A/N: For Melody (River), this story takes place shortly after 6x2, Day of the Moon, and many years before 6x8, Let's Kill Hitler.

For the Doctor, it takes place a few years after 6x7, A Good Man Goes to War, and a few days before 6x8, Let's Kill Hitler.

Gotta love Doctor Who timelines.

This story is projected to be about 3 chapters.

Chapter 1 - Regeneration

She was lying crumpled on the sidewalk when he found her.

Until he arrived, no one gave a second look to the little girl. People passed by, and a few even glanced down at her, but no one stopped. It never ceased to amaze the Doctor how he could search all of time and space for someone, and when he found them, no one else seemed to recognize their significance.

He crouched down next to the little girl, scanning her over with the sonic screwdriver to confirm. Yes, it was her.

"Melody?" He placed a hand on her shoulder, shaking gently, then a little more firmly. "Melody?"

She looked nothing like she had when they'd seen her in the astronaut suit in America. She was younger, for one thing, and her hair was shorter and frizzier, and her skin was darker. She was also completely still, and her skin was cold.

He checked his sonic screwdriver readings again. She was definitely alive. He leaned down right next to her ear. "Melody."

"Mmm." Her face tightened into a wince, and one eye opened a crack.

"I know it hurts. But you'll feel better in a moment." He remembered that first regeneration. He'd had friends watching, so he'd held in the pain, barely reacting to the most excruciating agony he had ever felt up to that point in his life. And hers would have been even worse, in part because of her age and in part because of her origins. Her genetic formulation hadn't been stable, and he was surprised she'd been able to regenerate at all, but he was thankful she had. Locking onto the signals of her regeneration energy had been the easiest way to locate her. "Can you sit up for me?"

She rolled over onto her side and braced a tiny hand against the ground, pushing herself into a sitting position. Her eyes fluttered open and focused on his face. "You're the Doctor."

He swallowed. "You're not going to try to kill me, are you?"

"No. It's not time yet."

If not for all the strange things the Doctor had seen in his hundreds of years of travel, hearing those words from the mouth of a toddler would have been very odd. He decided to let it go. "Your parents will be very happy to see you."

If those words meant anything to her, she didn't show it. Her eyes closed halfway again, and she swayed. He caught her before she could fall back onto the concrete, but her head rolled back, and she winced.

"Alright, hang on, Melody." He scooped her up in his arms so her knees draped over his left arm and the back of her shoulders was supported by his right. "We're going to get you to a safe place."

He walked through the crowded streets with the child in his arms. He was aware that he stood out even more than usual, but that was just as well, because he cared even less than usual.

It would be better if she stayed conscious. If she fell asleep, it might be days before she woke up again. Not that that was necessarily a terrible thing—from Amy's perspective, he'd arrive at the same time either way—but he was anxious to get her home. The last time he'd seen Amy, she had been crying over the loss of her child, and she had flinched away when the Doctor tried to hug her. The pain of that moment had lingered for a long time afterward, especially when River had followed it up with the scolding of a lifetime.

He was making it up to them now. And while he deserved to have to wait as long as it took, he'd been searching for years. He didn't want to wait a few more days if he could avoid it.

"Stay with me, Melody," he whispered as they walked. "How old were you when you died?"

"In Earth years?"

Of course, she'd have to convert her age like he was always having to convert his. She'd been raised on a space station, at least in part. "Yes."

"Eight and a half." She turned her head so her face rested on his shoulder.

"How did you die?"

"I don't know. I ran away from the training compound, and I got really cold. I think I was sick."

It didn't really matter how she had died, as long as it had been from relatively mundane causes that wouldn't cause any complications with the regeneration. If the death had been extremely painful, it might cause trauma for someone as young as she was, though. "You're very brave, Melody."

Her eyes closed, and she sighed, pressing her cheek into the fabric of his jacket.

He smiled a little. It all still felt so foreign to him—the thought that Amy and Rory's daughter, and his future wife, and River Song, and this helpless little girl, were all one and the same. And yet somehow, it felt like the most natural thing in the world.

They finally reached the blue police box, and he snapped his fingers, trusting the TARDIS to know what to do.

"Here we are," he said softly as he stepped inside. "Do you think you can sit up on your own?"

She nodded, and he set her down on a step in the corner of the control room before he proceeded to the console. He watched her for a few seconds before he turned away, though, in part to make sure she could sit up without falling or passing out, and in part to see the look on her face. Hearing a companion's first remarks about the TARDIS was always exciting, even though he was pretty sure he had heard and seen every possible reaction.

He waited with bated breath for her to say it—It's bigger on the inside.

"It's exactly the way they described it," she whispered.

Those were words he'd never heard, but when he examined her face, the awe in her wide brown eyes was as magnificent as it was for any companion he had ever had.

He smiled, and they took off.

A/N: Your thoughts are much appreciated!