River Song swayed lightly as she walked down the darkened corridors of Stormcage back to her cell dressed in blue Victorian attire. She walked to the phone as alarms blared, "Oh turn it off," she rolled her eyes, "I'm breaking in, not out. This is River Song, back in her cell. Oh...and I'll take breakfast at the usual time. Thank you." She hung up and headed to her cell, pausing, able to make out a figure in the shadows.
"Hello, River." Thea greeted as she stepped out into the woman's view.
"Hello Thea." River smiled.
"Should I question the get up?" She looked her up and down.
Oh, she knew she was busy, a quick drop off from the Doctor to get River Song while he sent Rory deal with a Cyberman fleet. The 12th Cyber Legion knew everything so they'd gone to get information and blew up some ships when they didn't get answers.
Which was why the Doctor was busy collecting Vastra the Silurian and her human maid Jenny as well as picking up a Sontaran nurse, Strax.
"You lot took me ice skating on the River Thames in 1814, the last of the great Frost Fairs. The Doctor got Stevie Wonder to sing for me under London Bridge."
"Cannot wait for that." Thea grinned, "what's the occasion?"
Her smile faltered slightly, "it's my birthday."
"Ooh, happy birthday." Thea eyed River, "do you know why I'm here?"
River nodded heading into her cell and putting her diary away, her back to Thea as she answered, "Demon's Run."
"They've taken Amy. And their baby. He came to ask me to get you to help."
River glanced back at her, frowning, "but that's not why you're here?"
Thea shrugged, "you're not going to even if I asked."
"I can't." River sighed, "Not yet, anyway."
"I know."
"This is the Battle of Demon's Run. The Doctor's darkest hour. He'll rise higher than ever before and then fall so much further, and..." She blinked, realising what Thea had said, "you know?" She wasn't sure exactly what it was Thea knew, but they girl did end up knowing about a lot more than she let on.
"I told dad you wouldn't come." Thea rolled her eyes, recalling this disagreement they had had as he dropped her off. She had decided only to come just to humour him and prove she was right and he was wrong.
River eyed her carefully, she didn't want to let anything slip but at the same time if she played her cards right, Thea might let it out, "I will be there, but not till the very end."
"Fair enough." Thea nodded, "any reason why?"
"Because this is it." River sucked a breathed, "This is the day you both find out who I am."
River stood there, close to holding her breath as she waited for Thea to react to that. She was clever, remarkably so when she actually concentrated. Her short attention span and child-like nature made everyone underestimate her. She knew better.
"What else is there to know about you other than a time travelling psychopathic archaeologist." Thea joked, turning and heading off, calling over her shoulder, "See you in a bit then."
River sagged in relief, falling back on her bed, glad that Thea hadn't seemed to be paying her too much attention to listen to her words.
"Oh, by the way."
River sat up with a gasp seeing Thea standing before the bars, arms hanging between the gaps, her forehead resting on the bars.
"Not sure if you know this, but I was quite the detective when I was a little girl." She winked, "I can only really think of one reason why you can't be there." She eyed River closely, "if I changed it."
"Don't you dare." River cut her off sternly. "Promise me, no matter how much it hurts, don't change one second of it."
Thea swallowed but nodded, "I won't." She promised quietly, turning and headed off, dejected.
~.~
They landed the TARDIS on silent mode, giving them all the chance to sneak out while the soldiers were distracted with Colonel Mantons speech. Honestly for a base that had been on Amber alert knowing the Doctor would come for Amy it was rather stupid to leave the base unguarded for a speech.
The Doctor moved off with a robe, putting it on and joined the row of Headless Monks as they headed to the stage.
Thea shook her head. Honestly she was sad to know she would miss his dramatic entrance. She did love a dramatic entrance.
She turned and hurried off with Madame Vastra the Silurian and her human Jenny.
Apparently she wasn't trusted to go wandering around the base alone or join him on the dramatic entrance, which was so unfair! All she had said was that she should sneak in with the crowd of soldiers and when the Doctor revealed himself to everyone she jumped on stage and stabbed Manton in the back.
Literally.
With a sword.
A sword she wasn't allowed to have.
