Melody's POV
I had a hard time sleeping that night. All I could think about was that day at the house on the cliff. There was more to that story, and I often woke up with the feeling of falling. There was no point in sleeping. I sat up in bed and closed my eyes. I could feel the walls guarding my conscious going down, and so many voices were flooding my brain. I shut them out, however, except one. You called?
"Shut up," I muttered. "I can't sleep."
Well, I'm afraid I cannot help you with that. I'm only here to protect you.
"I know that," I said, "but it's your actions as to why I can't sleep."
Again, the girl deserved it.
"She was my friend!" I said angrily. "You killed my friend. It was your actions that killed her! You only protect my living being, but you don't care if your actions will hurt me mentally!"
Your problem, not mine.
"Not your problem?! It is your problem, you selfish person! I don't know how the hell you became my 'guardian angel', but sometimes I wish you'd watch your actions more carefully!" I was alone in this section of the TARDIS, so I could talk as loud as possible.
Do you know how long I've been watching over you? Since you were born. I had died in the room next to the one you were born in, and my ghost decided that to prevent another death as long as possible, I would bind myself to you and protect you. You cannot regenerate even though you have Time Lord DNA. I am the only reason you can see them after they passed to the other side.
"So you kill people to protect me? Even though I can't regenerate, which I know that I can't, but I do have some regeneration energy, just not enough for full regeneration! Also, please make them go away. They're intrusive and I don't like them at all. Do me a favor: don't hurt people until they're pointing a gun at me, or they're holding a knife to my throat. I lost my friend two years ago because of you." I was shaking. She was following me just to protect me, because she wanted to.
I was scared for you, Melody! It's hard for me when someone's threatening to hurt you. Stop shutting the souls out; you shut me out too. You could just ask me to ask them to go away, you know. I was touched by this; she had always sounded snotty and selfish, and for her to be scared for me, actually worried that I would get injured, was....it was unimaginable. I was also touched by the fact that all of the babies that were born at her death, she decided to protect me. Maybe it was because I had a Time Lord for a father, the last Time Lord, or maybe it was because I was so unique, or even possibly because I was born in the room next to her.
Do you understand now? she whispered. Just because I sound rude to you, it doesn't mean anything. Look, I'm sorry that your friend is dead, and I'm sorry if the souls are annoying you, but I lost a child once, and I don't want to go through that again. You lost your mother when you were young, Melody. I am the closest thing you have for a mother since yours died. You are my child, and I'm sorry that you can't stand my company, but there's nothing I can do about it, okay?
I knew that underneath all the snottiness, she could be really caring. I had never known her to be a mother, and again, I was deeply touched. I only had one question: "What is your name, anyways? I sick of referring to you as 'she' or 'you'."
That information resides in me, and me only. Will you stop feeling angry about her death? I told you I overreacted, and I apologize, but Melody, stop avoiding me because of it! I have feelings, too, you know.
"I'm going back to sleep. Good night," I said, lying back down. I slept a little better resolving that with her, but not by much.
********
"Good morning!" Dad said as I entered the console room. I yawned. "I had a crappy night of sleep. I'm tired. Is there any coffee?"
"You're not getting coffee," Dad told me sternly. I rolled my eyes. "My definition of coffee is three quarters milk and sugar and one quarter coffee."
"You're still not getting any coffee," he said. I plopped down on the jump seat and yawned again. "Where are we gonna go now, Dad?"
"No where until Emily wakes up." After much pleading, Dad had finally given in to taking Emily along, much to our delight. Unfortunately, I had failed to mention the fact that Emily tended to sleep in really late, especially if she had a scare of her life. "How can she sleep in this late, anyways?" Dad asked.
"Um, she tends to sleep in really, really, late," I said, shrugging. Dad turned back to the console. I leaned against it and said, "Why did you leave me for four years? And don't tell me you forgot about me."
Dad sighed. "I was busy, Melody, I was traveling and it didn't help that I had regenerated. Don't get that angry look, Melody."
I couldn't contain it. I was angry and annoyed and hurt. "You were too busy, is that it?"
"Melody-" Dad began, but I had stormed off.
Once I was back in my room, she started up again. You probably shouldn't have acted that way.
