AN: In which we discover who Melody is to the Doctor and Rose...

Chapter Twenty-seven: Four Thousand Twenty-nine People, Saved

Donna couldn't bear to stay in the children's room any longer. "Come on," she told Jenny, turning her back on the two empty beds and stepping into the hallway.

The alarm, which had been muffled in the small bedroom, was suddenly piercing her skull, giving her a headache. She pressed her lips into a thin line and put her hand to her temple, hoping to stave off the impending migraine.

A moment later, she heard the door close behind her, and then Jenny linked her arm through hers. Donna gave her a smile, weak though it was.

"If the world's going to end today, I think we deserve something stronger than a cuppa. I've got a nice bottle of wine in the kitchen; what do you say?"

"That sounds perfect," Jenny said sincerely.

But they were walking down the stairs when the red light and alarm stopped. At the same time, the hint of realism this world had had disappeared.

"I feel like we're about to wake up," Jenny said, and Donna nodded.

The door flew open, and Lee stepped inside. "Donna? What's happening?"

Donna ran down the rest of the stairs and grabbed him by the shoulders as a bright light flooded the room. "I don't know, but it's not real. Nothing here's real. The whole world, everything. None of it's real."

Lee's hands cupped her elbows. "Am I real?"

The knots in Donna's stomach tightened as Lee's face started to disappear in the light. "Of course you're real." He had to be. Miss Evangelista only said the children were imaginary—not Lee! "I know you're real." She ran her hands up and down his arms, trying to memorise the way he felt. "Oh God, oh God, I hope you're real."

Something pulled her away from Lee, and she watched his lips move as he tried to say her name. His stammer had gotten better, but it still returned when he was upset.

"I'll find you," she called out as the light consumed him. "I promise you, I'll find you."

oOoOoOoOo

The short hop in the TARDIS from the core of the planet to the heart of the Library only took a moment. As soon as the time rotor stopped, the Doctor jogged down the ramp, opened the door, and stuck his head out.

"Ah, brilliant," he said when he realised they'd landed exactly where he'd wanted, on the same balcony near the biographies that they'd stood on only hours before. Rose and Melody joined him a moment later, and Rose closed the door behind them.

The sound of over four thousand voices trying to figure out what happened to them drifted down to them. No one seemed to have noticed their arrival, save one. Heavy footsteps thudded down the stairs, and Mr. Lux was soon hugging each of them in turn. "You did it!" he said, wonder in his voice. "You actually did it!"

The Doctor broke away. "We need to find Jenny and Donna," he said, scanning the room.

"Yes, of course." Mr. Lux started back up the steps, looking back over his shoulder. "We'll get the teleports online shortly and start sending people home."

"Yes, all right. That sounds excellent," the Doctor said, trying to keep the impatience out of his voice. Rose didn't say anything, so he thought maybe he did a better job this time than usual… or maybe she was as impatient as he was.

He looked at Rose and Melody and bounced on his toes. "Right. Let's split up and find Jenny and Donna, then meet back here."

Melody shook her head. "I'm afraid this is where we say goodbye, Doctor. I need to find Other Dave and see if we can get back to our rocket, or if we should let them teleport us home. And you need to get back to your own timeline and not be part of mine—at least, not yet."

Rose put a hand on the other woman's arm, and Melody welcomed the hug she offered. "Thank you," Rose said a moment later, after she'd stepped back. "I hope meeting you next time is a little less eventful."

Melody pressed her lips together, but her dancing eyes told them she was trying to hold back laughter. "Oh, if only you knew!" she gasped finally. She jogged up the first few steps, then waved at them, before climbing the rest of the way and turning down a corridor.

"Who do you think she was?" Rose asked as she and the Doctor climbed the stairs. "She's not our daughter, right?"

The Doctor shook his head. "No, we'd feel her in our heads, just like Jenny." He scanned the crowded reading room. "Speaking of Jenny…"

"Your idea of splitting up was good," Rose told him. "I'll take the left side of the room, you take the right side of the room."

The Doctor leaned down and brushed a kiss over her cheek. "Let me know if you find them." Rose smiled, then walked away.

oOoOoOoOo

Jenny blinked as she felt the same whooshing sensation of a teleport that she'd felt earlier, and when she opened her eyes, she was looking at the Library again. It wasn't silent anymore, though—four thousand voiced buzzed around her as all the people who'd been saved tried to figure out where they were.