But Vastra loved her too much and once sure the Doctor was out of sight handed Thea the extra sword she had brought specifically for the girl. It was only fair she got one too, both Vastra and Jenny had their own and even Rory had one.
"On this day, in this place, the Doctor will fall." Colonel Manton spoke as he stood on the stage before the soldiers, who all cheered at his words, "The man who talks, the man who reasons, the man who lies, will meet the perfect answer. Some of you have wondered why have we have allied ourselves with the Headless Monks." He glanced over as the Monks stepped onto the stage, none the wiser of the Doctor among them, "perhaps you should have wondered why we call them Headless. It's time you knew what these guys have sacrificed for faith. As you all know, it is a Level One Heresy, punishable by death, to lower the hood of a Headless Monk. But by the divine grant of the Papal Mainframe herself, on this one and only occasion, I can show you the truth. Because these guys never can be persuaded." Manton moved to the first Monk lowered it's hood to reveal a stump where the head should meet the neck, "They never can be afraid." He lowered the hood of the second Monk, "And they can never, ever be..."
He didn't get the chance to remove the hood of the third as the Doctor did so himself, surprising everyone, "Surprised! Ha, ha! Hello, everyone. Guess who. Please, point a gun at me if it helps you relax."
The Doctor didn't react as all the soldiers pulled out the weapons on him, even as the Headless Monks drew their weaponised swords, "You're only human."
~.~
"This way." Thea led Vastra and Jenny down the empty corridors, pushing a button to open the door to the control room, seeing two soldiers inside.
She wasn't following a feeling to know where the control room was, Dorium had given them all they needed to know where everything was on the base. They knew the lay out perfectly, but, still, she liked to lead. She was a natural born leader, it was in her DNA, and so was the Doctor, which worked perfectly for the pair.
"Hi!" Thea grinned as the two men scrambled for their weapons as she twirled her sword in her hand. "Hands up, boys."
"Go on, resist." Vastra hissed as she and Jenny quickly aimed their swords at the two men's throats, "I am ever so hungry."
"We're just taking over the base." Thea stepped over to the controls as Vastra and Jenny pulled the men out of their chairs and made quick work to tie them up, not wanting them to sound the alarms. Not that that would work, they had already cut off their distress signals. "Nothing to worry about." She turned and smirked at them, "you should have known what you were getting yourselves into when you joined up."
Thea hacked into the cameras, bringing up the video feed of the main room, seeing Manton pointing his gun at the Doctor.
Honestly why anyone thought it was a good idea to have an army of humans against a Time Lord she wouldn't understand. If you wanted to kill a Time Lord, use another Time Lord to do so.
"Doctor, you will come with me right now." Manton told him.
"3 minutes 40 seconds." The Doctor turned, shouting up to the room they held Amy in, "Amelia Pond! Get your coat!" He threw his hood up.
"Wrong!" Thea muttered, but pressed a button, turning off the lights a moment to give the Doctor a chance to escape.
"I'm not a phantom." The Doctor spoke over the comms as the lights came back on.
"Doctor?" Manton turned, seeing the man was no longer in his sight.
"I'm not a trick."
"Doctor?"
"I'm a monk."
"Doctor, show yourself."
"It's him!" A soldier cried, aiming his weapon at a Monk, "He's here! It's him!" The other soldiers followed, turning their weapons to the Monks.
"Weapons down! Do not fire!" Manton yelled, but one of the soldiers fired at a Monk who retaliated, firing a bolt of energy from its gun, killing the soldier, "No! Doctor! Doctor!"
"Clever, isn't he?" Jenny peered over Theas shoulder, looking at the video seeing the Doctor sneaking out through a door, still disguised as a Monk.
"So am I." Thea pouted.
"And rather attractive." Vastra added.
"Eww." She pulled a face, "can you not."
"You do realise he's a man, don't you, ma'am?" Jenny asked her.
"Mammals. They all look alike."
"Oh, thank you." Jenny rolled her eyes.
"No she's got a point." Thea had to agree a bit.
It wasn't necessarily humans and humanoid species looked alike to her it was more, she didn't really recognise faces.