"Oh, shut up, you hypocrite! You can't talk, you killed my best friend because she made a threat that she wouldn't follow through with!" I rolled over on my bed and let the tears fall. I was tired, angry, and mostly lonely. I had the two most important people in my life on my bad side, and I was alone.
I thought we resolved this this morning.
"I'm sorry, I'm just-it's just I'm tired and I feel so angry right now." I clenched my fists.
Just let it all out.
Doctor's POV
We probably shouldn't have talk about that when she was tired, but then, she brought it up, and she'd still get angry anyways even if I tried to avoid the subject.
Sometimes Melody was too predictable. She seemed really angry lately, even though she tried to hide it, I could tell by the way her shoulders were hunched and how she kept clenching her fists. I was worried about her, and I kept thinking it had to do with the stop she and River had made. Maybe it was because Melody didn't want me to know about it. I couldn't stop myself from wondering about it.
Emily appeared on the top of the stairs. "'Mornin'. Where's Melody?"
"She's not in a good mood. I wouldn't bother her if I were you," I said, going around the console and flipping levers and switches. "Where would you like to go?"
"Somewhere with a wardrobe?" Emily suggested, looking down at her pajamas.
"There's a closet," I said, and quickly told her where it was. She left, muttering about how big the place was. I looked at the little screen. We were in present day London, right near Ella and Stella's apartment. Strange. I wondered if there was something about that, if the TARDIS had brought me here for a reason, so I stepped out of her.
It was London as I remember it with the traffic. "There's nothing here," I muttered to myself. I wouldn't go far from the TARDIS since Melody and Emily were inside, but there was no reason to go much farther. I couldn't see anything, no smoke, no weird shapes in the sky, but there was something off in the atmosphere. I soon realized what it was.
It was silent. And it was never silent in this part of London.
Emily's POV
After I pulled on a pair of ripped skinny jeans and a black hoodie which I wore over a white t-shirt, I went to Melody's room. I knocked on her door. "Come in," came the reply. She sounded like she had been crying.
I pushed open the door. "We've landed."
"I know."
"Why are you upset? Come on, I bet it's exciting!" I pulled on her arm, but she stayed right where she was, laying face-down on the bed with her arms dangling off the edges.
"I'm just tired and upset because I was angry at Dad," she mumbled into her pillow.
"Well, now you can make things up with him!" I pulled on her arm again. Melody flipped herself over. "Fine, I'll come out-just let me get dressed first, alright?"
"Alright," I said and left to tell the Doctor that Melody would be joining us.
******
"Hi, Doctor, Melody's gonna be out in a couple minutes," I said once I left the TARDIS.
"How did you do that?" he asked.
"Do what?"
"Convince Melody to stop sulking in her room. How did you do that?" he repeated. I shrugged. "I'm good at manipulating people, that's all."
"That's great, because normally when Melody's upset, she's upset for days," the Doctor said as Melody joined us. "Hi."
"Hello, Melody," the Doctor said, now turning in a circle with his screwdriver out. I wondered for the eighteen billionth time how he thought it looked like a "screwdriver". It looked nothing like one. Maybe on Galifrey-he told me about Galifrey and Time Lords-they looked like that, but to me it looked like a metal stick with a couple buttons and an emerald gem on top that lit up whenever you pressed a button. The whirring got louder in the west-the opposite direction of the apartment building Melody lived in. He walked in that direction, and we followed him. "Dad, where are we going?" Melody asked.
"No idea. Isn't this exciting?" the Doctor asked.
"Not in my world," Melody muttered under her breath. She stopped suddenly. "What was that?"
"What was what?" the Doctor asked.
"There was a noise. Like someone was calling to somebody, but I don't know who," Melody closed her eyes. "I don't think we should walk in this direction anymore-that's where the sound is coming from."
"Melody," I said, "there's no noise..." my voice faltered as realization hit me. "There's always noise in this part of London. I know because I live in this section-not in the same building as Melody, but close enough to know that it's never quiet here!"
"Exactly," the Doctor beamed. "There's no noise at all, so..."
"So what am I hearing?" Melody demanded. "This is something that anybody could here, so why am I the only one hearing it...." Melody's eyes widened and she said, "Oh!"
She took off in a run in the direction, with the Doctor calling after her, "Melody, wait! What do you mean, oh? Melody? MELODY!"