A moment later, Donna grabbed her and hugged her tight. "Never thought I'd be glad to see this creepy place again," she muttered.

Jenny laughed, but the words reminded her how she'd gotten into the Library computer in the first place. She cast a glance around the room, noting that it was well-lit and filled with people not being eaten by the shadows.

She breathed a sigh of relief, then laughed again. Of course her mum and dad wouldn't have pulled everyone out of the computer if it wasn't safe.

Donna let go of her just as suddenly as she reached for her. Her eyes were wide as her gaze darted around the room, and Jenny wasn't surprised when she said, "We need to find Lee. He's here, somewhere…"

As crowded as the room was, Jenny doubted how successful they'd be. She didn't doubt Lee was in the room somewhere, but finding him…

However, the crease in Donna's forehead and the tight lines around her mouth convinced her to keep her concerns to herself. Instead, she nodded.

"All right. I'll look on this side of the room," she said, pointing to her left. Donna nodded, then spun around and dove into the crowd in the opposite direction.

I hope Lee was real, Jenny thought as she watched her friend disappear. After losing her two children, she wasn't sure how Donna would react if she couldn't find Lee.

There was a niggling of doubt in her mind as to the wisdom of the task. Donna and Lee didn't actually know one another, after all. Or did they? Had the computer automatically given them all the pertinent facts about each other's lives?

She pressed her lips into a thin line and kept looking. Donna could decide later if the real Lee was a man she could fall in love with. But she'd only get that choice if they could find him.

"Jenny!"

A breath caught in Jenny's throat, and she spun around towards the voice. "Mum!" she cried out, the title slipping out without conscious thought.

Rose didn't seem to mind, though. She swept Jenny up in a hug as soon as she reached her, squeezing her tight. "Oh, God, Jenny, we were so scared when we realised you and Donna never made it to the TARDIS," Rose murmured in her ear. "Your dad felt awful, since he was the one who convinced you both to go."

Jenny rolled her eyes and stepped back. "It's not his fault. It just… happened."

There was a wry smile on Rose's face. "I know that and you know that, but you know your father." She took Jenny's hand. "Come on—he's over here, looking for Donna."

Looking for. The words reminded Jenny of her promise to Donna, and she pulled her hand back. When her mum frowned at her, she licked her lips and hoped the explanation didn't sound as crazy as it felt.

"There was someone we met in the computer," she said. "Someone Donna really cared for. I was looking for him when you found me."

Rose nodded and took her hand again. Jenny found she didn't mind the secure feeling of being connected to her mother, after wondering if she'd ever see her again.

"All right, what does Donna's bloke look like?" Rose asked as they both scanned the crowd.

"He's tall," Jenny started. "Like, about as tall as Dad. But not as skinny."

Rose snorted. "Of course not. Donna insists that the Doctor is too skinny—tall and skinny is definitely not her type. Hair colour?"

"Dark. His name is Lee, and he has a stammer."

They worked their way through the crowd towards the teleport. If nothing else, Lee would have to leave through there.

"J- J-"

Jenny recognised the stammer and followed the sound with her eyes. "Lee!" He was on the teleport pad already, and dread settled in Jenny's stomach when he disappeared before their eyes.

"Oh, Donna's going to be gutted," she muttered, running her hand over her ponytail and tugging on the end lightly.

Rose linked her arm through Jenny's elbow, and they started walking towards the TARDIS. "Luckily, since everyone in the Library was uploaded through the TARDIS' computer, we have all their information. You and Donna can go through the files, and when you find him, we'll have the TARDIS search for him."

oOoOoOoOo

After Rose went off in her direction, the Doctor moved slowly through the crowd, scanning for a flash of blonde or red hair. The day was almost over, but he wouldn't be able to relax until every member of their little family was back in the TARDIS where they belonged.

"Excuse me."

The Doctor turned towards the familiar voice and picked up his pace, moving through the crowd a little more aggressively.

"I'm looking for a man, his name was Lee McAvoy."

The Doctor saw Donna finally, standing in front of a harried looking librarian who was hunched over a terminal. "He was about this tall." She held up her hand.

I found Donna, he told Rose.

The librarian tapped at the keyboard, then shook his head. "I'm sorry, I have no record of a Lee McAvoy being in the Library that day."

Donna opened her mouth to argue, but snapped it shut when the Doctor put his hand on her elbow and gently pulled her out of line. "Thank you," he said to the librarian. "We'll keep looking."