On Gallifrey they didn't have to rely on appearances, what with regeneration as random as it was. They never needed to focus on appearances to know who was who. It was how she always knew the Doctor despite the different faces and he would always know her, they could sense each other from their minds. It was also possible this regeneration might be face blind. She never noticed when someone pointed out something different about someone else, even if it was really obvious.
"Do not fire!" Manton warned his men, "Nobody discharge their weapon in this room. Nobody! Do not fire!"
Vastra at least seemed to understand her words had hurt Jenny, "Was I being insensitive again, dear?" She asked her, "I don't know why you put up with me."
"You two are disgustingly sweet." Thea stuck her tongue out, "and don't even think about it." She warned the men not needing to look back to know one of them to trying for the door.
Vastra whipped around and struck one of the men with her tongue knocking him unconscious.
Thea whistled, "nice tongue work." She grinned cheekily at Jenny, "that's why you stay isn't it?"
"Oi!" Jenny flushed as Thea laughed.
"Stop. Wait." Manton called, "Listen to me. I am disarming my weapon pack." They watched on the screen as he removed the pack from his gun, "Monks, I do this in good faith. I am now unarmed. All of you, discharge your weapon packs. The Doctor is trying to make fools of us. We are soldiers of God. We are not fools. We are not fools. We are not fools. We are not fools."
"We are not fools!" The soldiers chanted, all of them lowering their weapons.
Thea snorted, pressing another button and activating the comm, if she wasn't allowed to be where the action was, she would at least be heard. "Of course not," She laughed, grinning as Manton turned as though expecting her to turn up behind him, "because only fools would discharge their weapons for an army that isn't there." She smirked as Silurians and Judoon appeared on the upper gallery, all with there own weapons, "Ooh, didn't see that coming." Both Vastra and Jenny rolled their eyes at her little joke. "What?" She huffed, she thought it was funny.
She turned back to the screen as Strax the Sontaran stepped up before Manton, his gun to the mans back.
"This base is now under our command." Strax stated.
"I have a fleet out there." Manton replied, "If Demon's Run goes down, there's an automatic distress call."
Thea flicked a switch as the Doctors voice called out over the speakers again, but this time they could see him standing on a raised platform, comm in hand, "Not if we knock out your communications array. And you've got incoming."
"Danny Boy to the Doctor." Winstons pilots came over the comm. "Danny Boy to the Doctor."
"Give 'em hell, Danny Boy!" The Doctor ordered, holding out his arms, pretending to be a plane.
A moment later a report came through, "target destroyed."
Manton hung his head in defeat, "don't slump," Strax commanded, "it's bad for your spine."
~.~
The Doctor made his way to the Control Room a few minutes later, "so what did you think of that?"
Thea turned in the chair to look at him, "you're timing is out."
"Well, that was because Strax is slow." he defended.
"Well, then next time..."
"There isn't going to be a next time."
"Next time," she continued, "send the Pilot up earlier and then boom!" She mimicked an explosion, "when you say about the communication system they get knocked out right after. More dramatic."
"Well, apart from that it was pretty good right?" He asked her, ushering her out the chair as he sat down and glanced at the cameras, checking to see where Manton and Madame Kovarian where as they were caught and brought to them.
"But it was pretty amazing!" She had to admit.
Strax arrived with Manton held at gunpoint, "All airlocks sealed. Resistance neutralised."
"Sorry, Colonel Manton. I lied. 3 minutes 42 seconds."
"Told you." Thea smirked.
They had made a bet on the time. He wanted to take over the base in 3 minutes 40 seconds, she argued it would take two seconds longer. He thought she was just being petty.
It wasn't petty if she was correct.
"Colonel Manton, you will give the order for your men to withdraw." Strax stated.
"No. Colonel Manton," the Doctor turned to him, "I want you to tell your men to run away."
"You what?" Manton frowned.
"Those words. Run away. I want you to be famous for those exact words. I want people to call you Colonel Run Away. I want children laughing outside your door, because they've found the house of Colonel Run Away." He stood and moved in front of the man, "And, when people come to you, and ask if trying to get to me through the people I love is in any way a good idea, I want you to tell them your name."
