Midnight ⋆ Doctor Who²

31. The Fall

NOW THAT DEMON'S RUN ENTIRE ARMY LEFT, IT'S TIME TO GET EVERYONE BACK HOME. Which would be easier if Melody stopped crying. Amy carries her out of the TARDIS, Aurora right behind her.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Rory asks, walking to them.

"She doesn't like the TARDIS noise," Amy explains. "I asked him to turn something off, but it was all, 'but I don't want to punch a hole in the space-time continuum.' Shush."

Aurora snorts. "The audacity." She looks down at her white clothes and sighs. "God I need to change." She misses the color red.

Rory gets closer to her, tugging at her sleeve a little. "Rora, there's something I should tell you."

She frowns at him, and at his worried tone. She doesn't like this at all. "What is it?"

"Rory!" Jenny calls, coming with Strax, cutting him off before he answers. "The Judoon have escorted the Clerics out of the quadrant. Spitfires have returned to their own time. Captain Avery and his men are going." She looks at Melody. "Is she all right?"

"Yes, she's just crying," Amy tells her.

"Give her to me, human fool," Strax cries out. "She needs changing."

Amy gives him a stern look. "I just changed her. I think she might need a feed."

"A feed, of course," he agrees. "I'll take care of everything."

Rory places himself in front of Amy. "Er, I really don't think you will, actually."

"I have gene-spliced myself for all nursing duties," Strax insists. "I can produce magnificent quantities of lactic fluid." He hits his chest in emphasis.

Aurora stares blankly ahead of her. "How do I erase this from my mind?"

The Doctor comes out of the TARDIS with a wooden cot that has an orrery dangling over it, distracting her. "She's not hungry, she's tired," he tells them. "Sorry, Melody, they're just not listening."

Aurora rolls her eyes, but smiles. They get closer to the cot. "What's this?" Amy coos. "Melody?"

Melody stops crying and starts to babble happily, making everyone laugh. "Very pretty, according to your daughter," the Doctor says, setting it down.

"It's a... it's a cot," Rory frowns.

The Doctor blinks. "No flies on the Roman." He extends his arms in Amy's direction. "Give her here."

Amy hands him Melody. "Hey, there we go."

He keeps her in his arms a bit, grinning. Aurora smiles at Melody, giving her her index. She likes to take it. "Where were you hiding this?" she asks.

"It's old," Amy adds. "Really old." She looks at him, confused. "Doctor, er, do you have children?"

The Doctor looks back at Aurora, sadness swirling in his eyes. He slowly puts Melody in the cot, careful because she doesn't want to let go of Aurora's finger. "No."

"Have you ever had children?"

He doesn't answer. Aurora looks at him, and can't help but picture them, in the future, with a child. The Doctor putting the baby to bed, Aurora helping them learn how to read, fixing the TARDIS... Aurora always wanted children.

Melody coos, and he frowns. "No, it's real." He taps her nose and pinches her cheeks. "It's her freckles. Yes I like it too."

"Who slept in here?" Amy presses, before Aurora starts to stutter incoherently.

"Doctor, we need you in the main control room," Vastra asks on comm.

"Be right there!" He turns to the others. "Things to do. I've still got to work out what this base is for. We can't leave till we know."