"Doctor!" Donna flung her arms around his neck, and the Doctor chuckled and pulled her in for a tight hug. "You have no idea how glad I am to see you."

"Oh, I think I do," the Doctor mumbled.

I've got Jenny, but we just watched Donna's bloke teleport away.

The Doctor was relieved that she'd found their daughter, but the second half of the news made him cringe. He pulled back from Donna's embrace and took her hand.

"Come on. TARDIS is this way."

Donna dug in her heels. "I have to look for—"

"Lee, yes I know." The Doctor stopped and tilted his head as the name struck him. "Funny, that's the name I gave the princess when I had to make up a fiancé for you. But…" He tugged on his tie. "Rose and Jenny just watched him teleport away."

Donna slumped. "Oh. Yeah, of course. I mean… why would he be looking for me?"

The Doctor frowned at the defeat in her voice. "Hey, none of that. There are over four thousand people in this room—maybe he looked but couldn't find you." He sighed when Donna just shrugged. "Anyway, this isn't the end. The TARDIS uploaded every single living soul that was trapped in the computer. That means she has all their information, and she can help you find him."

Donna pursed her lips. "It's worth it, you think?"

They finally started walking, working their way slowly through the crowd of people. "Worth it?" The Doctor scoffed. "Is true love worth it, Donna Noble?"

"Dunno. It hasn't worked out so well for me so far."

The Doctor shook his head. "Not every bloke will disappear or try to feed you to a giant spider."

Donna pulled her hand free of his, and when he looked back at her, she had her hands on her hips. The Doctor pointed his thumb over his shoulder.

"We're almost there," he said, hoping to stop her rant.

She rolled her eyes, but followed him through the gallery to the stairs. "You know, Doctor, if you ever get tired of the life of flying around the galaxy, saving planets…"

"Yes, Donna?" he asked as they turned the last corner.

"Don't go on the lecture circuit as a motivational speaker."

The Doctor's reply was forgotten when they reached the stairs, and he spotted two blonde women waiting for them by the TARDIS. "Jenny!" She spun around and ran towards him as he took the stairs two at a time. Her slight body ran into him on the third stair, and he picked her up and swung her gently from side to side as they hugged.

"I was afraid we'd lost you," he whispered in her ear.

Her arms tightened around his neck. "Can't get rid of me that easily, Dad," she mumbled into his shoulder.

The Doctor chuckled and lowered her to her feet. "I'm looking forward to hearing all about your adventures in the Library computer," he told her and Donna as they all walked to the TARDIS.

Jenny tucked her arm through his and rested her head on his shoulder. "Mum's already made me promise to tell you everything," she said.

Mum? He raised an eyebrow at Rose, and a warm glow of contentment spread through his chest when she smiled and nodded. He opened the door and watched his family enter their home: Donna, the friend who was the older sister he'd never had; Rose; his bond mate and other half; and Jenny, their daughter.

oOoOoOoOo

Melody sighed when she stepped into her own flat, just off the grounds of Andromeda University. Her cat Bastet meowed and slunk out of the shadows to wind around her ankles in greeting. Melody picked up the petite grey and white Siamese and scratched her under the chin before letting her climb up to her favourite perch on top of her shoulder.

"That was one hell of an expedition," she told Bastet as she wandered into the kitchen. The light over the range was still on, so she didn't bother with the overhead light while she filled the kettle and fixed dinner.

The doorbell rang, and she groaned. Only one person would visit at this time of night.

"It's open, Aunt Donna," she called out as she served her dinner.

"It's not Donna."

The familiar voice nearly pushed Melody into tears. She spun around, forcing her cat to leap for the floor with an annoyed growl. But then she was wrapped in the solid embrace of her godfather's hug, and she didn't care if she'd irritated her pet. She might be a grown woman of thirty, but after a day like today, a day when she'd lost three friends, she wasn't too proud to accept comfort from someone who knew her best.

The Doctor stroked her hair and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "You were brilliant today, Melody," he told her quietly. "None of us would have made it out of the Library without you. I know it hurts to lose people—and you have no idea how much I wish you hadn't learned that today—but you saved four thousand twenty-nine people."

Melody heard Rose moving around in the kitchen, pouring out the tea she'd made to make a proper cuppa, like Jackie had taught her. That knowledge was just as comforting as the Doctor's words, and she finally relaxed enough to let go of him and sit down at the kitchen table.