"I've always wonders what you'd be like angry." Thea remarked as she leaned back against the console, not even trying to calm him down. She didn't even think she would know how to. Her only concern about him being angry right now was how many mistakes he would make.
"That's new." The Doctor ran a hand through his hair, "I'm really not sure what's going to happen now."
He never got angry very often. Oh he knew he had a bad anger, but he tried very hard not to let it show.
"The anger of a good man is not a problem." Kovarian spoke as two Silurians led her into the room, "Good men have too many rules."
"Good men don't need rules." The Doctor countered.
"Shall we find out why he has so many." Thea grinned. "And why I'm forced to follow them."
"My lovely daughter, Thea," The Doctor introduced. He didn't know if they knew about her, he hoped not, clearly they knew about him seeing as how they had taken Amy and been able to keep track of her ganger all that time. Which did concern him a bit. But for all he knew that was all they knew about her. To them she could be just the little Time Lord he had adopted, or they could know about her abilities and see her as something dangerous.
"Adopted," Thea smirked, straightening up, moving before the woman, "those many rules aren't just for him. Hi, I'm trouble. I'm worse than him, despite his constant attempts." She leaned closer whispering in her ear, "your death, will be by my hand and mine alone." She stepped up knowing Kovarian didn't believe a word she had just said, "I have a dangerous past and I'd rather not talk about it. Do not underestimate me."
By now Rory would have found Amy and she wanted to see this little baby Pond.
Kovarian ignored her, turning to Manton, "Give the order. Give the order, Colonel Run Away."
The Doctor gave a crooked smile as he passed them, leaving the room and catching up with Thea, "what did you say to her."
"You heard me." She replied, not looking at him as she led the way to the infirmary.
"Not what you whispered in her ear. So what did you say?"
"I told her I'd kill her." She answered honestly.
"Thea," he murmured, grabbing her shoulder and forcing her to stop and look at him, "We both know you wouldn't do that."
"Do you? What you know about me is from what I have shown you, Doctor."
"We don't keep secrets from each other." He reminded her.
She looked at him, looking as though she wanted to say something before lowering her head and walking off ahead.
The Doctor sighed, rubbing his head, realising she was right, he barely new her at all. For all he knew she would willing kill Kovarian, make it look like an accident, maybe even put the blame on someone else.
It worried him a lot to know she really was turning out to be just like him.
Even worse that she was like him before they even met.
~.~
Thea bit back a squeal in delight as she opened the door to the infirmary to see Amy and Rory kissing, their baby wrapped in a blanket between them.
The Doctor was not so impressed by the sight, "Urgh. Kissing and crying. We'll be back in a bit."
"Oi, you two." Rory pulled back from his wife to look at them, "Get in here, now," they hurried over, the Doctor grinned and pointed at the baby in Rory's arms, "My daughter. What do you think?"
"Hello." The Doctor smiled down at the baby, "Hello, baby."
"Welcome to the world Melody Pond." Thea grinned, tickling the baby's stomach as she gurgled.
"Melody Williams." Rory corrected, not even bothering to ask how she knew their daughters name. She would either just give him a look that he was an idiot or shrug him off with 'I had a feeling.'
"Is a geography teacher." Amy cut him off, "Melody Pond is a superhero."
The Doctor leaned over, listening to Melody gurgle, "Well yes, I suppose she does smell nice. Never really sniffed her. Maybe I should give it a go. Amelia Pond, come here." He pulled her in for a hug.
"Doctor." Amy laughed.
"I'm sorry we were so long." He murmured, sniffing her hair to see if Melody was right about her smelling nice.
"It's okay. I knew you were coming. Both of you. My boys...and our annoying little one." She added teasingly to Thea who merely bowed, taking it as a compliment.
"It's okay," the Doctor chuckled at Melody's gurgling, "She's still all yours. And really, you should call her mummy, not big milk thing."
"Okay, what are you doing?" Amy shook her head.
"We speak Baby." Thea told them.
"No, you don't."
"We speak everything," the Doctor agreed, "don't we, Melody Pond."
"You don't speak everything." Thea countered.
"Yes, I do."
"You don't speak sign language."
"But I know it."
