I'm a naughty author... I haven't updated in weeks! I'm so terribly sorry to you all! D:

The problem is, I've come down with a serious case of writer's block concerning the next installment of the Degeneration series. I have the first two chapters done, but now I'm stuck. So, if any of you can or want to help in anyway, I'd GLADLY take you as a beta (which I've never used before and am scared to start) or at the very least a friendly consultant.

And to earn the forgiveness of my lovely readers, I'll try and put out another one-shot soon! How do you all feel about a crossover? :3

Anyway, enjoy Lovelies! :D

Amelia Pond loved looking at the stars. It was something she had always enjoyed, ever since she was a little girl, and the Raggedy Man had fallen out of the sky in his Magic Box. Now that she was grown, she found the back patio of her new home to be a sort of sanctuary, especially at night. She would gaze up at the dark sky, and be reminded of all the incredible adventures she'd been on and all the amazing places she'd seen. It was on these warm summer nights with a cup of tea in hand that she reminisced on her life and all she had experienced. She was young yet, she knew, but she felt like she had lived far too long. She supposed that was what happened when one traveled with the Doctor. They felt older than they really were; knew more than they should.

And that was fine with her, now that she thought about it. She wouldn't have traded traveling with the Doctor for anything in the universe…

Well, that was a lie. She still regretted not being able to raise he daughter properly, but she had made her peace with it. Melody was fine, she was fine, and Rory was fine. Sure, they may not be a conventional family, but they were happy.

Amy was roughly torn from her thoughts by the wind picking up… only there had been no wind to begin with. That's when she heard the vroop vroop of the Doctor's Blue Box, and a huge grin broke out on her face.

"Rory!" She called to her husband excitedly. "He's back!"

Rory rushed out of the house just as the TARDIS materialized in the middle of their back garden. The couple beamed at each other; Amy ecstatic to see her best friend again and Rory pleased to see Amy so happy.

The door to the box opened, and out stepped, to their mild surprise, their daughter. This was quickly shaken off, however, as the two dashed over to greet the blonde woman.

"River! It's so good to see you!" Amy exclaimed at she clung to the other woman tightly. River hugged her mother back just as tightly.

"It's lovely to see you, too, Mum!" She laughed as the redhead rock her back and forth in sort of hugging dance. She gently extracted herself from the embrace and turned to her father. "Hello Dad." Rory smiled and collected her in a hug.

"Hello Melody." He said into her hair. He pulled away after a moment, giving an awkward little half-smile that was oh so Roryish.

"Where's the Doctor?" Amy asked eagerly. At this River suddenly stepped back, her expression becoming grim.

"About that," she began. "He's… not how you remember him."

"What do you mean by that?" Rory questioned in confusion.

"It means he's… changed." A look of shock grew on both the Ponds' faces.

"You mean like you did in Berlin? When you… what did he call it… regenerated?" Inquired her father.

"Well, not exactly…"

"Oi! Stop bein' so cryptic about it and just spit it out already!" Amy demanded, exasperated.

"I'm trying!" River nearly shouted. She took a deep breath to calm herself, and continued.

"You both must understand that the Doctor is not in his first body. A Time Lord gets thirteen lives and he's on his eleventh. That's not to say that he'll be dying anytime soon, you just have to know that in order to properly comprehend-"

"The Time Lord is strong in this one!" The other woman cut her off using her best Yoda voice. River had the decency to look sheepish for her rambling before she went on.

"Yes. Right. As I was saying, he's regenerated before, and so he's had other bodies, just like I have. For some reason he's… degenerated. If that's even the proper word for it. He's changed just like he would had he actually gone through a regeneration – new body, new tastes, new personality – only… they're not new, per say. They're that of one of his former incarnations; his last one, his tenth."

The Ponds stood stock-still for a few moments, trying to take in all that had been said to them, before Amy finally broke the silence.

"So what you're sayin' is that we have to get to know him all over again?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

"And there's no way to fix him?" Rory asked, still looking mildly befuddled.

"We don't know. We have no clue how it happened, let alone if there's a cure. And that's only if it's an illness of some kind."

Amy, starting to understand, nodded.

"So you came here to tell us that next time we see him, he'll be different."