Bastet jumped up to the perch reserved for her, and Melody absently petted her. "Who are the other seven?" she asked.

"Mr. Lux, Other Dave, Jenny, your Aunt Donna, Rose, myself… and you, Melody. You saved your own life today."

Melody straightened up. "I did, didn't I?"

The Doctor grinned at her. "Yes, you did, and lest I repeat myself, you were rather brilliant at it."

Bastet purred loudly, and the Doctor's nostrils thinned as he looked at her. "I see you still have the Beast," he said, purposely mangling the cat's name, as always.

Feline eyes narrowed to slits as the old antagonists glared at each other across the table. The familiarity was just as comforting to Melody as the hug and chat had been, and she settled in to watch their face-off.

The staring contest didn't end until Rose entered the room with a pot of tea. "Leave Beastie alone," she told the Doctor, petting the cat quickly before returning to the kitchen to pick up the dinner she'd already served up.

"Brilliant, eggs and soldiers," Melody said when Rose set a plate down in front of her.

Rose squeezed her shoulder before taking her place at the table. "It was always your favourite, just like mine."

They settled in for their dinner of comfort food, and by the time the meal was over, Melody felt almost better. "And… I didn't muck up the timelines too much? I know I gave you some future information."

"Not that much," Rose countered. "And the Doctor kept his promise and let Mum get him drunk at Christmas last year, even though he could taste the ginger."

The Doctor pouted, and both women giggled. "I'm just glad we have that hangover cure," he groused. "I would not have been happy if I'd had to go through the whole of Boxing Day with someone trying to pound a drum through my skull."

When the laughter died down, Melody looked at Rose's red hair and slightly taller figure. "It was hard not giving that away though."

"Now you know why we always leave pictures around of ourselves from back then." Rose tugged on a strand of her hair. "I did notice you seemed a little surprised by my appearance, but I just figured I'd aged, and you'd never seen me that young looking."

They all smirked, then the Doctor said, "For someone who claims to hate time travel, you acted like a veteran today."

"I'm an archaeologist, Doctor." Melody rolled her eyes.

"Exactly!" He pointed at her. "Why wouldn't you want to travel back in time and see the people you're studying?"

She pinched the bridge of her nose. It was an old debate, going back to her teens, when she'd discovered the thrill of studying a culture before visiting the planet in the TARDIS. "Because, if I go back and see it, I don't need to solve the puzzle," she told him for the thousandth time. "Time travel is cheating."

Rose rolled her eyes and stood up to clear the table. "Melody Pond, you were born in the twenty-first century on Earth and attended Luna University in the fifty-first century. It's a bit hypocritical to claim time travel is cheating."

Melody pouted for a moment after Rose left the room. Rose usually sided with her in this debate. She's right, though, she acknowledged when Rose came back.

A question occurred to her, and she raised her eyebrow. "Speaking of time travel, how did you know it was today?" She waved her hand. "Not today as in the date—you knew that because I gave you the coordinates on the psychic paper. But this is you linearly in my life—how did you know that this point in our timeline was the right point to come to this day?"

The Doctor and Rose exchanged a glance, then Rose said, "Amy called us right after you left. She said you were going on some expedition to a planet that had been quarantined for 100 years, and didn't that sound dangerous?"

Melody rolled her eyes. "Of course she did. I've been living on my own for nearly ten years, and she still sends my godparents to check up on me if she thinks I'm in trouble."

The Doctor chuckled. "And Jackie still checks in on Rose, even though she hasn't lived at home since before you were born. It's just the way parents are," he said practically. "In fact, right now the younger version of ourselves are curled up on the couch in the TARDIS having a movie marathon with Jenny and Donna because today was the closest we've come so far to losing her."

"Speaking of," Rose said, "we ought to go so you can ring your parents. I think Rory was just as worried, but he tried to keep it under wraps."

Melody nodded and walked them to the door. She heard the TARDIS leave as she grabbed her mobile and went into the living room to curl up on the sofa. Her cat jumped up into her lap while she waited for someone at home to pick up, and she accepted the cuddly comfort.

"Hi, Mum. It's me."

oOoOoOoOo

There was no need for any discussion. As soon as they left the Library, the Doctor sent the TARDIS to the galaxy's best pizzeria on Estaran 7, where everyone ordered their favourite toppings. He and Jenny carried the pizzas straight to the media room while Rose and Donna stopped in the kitchen for plates and beer. If there was ever a night to veg out in front of the telly, it was tonight.