"No, you don't. You wouldn't be able to hold a conversation with a deaf person with sign language. Oh, thank you." Thea turned to Melody at her gurgling, "but no, unfortunately your mum is not my mum."
"What?" Amy frowned.
"She thinks I'm her sister because we both have red hair." Thea spoke to Amy as the woman laughed, "can I be her big sister? I promise I'll be really responsible and an excellent role model and that she should always listen to you even if you're wrong. Not that parents are ever wrong." She quickly added, leaning closer to Melody and whispering, "They're always right."
"No, it's not, it's cool," The Doctor defended as Melody gurgled, not liking his bowtie, "as Thea just said, I'm always right."
"Not about that." Thea quipped only to let out a noise of insult as Melody complained about her stripes, "just when I thought we were getting along."
"Do you want to hold her?" Amy asked, seeing her daughter waving her arms at them.
Her eyes widened, "I've never held a baby before."
Her family had been rather small back on Gallifrey, she had been an only child, and both of her parents had been, so no aunts or uncles with children of their own, no cousins similar to her own age. which was probably a good thing, thinking back, with how her family was, they'd probably have tried to corrupt her into wanting to work on the Council.
Maybe that was why she and River got on so well. Neither of them let anyone else judge them for who they were.
She had a bad feeling she was going to regret that.
She had a bad feeling she was going to regret that.
Thea shifted at that, recalling River's words and what she said after. She also knew that while River hadn't said anything, he was going to take her down with him.
She should say something, warn them this was all too easy. They could double check everything was going to plan that way, but she promised River.
She tried very hard not to break promises...even if it broke her.
She had a bad feeling she was going to regret that.
~.~
"That is so old." Thea said to the Doctor as he pushed an old cot through the TARDIS corridors for Melody to have a nap and give Amy a rest from holding her baby.
He had mentioned it was his family's cot. That he had taken from Gallifrey and had questioned when exactly he had taken it.
Whether the first time he left Gallifrey with his granddaughter or when he had been on the planet during the Time War.
Honestly both sounded ridiculous. If he took it with him the when he first left, then that was just weird, what if his children were planning more of their own but no longer had a cot for their child? And if it was during that war, then what an idiot, risking his life to go home just to save a cot knowing it would never be used again.
"Shut up!" The Doctor huffed, able to hear Melody crying outside, the humans and Strax not understanding her cries.
"She's tired." Thea told them as she stepped out the TARDIS into the hanger as Amy stood, bouncing Melody in her arms to try and calm her down.
She had told the Doctor to keep the TARDIS on silence, but he hadn't listened because he 'didn't want punch a hole in the space-time continum.' And left the TARDIS on loud upsetting Melody all because he kept leaving the breaks on.
Typical.
"Sorry, Melody, they're just not listening." The Doctor said to her as he carried the cot out of the TARDIS.
"What's this?" Amy asked, eying the cot.
"Very pretty, according to your daughter." The Doctor translated Melody's squeals.
"It's a...it's a cot." Rory noted.
"No flies on the Roman. Give her here."
"Hey, there we go." Amy handed her over as the Doctor carefully landed her down in the cot.
"But where would you get a cot?" Rory asked.
"It's old." Amy observed, "Really old."
"No, it's real." The Doctor ran a hand through his hair, frowning at Melody, "It's my hair."
"Who slept in here?" Amy turned to Thea for an answer.
"Why are you asking me?" She demanded.
"Doctor," Vastra voice spoke over the speakers, "we need you and Thea in the main control room."
"Be right there!" The Doctor responded, "Things to do. I've still got to work out what this base is for. We can't leave till we know."
"But this is where I was?" Amy called as they turned to leave, "The whole time I thought I was on the TARDIS, I was really here?"
"Er, Centurian," the Doctor looked over at Rory, "permission to hug?"
"Be aware, I do have a sword." Rory warned.
"Me too!" Thea cheered, drawing her sword, "I want to fight you later."
"No."
"Aww, why not?"
"You'd win."
"Ha! I know!" She twirled the sword in her hand, "who knew I'd be so good with a sword."