"No, we came here so you could see him." With that final comment, River walked back towards the TARDIS, and called into the consul room.

"Come on out, Sweetie! They don't bite!" Here she looked back at Amy with a bit of a smirk. "Well, Mum does, but only when provoked!" Amy gave her a look between indignant and amused.

"That's it, you're grounded, young lady!"

"And what do you call Stormcage?"

"Ineffective." Said a new voice, startling Amy out of her teasing competition with River. Standing in the TARDIS doorway was a tall, skinny man with messy brown hair dressed in a pinstripe suit and tattered old trainers.

"'Ello, I'm the Doctor. Version 10.0."

All the Ponds could do was stare wide-eyed at this man who claimed to be their best friend. He looked completely different! He even sounded different! They had experienced regeneration before but it was still hard to believe. When Mels had gone through the change, it was slightly better (better being a term used very loosely). They had known River and knew what to expect from her. But the Doctor, this Doctor, was all new to them. He may have already had experience with this body but they didn't have a clue where to start.

So they stared some more.

The Doctor's eyebrows ('Oh my God he does have them!' Amy thought in shock) drew together in a frown.

"Oi, its not that bad is it? I happen to think this me was rather dashing, if I do say so myself." He declared, the frown disappearing to be replaced with a self-satisfied smirk.

Amy and Rory exchanged a glance.

"It's him." They said simultaneously.

Amy broke out in a huge grin and ran up to the new/old Doctor, practically bowling him over in a tackle-hug. He laughed jubilantly as he swung the young woman in his arms in a circle.

"It's good to see you too! I take it you're okay with this then?" Amy pulled back slightly to look up at him. He looked older now, but his eyes still held the same kindness and age that she had always been able to see in her Doctor's eyes.

"Yeah, I'm okay with it." She replied beaming.

"Brilliant! Molto bene! How 'bout you, Rory? Do I get Mr. Pond's approval?" He queried, brown orbs taking the puppy-dog eyes to a whole new level. Rory shuffled awkwardly for a moment before finding his.

"Uh, yeah… you look… cool?"

"Don't sound sure about that. Which is completely understandable. After all, it's not everyday that you find out your friend has changed his face, voice, personality, everything, and just came up to you and said "'Ello, look at me, I'm the same guy!" More than a bit weird, I imagine. 'Cept for me of course, since I'm used to it. I remember, one time back on Gallifrey -"

"DOCTOR!" Three voices chorused at him. The Doctor abruptly stopped his rambling in favor of rebutting with a, "WHAT?" in the exact same tone they had taken with him. Amy raised an eyebrow at his admittedly unexpected reply.

"Oo, a bit cheeky now, are we?" The Doctor rubbed the back of his head and shrugged.

"Was a bit rude in this regeneration. Rude and not ginger. Anyway!" At this he dashed back into the TARDIS. The Ponds stared after him in confusion, even River. He popped his head back out again.

"What? I thought you said we should keep doing what we always do!" He said, addressing River. The woman looked at him curiously.

"They're coming with us?"

"'Course they are, why wouldn't they be? Need you lot to keep me out of trouble! And, I admit, this me does seem to attract trouble like no other." And back in the Blue Box he went.

The family of three trailed after him, quickly making their way to the main consul. They found the Doctor already bored, fidgeting with some bits and bobs on the control panel. Amy leaned back on the pillar behind him, smirking.

"More trouble than you attracted as the you we know?"

The Doctor ran around, pulling levers and pressing buttons, and then hitting a certain part of the consul with a sledgehammer.

"If you call werewolves, witches, Sontarans, Cybermen, the Master, and the fires of Pompeii "more trouble", then yes. Oh! And the Devil! Can't forget him!"

The horrified shrieks of "ARE YOU BLOODY SERIOUS?" were drowned out by the sound of the TARDIS being sent into the Time Vortex.

GAAAAAHHHHH!

I didn't like all too much... Ten seems so OOC to me, and River even more so. I think I did okay with Amy and Rory though. Amy and Rory are cool.

So, that's the end of this installment of the Degeneration series! Though I can't say it's a relief, because as I said, I'm having issues with the next story. Any help is greatly appreciated, from critique on characterization to ideas for the future, I need it!

Thanks for reading and have Fantastic day! :D