They all enjoyed The Princess Bride—even Jenny could quote the famous lines now, thanks to the flawless memory of a Time Lord. Donna started nodding off towards the end of the animated Beauty and the Beast, and roused enough when the movie was over to shuffle off to bed.

"What about you, Jenny?" the Doctor asked as they cleaned up the leftover pizza. "Ready for bed, or do you want one more film?"

"Can we watch one more?" She tugged on the hem of her t-shirt. "Just the three of us?"

The Doctor's chest tightened at her soft, vulnerable tone. "Of course we can."

Ten minutes later, he was back on the couch sitting in between Rose and Jenny as the opening credits to Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone scrolled across the screen. Rose was curled into his side with her hand resting on his thigh, while Jenny was sitting with a few inches between them.

However, as the movie went on, her head drooped and eventually rested on his shoulder. The Doctor looked over at her shortly after Harry, Ron, and Hermione were all Sorted into Gryffindor, and realised she was sound asleep.

"Jenny?" he whispered, but she only snuffled softly and burrowed her face into his shoulder.

The Doctor chuckled and sent the TARDIS a silent request to pause the movie. Then he shook Jenny gently by the shoulder.

"Wha?" she mumbled.

"Time to go to bed, sweetheart," he said softly.

She lifted her head from his shoulder and blinked at him a few times. "M'kay," she agreed, her voice heavy with sleep. She started to stand up, then stopped when she was sitting on the edge of the couch. "You'll still be here when I wake up, yeah?"

The Doctor ached to pull her into a hug, but sitting side by side on the couch wasn't the best spot for it. He stood up and pulled her to her feet, then wrapped his arms tight around her.

"We'll still be here," he promised. "And if you wake up in the middle of the night, you'll know you're home for real because you'll be able to feel the TARDIS."

The ship flickered the lights slightly, and Jenny looked up at the ceiling. "Thanks, old girl," she whispered.

The Doctor pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Sleep well, and sweet dreams."

A huge yawn cracked her jaw, and she stumbled backwards toward the door. "Yeah. I'll"—She yawned again—"I'll see you for breakfast."

After Jenny shuffled out of the room, Rose sighed and looked up at the Doctor. "I vote we ignore any other messages on the psychic paper," she said, feeling a bone-deep weariness. "Whose idea was it to answer a stranger's summons, anyway?"

The corners of the Doctor's mouth turned up. "Oh, a very smart, compassionate woman who said we couldn't abandon someone counting on our help."

"Hmph," Rose grunted.

The Doctor chuckled and sat back down beside her. They were both tired, but he knew without asking that Rose wasn't ready to move just yet.

Rose shifted closer to the Doctor when he draped his arm over her shoulders. The inescapable domesticity of the evening reminded her of movie nights with her mum, and that reminded her of Melody's slip about future holidays.

"Penny for them," the Doctor said quietly.

She sighed. "I can't stop thinking about what Melody said."

"About spending Christmases with your mum and Pete," he stated.

"Yeah." Rose bit her lip. She hadn't even really considered Pete and the baby, but Melody had clearly said, "the Tylers'." Not just Jackie's. "I know… you said before that it was impossible. Travel between the worlds was closed off."

The Doctor turned slightly so he could meet her questioning gaze. "And if you remember, just a few months ago when you asked again, I admitted that enough impossible things seemed to be happening for it to suddenly be a possibility."

Rose nodded, but her mind was already moving on to other hints they'd gotten in the last few months. "That Lucius bloke in Pompeii told you that he is returning," she said, going slowly as she considered her words. "Do you think… maybe he was talking about Mickey?"

A shiver ran down her back as she said it, and she knew she was right. More than that, she knew that Mickey's return was important, somehow.

She puzzled over that for a moment. If her family was coming back from Pete's World, it wasn't a huge leap to wonder if Mickey would, too. So why did it feel like such an important turning point?

A bend in their timeline kept the future stubbornly out of sight, no matter how hard Rose tried to see it. She huffed in exasperation, and the Doctor rested his hand on her knee.

"I see it too. Something's coming," he said, his voice carrying the same hint of foreboding that it had years ago when he'd looked up at the fireworks and said a storm was coming. "And our family is right in the middle of it."