The Doctor pulled Amy into a tight hug, "you were on the TARDIS too. Your heart, your mind, your soul. But physically, yes, you were still in this place."
"And when I saw that face looking through the hatch," Amy frowned, "that woman looking at me."
"Reality bleeding through. They must have taken you quite a while back. Just before America."
"That's probably enough hugging now." Rory cur in and the Doctor pulled back, "So her Flesh avatar was with us all that time. But that means they were projecting a control signal right into the TARDIS wherever we were in time and space."
"Yeah, they're very clever."
"Who are?" Amy shook her head.
"Whoever wants our baby." Rory answered.
"But why do they want her?"
"Which is what we need to find out." Thea nodded.
She wanted to leave, badly, every bone in her body was practically screaming for them to leave but she knew Amy and Rory wouldn't go if they didn't and they needed to stay to find out why they wanted Melody.
They went though so much effort for a human baby? Just because they're the Doctors companion, no, it was more to it than that. Every passing moment she wanted to leave but knew that would be breaking River's promise.
Whatever happened here on Demon's Run, it wouldn't be good.
"Is there anything you're not telling us?" Rory asked, "You knew Amy wasn't real. You never said."
"Well, we couldn't be sure they weren't listening." The Doctor remarked.
"But you always hold out on us. Please, not this time." Amy pleaded, "it's our baby. Tell us something. One little thing."
"It's mine." The Doctor explained.
"What?" Rory blinked.
"The cot. I slept in there."
"Oh, my God." Amy smiled, "It's the Doctors first stars."
The Doctor tugged Thea off, they still had work to do.
~.~
The two Time Lords entered the communication room where Dorium and Vastra had gathered, a series of charts and data on the screens.
"You've hacked into their software, then?" The Doctor asked, moving for a closer look.
"I believe I sold it to them." Dorium remarked.
"Don't care." Thea leaned over the back of his chair, her chin resting on his bald head.
"So what have we learned?" The Doctor clapped his hands.
"That anger is always the shortest distance to a mistake." Vastra spoke making the Doctor turn to her in surprise.
"I'm sorry?"
"The words of an old friend who once found me in the London Underground, attempting to avenge my sisters on perfectly innocent tunnel diggers."
"Well, you were very cross at the time."
"As you were today, old friend. Point taken, I hope."
"Yeah, yeah," Thea waved a hand in Vastra direction, "anger bad, never get angry, blah, blah, blah. Why Melody? Why go through all this trouble for a human baby?"
"Because she isn't human." Vastra spoke.
"Sorry, what?" The Doctor startled, "Of course she is. Completely human. What are you talking about?"
Dorium brought up the scans of Melody's DNA, "They've been scanning her since she was born, and I think they found what they were looking for."
"Human DNA." The Doctor frowned, eying the strand.
"Human plus Time Lord," Thea gasped, eyes wide at the sight.
"But she's human." the Doctor argued, shaking his head, unable to comprehend the data before them, "She's Amy and Rory's daughter."
"And Time Lords were Gallifreyans who became what we are now through prolonged explosion to the Time Vortex." Thea pointed out, "The Untempered Schism..."
"Over billions of years," the Doctor argued, "It didn't just happen."
"Well maybe if contraception happens in the Time Vortex it speeds it up." Thea reasoned.
"So how close is she?" Vastra wondered, "could she even regenerate?"
"No!" She scoffed, "of course not!"
When a Time Lord was born they only had a small amount of regenerations in them, just enough to heal wounds but not enough to fully regenerate and change completed. They were giving the 13 full cycles after graduation, unless of course the council lied about that, which was a possibility.
"Well, I mean..." She trailed, unsure.
"Which leads me to ask when did this happen?" Vastra inquired.
"Well, how would I know?" the Doctor huffed, "That's all human-y, private stuff. It just sort of goes on. They don't put up a balloon, or anything."
"But as Thea said, could the child have begun on the TARDIS in flight, in the vortex."
"No! No! Impossible! It's all running about, sexy fish vampires and blowing up stuff. And Rory wasn't even there at the beginning." he paced as he thought over the time the couple would have been alone in the TARDIS, "Then he was dead, then he didn't exist, then he was plastic. Then I had to reboot the whole universe. Long story. So, technically the first time they were on the TARDIS together in this version of reality, was on their..."
