Estuary (Morning)

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Title: Estuary
Author: sarah531
Rating: PG13
Warnings: Mentions of domestic abuse
Characters: Melody, Amy, Rory, Tabitha, Augustus, Jack, a couple of OCs
A/N: Last minute title change- the original was The Family Gathering. I can’t decide which one I like the best. Also Livejournal wouldn’t let me post the whole thing, which is what I wanted, so here it is in parts.
Summary: Melody Pond grows up alongside her parents.

Morning

Leadworth, spring, 1996

“Poor little girl,” Mary Angelo told Tabitha Pond in the butcher’s. “When she turned up, all she knew was her Christian name. Couldn’t give a surname. Couldn’t give an address…”

“Have the police had any luck?” Tabitha asked.

“None. Well, we all can tell she was abandoned. Heartless beasts for parents. Poor little mite…”

Tabitha nodded in empathy.

“Couldn’t even give her age. We think she’s about five.”

“And how’s she…doing?” Tabitha asked. “Does she miss her parents?”

“Hard to tell. I think she could use some company her own age. It’s mostly babies and teens up there. Why don’t you bring little Amelia down?”

“I will.” Tabitha said. “God knows she could use a friend who isn’t imaginary.”

“In that stage, is she?”

“She calls him the Raggedy Doctor. It’s Doctor this and Doctor that. She draws him. Quite well, actually. Maybe I should start saving for art college.”

“She’s a talented one, make no mistake.”

“She’s a right handful at the moment.”

*

Amelia had spread her painting set out on Tabitha’s desk, and orange paint had splattered on the floor. Tabitha was about to tell her off when she noticed another child in the room: little Rory, sitting on the chair in the corner.

“Hello, kids. Amelia, I’ve told you before about your paints. Rory, do your parents know you’re here?”

The boy shook his head. Then nodded it. “I told them I was gonna help Amelia with her art.”

“I don’t need help,” Amelia said. “Mum, he’s just sitting there.”

“Are you okay, Rory?” Tabitha asked gently.

“Mum and Dad don’t care where I am,” Rory said glumly, and Amelia turned to look at him, curious. “Dad says I’m gonna have a new mum. He says I deserve a new mum.” He looked so downcast at this that Tabitha actually went to hug him, as if he was her own child.

A look of worry crossed Amelia’s face. “Mum. Rory’s a boy, boys don’t need hugs.”

“They do,” said Tabitha, as Amelia bit her lip. “Rory, it’s okay. Just because they’re, um, splitting up-”

“Are Rory’s parents going to leave him?” Amelia demanded.

“No,” said both the others at once. Rory sniffed loudly and pulled a tissue from his pocket, but Amelia either didn’t notice or pretended not to. “Well,” she said. “you can always live here. That’d be good, actually. You can meet the Doctor, when he comes.”

“Rory,” Tabitha said, ignoring all mention of the Doctor, “your parents still love you, you know.”

Rory just nodded. Tabitha went to the desk and began clearing up the mess. “I have a favour to ask you two.”

“What?” Amelia asked.

“There’s a little girl just been taken into care up here. Her name is Melody. She doesn’t have any friends yet, and she’s lonely. I was hoping you two might come with me up to the children’s home and meet her.”

Amelia and Rory shared a look. “Yeah,” Rory said, brightening up, “that sounds fun.”

“Can I bring some toys?” Amelia asked. “She can’t keep them,” she added, “but she might like to play with them.”

“Course you can. Rory, I’m just going to call your parents.” Tabitha left the room, and Amelia and Rory remained. Amelia retrieved a tiny red car from under the desk.

“You always used to say you didn’t want any more friends,” Rory said.

“Meeting new people is always good,” Amelia said. “The Doctor taught me that.”

*

The Pond family car pulled up outside the children’s home. The house was painted blue on the outside. It had a sizeable front garden and a swing, and on the swing was a girl-

“Is that her?” Rory asked.

“Yes,” Tabitha said. “That’s her.”

Both children stared out at her. Amelia found herself placing her hand on the car window, quite unaware she was doing so. “She looks nice,” she finally said.

“And she probably is,” Tabitha said, letting the children out of the car. “I’m going to sign in at the front desk. You two go and talk to her.”

She locked the car again and walked down the driveway, and Amelia and Rory stood looking at the small girl on the swing. Amelia took the initiave and walked forward. Melody saw them, gave a little jump-

“Hi!” Amelia called.

Melody stared at them as if she had never seen a human being before, and slowly came down from the swing. She moved towards them, taking each step as if afraid it would be her last, and said-

“Hello.”

The three of them looked at each other. Amelia broke the silence. “I’m Amelia Jessica Pond. This is Rory Williams.”

“Rory Cecil Williams,” Rory said.

Melody swallowed. “Are you-” Something seemed to break inside her. “Can you be my mum and dad?”

Amelia and Rory stared at her. Rory said, “Um,” but then another voice broke through.

“Sweetie, I don’t know about that.” Tabitha was back. “But they’ll be your friends. Won’t they, Amelia, Rory?” She looked down at the three of them, compassion in her eyes. “Amelia even brought you some toys.”

“Yes,” said Amelia. She held out a carrier bag. “You can keep them. If you like.”

*

The three of them moved to the living room while Tabitha had a cup of tea with Mrs Angelo.

“I like this one,” Tabitha said, picking up a doll.

“That’s Mel B from the Spice Girls,” Amelia said proudly. “But I don’t like dolls anymore. Now I like boy’s toys. I want an Action Man.”

