixed points in time that can't be altered… it's complicated, and it can't be changed."

There was silence in the kitchen for a while as Rory and Amy thought about this, then both spoke. "What about…", "So that was your…" They looked at each other, then Amy continued, "That was your room, wasn't it? At the orphanage?"

"Yes," River said softly. "My memories of that time are pretty vague, there were so many of the Silence around. I remember that day when you came there, I was pretty scared. You were in my room, I came in and you were scared, then you apologised…"

"For shooting you," Amy said softly. "I never meant to hurt you, but I thought… wait, when are you up to? Did you go to Utah with us, back to 1969?"

"See what I mean about spoilers?" River smiled. "It's so hard to keep track sometimes. Yes, I was with you in Utah, I know why you wanted to hurt the spaceman, and that you didn't know it was me in the suit back in '69."

"Was it you at the lake?" Amy said suddenly. "The Doctor told me you were in jail for killing a man? Was it you in the suit at Lake Silencio?"

"Amy!" Rory objected. "Why would River kill the Doctor? She wouldn't…" his voice trailed off as he turned to face his fully grown daughter.

"Oh Rory," River sighed. "Why would I want to kill the Doctor? Well, actually I can think of a few reasons… like that insufferable smugness on his face when he's the only one who knows what's going on. But no, I don't want to kill him."

"And was I right," Amy asked. "On the Byzantium, when I said you were his wife?"

"The Byzantium? That sounds intriguing, but I haven't gone there yet. So you haven't asked me yet."

"Oh, maybe I need to start keeping a diary… or some kind of flow chart."

"Anyway, we're asking now," Rory said. "Are you the Doctor's wife?"

"It takes two people for a marriage," River said sadly. "The Doctor doesn't have a wife."

"Yet," Amy said. "That's what you mean, isn't it, the Doctor hasn't got a wife yet?"

"Spoilers," River's voice sounded just as taunting as it always did with that word, but there was a glimmering tear in the corner of her eye.

"So what now?" Rory asked. "Do we just sit, and wait for the Doctor?"

"Oh, Rory, when have you ever known Amy to just sit and wait?" River chuckled. "But for now, I go back to Stormcage. I know some of what happens next for you two, so of course I can't tell you. But you will see Melody again. Soon, but not soon enough."

"And you'll just sit in your cell waiting for…" Amy was confused. "Why are you waiting there? I don't mean what are you in jail for, I know you can't answer that. But why are you even there? You can escape any time you want to, why would you stay?"

"Oh Amy, that's probably the most complicated question of all," River had a faraway look on her face. "I'm not in jail as much as the authorities would like to think I am, but I'm there because of a promise."

"A promise to who?" Rory asked.

River grinned, then met Amy's eye. "Spoilers!" the two women chanted in unison.

"It's time for me to leave," River said looking at her chronometer. "You'll see me again… I already know that."

"Okay," Amy and Rory stood up, watching as River rose to her feet, straightened her clothing then began adjusting the vortex manipulator strapped to her wrist.

"River," Amy moved around the table to stand before the older woman. "Even though you're probably way past needing your parents… that's still what we are. If you ever need us, or if any of the times you escape Stormcage you want to come see us… well, you know where we are, and… well, you're always welcome."

River stepped forward and impulsively hugged Amy. "Mother, thank you. That means a lot. I can't visit you, not yet, not here… but when I can, if you still want me to, I will."

Amy had tears in her eyes as she held her grown daughter in her arms. "I wish you didn't have to leave."

"Yeah, me too," Rory said awkwardly from where he stood watching. "I mean, I wish you didn't have to go too."

"So do I," River checked her watch again, "But I really have to leave now. I'll see you again." She touched the vortex manipulator and was gone in a flash.

Amy and Rory looked at each other in confusion at River's abrupt departure, then were interrupted by the front door slamming.

"Hey guys," they heard Mels yelling from the hallway. "You wouldn't believe what just happened. It was only the damn cops trying to blame me for pinching such rich gits car. Like they could pin something like that on me." She stepped into the kitchen, then paused to stare at her two friends. "What happened? Have you been off having more adventures with your Doctor friend?"