"On their what?" Vastra eyes narrowed as he trailed off.
"Their wedding night." Thea breathed.
"It doesn't make sense." The Doctor shook his head, "You can't just cook yourself a Time Lord."
"Well, clearly we gave them a head start." Thea muttered.
"And they've been working very hard ever since." Vastra agreed.
"And yet they gave in so easily," Dorium remarked, "Does this not that bother anyone else?"
"We're just that good," Thea brushed him off.
"Amy." The Doctor sighed, "She worried the baby would have a time head. She said that..."
"Only you would ignore the instincts of a mother." Vastra chastised.
"Or the instincts of a coward." Dorium countered, "This is too easy. There's something wrong."
"Then go and investigate." Thea rolled her eyes, "Vastra go with him."
Vastra nodded, turning and leaving the room with Dorium, knowing Thea had said that to give the Time Lords more space to think.
"Why even do it?" The Doctor muttered, "Even if you could get your hands on a brand new Time Lord, what for?"
"Well, let's be honest, Time Lords don't exactly have the best reputation." She replied, moving to take Doriums now empty seat, slumping back, "And this is a military operation so...maybe they're looking for a weapon."
"Why would a Time Lord be a weapon?" He shook his head, even more confused.
"Well they've seen you." Thea said, before jumping up, eyes wide at her own words, turning to him to see him so distraught she had spoken about him like that, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean...it just...slipped out."
"Me." He breathed, feeling as though he been punched in the gut. His own daughter thinking other needed a weapon against him.
"I didn't, I just..." Thea blinked, recalling their time in America, the girl in the suit, so strong she had forced her way out, but River said the scan had been human. No one else had seen the scan, none of them would have seen the human DNA River was looking at, seeing the other strands intertwined.
Oh by the stars...
"I see you accessed our files." A voice spoke as they looked over to see Kovarian appearing on the screen before them, "Do you understand yet? Oh, don't worry, I'm a long way away. But I like to keep tabs on you. The child, then. What do you think?"
"What is she?" He asked.
"Hope. Hope in this endless, bitter war."
"What war? Against who?"
Kovarian smirked, "Against you, Doctor."
"A child is not a weapon!" the Doctor snapped at her.
"Oh, give us time. She can be. She will be."
"Except you've already lost her, and I swear I will never let you anywhere near her again."
"Oh, Doctor. Fooling you once was a joy, but fooling you twice the same way? It's a privilege."
Thea blinked, they's already been fooled once by Amy being a ganger which could only mean Melody was as well.
Oh Amy.
"Amy!" The Doctor cried, running out the room, not noticing Thea had yet to move.
"It won't work." Thea stated.
"We've already won." Kovarian chuckled.
"What do you know about me?" Thea eyed her. "You know he adopted me, what else." Kovarian was silent, giving her the answer. She knew nothing about her. Probably didn't even know she existed until to day. She sat back in the chair, knowing it was too late to go and warn Amy her daughter was able to melt into a puddle of flesh. "Do you know why I'm still alive? I wasn't on Gallifrey during the war, I left way before that. Do you want to know why?" She leaned closer, Kovarian may not show she cared but she knew the woman was intrigued, "I left because I decided I was above Time Lord society. They would have never given me what I wanted so left to get it myself. I am better than all of them, and I'm willing to make you a deal. Bring Melody back, and I'll kill the Doctor for you." She looked at the woman hoping she could see how serious she was, "he'll be dead by the end of the day, but only when you return Melody."
Kovarian smirked, chuckling, not believing a word she said as she switched of the video without a word and Theaa sagged in the chair.
~.~
Thea walked into the main hanger where a battle had clearly taken place, to see Jenny sat beside Amy, the woman sobbing in Rorys arms.
The Doctor was off to the side, speaking to a young female soldier in her last moments.
"Amy." She murmured, slowly heading over to the woman, "I'm sorry, I...it's my fault."
Amy choked back a sob, shaking her head as she wrapped her arms around the girl, "it's not." She wept, "you did what you could. Everyone did."