“Yes,” Tabitha called from the other room, “we have spent quite a lot of money on Barbie dolls, only for you to decide you don’t like them, Amelia…”

“But all you can do with them is play with their hair,” Amelia said, “and I have hair already.”

“You can have one of my Action Men,” Rory said.

Melody looked at the two of them approvingly. “We should make up stories with them,” she said, gesturing to the dolls. “People do that, don’t they? Some of the girls here do. But they’re old, like, twelve. I think it’s silly, when you’re old.”

“I know. You can’t play with dolls when you’re old,” Amelia said sagely. “But we can. And I suppose Rory can too, even though he’s a boy.”

Tabitha and Mrs Angelo went upstairs to check on the babies, and Amelia turned a little red-haired Barbie around in her hand. “I know a story,” she said. “About a man called the Doctor.”

“Who’s the Doctor?” Melody asked.

“A really amazing man,” Amelia said. “He’s going to come back for me one day and take me off in his spaceship. Which is actually a box.” Melody listened, wide-eyed. “Rory can come too, if he wants.”

“What about your parents?” Melody asked.

Amelia considered this. “I dunno. I guess they’d have to come too. I don’t really want them to, though. I mean, I’d be okay. The Doctor’s an adult.”

“There are good adults and bad adults,” said Melody.

“The Doctor is a good one.”

“Don’t leave your parents,” Melody said, but only Rory heard it, because Tabitha was calling Amelia upstairs to help. Amelia scowled. “Back in a minute,” she said. She considered things for a second. “A bloody minute,” she said, and fled upstairs giggling. Melody giggled too. It was the first time she’d laughed.

“She doesn’t usually swear,” Rory said. “My dad told me she just does it for attention…but everyone does everything for attention…”

Melody smiled.

“I met you before, didn’t I?” Rory said. “My dad was there. Who was that bloke you were with?”

“One of the social workers.”

“My dad…he scared you, didn’t he? Sorry about him.” He looked down at the ground. “My parents are…getting divorced.”

“That’s bad, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.”

Melody pushed a toy car towards him. It bonked against his knee.

“Sorry…” Rory said nervously, as Amelia ran downstairs. “I shouldn’t be complaining about my parents when you don’t have any.”

“I do have some,” Melody said. “They just can’t raise me. But I have them.”

*

After an hour of playing with cars and dolls, Tabitha drove Amelia and Rory home. They were surprisingly quiet in the back seat.

“I didn’t finish telling her about the Doctor,” Amelia said. “She was interested.”

“Amelia,” said Tabitha, “you do know he’s not real.”

“He is real,” Amelia said, and Tabitha just sighed.

“Melody will be going to the same school as you two,” she told the kids. “That’ll be good, won’t it? Maybe that will take your mind off the Doctor.”

*

A gaggle of girls stood around in the playground, while Amelia and Melody sat on the bench.

“That’s Kate Hayler. She’s really horrible.” Amelia said, pointing out a blonde girl with bright pink nails. “She’s mean to Rory because he lives on the farm. She says he stinks of cow poo. We gotta look after him when she’s around.”

Melody nodded.

“Those others are her Hangers On. That’s what Mum calls them.”

Melody watched them. Kate tossed her beautiful blonde hair back and glanced over at the girls on the bench. She cast her eye over them for a little too long, and then turned to her friends with a smirk on her face.

“Yeah,” Amelia said. “She’ll pick on you cos you’re new. Don’t worry, I’ll protect you.”

“Don’t they ever pick on you?”

“She stole my pencilcase once,” Amelia said. “So I punched her in the face.”

Melody giggled.

“When Rory gets here we can play The Doctor.” Amelia said, changing the subject.

“Is Rory always The Doctor?”

“Yeah. He has to be. Cos we’re his companions. He takes us on adventures.”

“Like where?” Melody asked, leaning forward.

“Wherever you like. Last time we went to the water slide planet. We used the skateboarding park as slides.”

“Cool.”

Rory came running down from the dining hall. As he ran he took his school tie off and tied it into a vague approximation of a bow tie. He slid to a stop next to the girls. “Hi, Amelia. Hi, Melody.”

“Hi Rory,” Amelia said. She linked her arm into his. “You’re the Doctor now. And me and Melody are your companions. We’re gonna go on an adventure.”

“Yeah,” Rory said, instantly on the alert. He straightened his bow tie and tried to change his expression into one of utmost seriousness. “Where do you wanna go, Miss Pond…and Melody?”

“We don’t know your last name,” Amelia realised, looking at Melody.

“I didn’t have one at first,” Melody said. “The children’s home named me.”

“Are you okay with that?” Rory asked, at the same time Amelia asked, “What is it?”

“Zucker. The home’s on Zucker Street. So that’s what they called me.”

Amelia and Rory considered it. “I like it,” Amelia said. “It sounds like a type of sweet.”

“Thanks,” said Melody. She paused for a minute and added, “Also I want to be Mels. Not Melody.”

“Why?”

Mels shrugged.

“Okay,” Rory said. “You can be whatever. And I’ll be…the Doctor,” he added nervously.

“We can go anywhere,” Amelia said. “Where do you want to go, Melody- Mels?”

Mels thought about it. “I wanna go to dinosaur times. And…” She looked Amelia in the eye. “I want my parents to come.”

“Oh,” said Amelia. She thought about it. “We can…be them,” she said hestiantly. “We can act them. What were their names?”

“I don’t know.”

“Rory will be the Doctor and your dad,” Amelia said. “And I’ll be me, and your mum. Okay?”

“Okay,” Mels said. And smiled.