"I'll find her." Thea swore, "I'll find Melody. I promise, you'll see her again." The sooner than you think remained silent on her tongue.
There was a crackle of energy and the Doctor stormed over from the fallen soldier, not happy that River Song had turned up the moment they had lost.
"Well, then soldiers," River greeted, "how goes the day?"
"Dad." Thea began, seeing the anger in his eyes at River's late arrival. He still had yet to work it all out, but she wouldn't leave Amy. The woman was using her as support to stand up.
"Where the hell have you been? Every time you've asked, I have been there. Where the hell were you today?" the Doctor demanded.
"I couldn't have prevented this."
"You could have tried!"
"And so, my love, could you." She replied, turning to Amy as Thea handed her back to her husband, "I know you're not all right. But hold tight, Amy, because you're going to be."
"You think I wanted this?" The Doctor shouted, "I didn't do this. This, this wasn't me!"
"This was exactly you. All this. All of it. You make them so afraid. When you began, all those years ago, sailing off to see the universe, did you ever think you'd become this? The man who can turn an army around at the mention of his name. Doctor. The word for healer and wise man throughout the universe. We get that word from you, you know. But if you carry on the way you are, what might that word come to mean? To the people of the Gamma Forests, the word Doctor means mighty warrior. How far you've come. And now they've taken a child, the child of your best friends, and they're going to turn her into a weapon just to bring you down. And all this, my love, in fear of you. Your own daughter." River gestured to her, "making deals behind your own back, willing to take the place of an innocent child."
"I don't know what you're talking about." Thea lied.
"She wants her name known to the universe, and one day it will be, because she will be a force to be reckoned with."
"Who are you?" The Doctor demanded, seeing Thea silent at that.
River ignored him moving to the empty cot, "Oh look, your cot. Haven't seen that in a very long while."
"No, no, you tell me. Tell me who you are."
"What's the ONE reason why she couldn't have been here when Melody was." Thea said as she made her way over.
River Song.
Pond Melody.
Pretty simple and very clever.
"I am telling you." River smiled, pressing the prayer leaf Amy had been giving into his hand, "Can't you read?"
The Doctor frowned, seeing River written on one side, for there was no Pond in the Gamma Forest and Song written on the other.
"Hello." He breathed.
"Hello." River laughed.
"But...but...that means..." he glanced between River and Thea.
"I'm afraid it does."
Thea glanced back at Amy and Rory before checking River up a down, "I do kind of see it actually."
The Doctor straightened his bowtie, "How do I look?"
"Amazing." River laughed. "Both of you."
"I'd better be." The Doctor agreed.
"I always look good." Thea stuck up her nose.
"Vastra and Jenny," the Doctor spun pointing at them, "till the next time. Rory and Amy, I know where to find your daughter, and on my life, she will be safe. River, get them all home." He turned to the TARDIS, pulling out the sonic to drop the forcefield that was surrounding it.
"Doctor!" Rory called.
"No!" Amy shouted as Thea followed him to the box, "Where are you going?"
The Doctor ignored them both, stepping into the box. Thea followed but not before blowing a kiss and sending a wink in Rivers direction.
Thea moved to the monitor as they dematerialised there was no way she was going to miss River tell Amy she was her daughter.
"What did River mean when she said you made a deal?" The Doctor asked her.
"Not important." Thea waved him off.
"Theandreas…"
"Do not call me that!"
The Doctor took a breath, refusing to raise his voice to match hers and start an arguement, "Thea. Please..."
"I had to try something." She murmured, fiddling with random controls on the console, refusing to look at him as she wandered around the console, "I knew she wouldnt make the deal. Too much of a risk for her to take. No one wants the little princess, unknown and unwanted. I just wanted to help."
"You are not unwanted, Thea." The Doctor, who hadnt moved as she talked, followed her around the console, taking her hands in his own as he looked at her. "I want you around. I need you around. Promise me you want do something like that again." She avoided his gaze. "promise me!"
She slowly nodded, looking up to meet his gaze, seeing the desparation in his eyes, "i promise, dad." She whispered, wrapping her arms around him tightly, closing her eyes as he instantly hugged her back.