A/N - This chapter and the next one were my favorite to write!

The Doctor stumbled out of the TARDIS from where it was parked in a small garden. "Rory!" the Doctor yelled as he came out of the house.

"Doctor".

"I've crushed your flowers..."

"Oh, Amy will kill you".

"Where is she?"

"She'll need a bit longer".

"Whenever you're ready, Amy!"

Amy waddled out of the house.

"Oh, way-hey! You've swallowed a planet!" the Doctor exclaimed.

"I'm pregnant", Amy told him.

"You're huge".

"Yeah, I'm pregnant".

"Look at you. When worlds collide".

"Doctor, I'm pregnant".

"Oh, look at you both. Five years later and you haven't changed a bit..." The Doctor hugged his former companions. "...apart from age and size".

"Oh, it's good to see you, Doctor".

"Are you pregnant?"

Amy laughed. "Where's Elise?" Amy asked him.

The Doctor waved his hand dismissively. "Oh, dropped her off with River for a while".

"Oh? Co-parenting, I see", Amy said.

Elise opened her eyes and found herself in a bedroom, but it wasn't her one on the TARDIS. She sat up as her father came into the room.

"Good morning, my little one!" he said, "C'mon. Mummy has breakfast waiting".

He picked her up and carried her downstairs.

River was standing in the kitchen.

The Doctor handed her off to River and Elise buried her face in the woman's blonde curls.

"How did you sleep, my little star?" she asked.

Where were Amy and Rory?

"She seems a little off today", the Doctor told River as he ate some cereal straight from the box.

River glared at him as she rubbed Elise's back. "You'll feel better once you eat something, love", River said and put her in her chair.

But all Elise wanted was her Auntie Amy. Her blue eyes filled with tears.

"Oh, don't cry", the Doctor told her, "We'll go to the park later and then we can go for ice cream!"

"Not until she's eaten breakfast", River said. River set a plate of scrambled eggs in front of her, but Elise pushed it away from her.

She didn't want to eat. She wanted to go back to the TARDIS.

River sighed. "Elise Smith, eat your food or we're not going to the park".

Elise picked up her fork and ate her breakfast reluctantly. Once she was done, River took her upstairs to get dressed.

They came back downstairs and River opened the front door.

Elise's eyes went wide. She was on Gallifrey. They were on Gallifrey! The sky was the same burnt orange she remembered it being and the trees shone with silver leaves. Elise ran into the front yard, burying her hands in the red grass. It all felt so real.

"Elise!" her father called.

She walked over to him and he pulled a tarp off something.

A brand new tricycle sat there.

"Made it myself", he told her, "Still has training wheels of course. I thought you could ride it to the park".

"Someone, something, is overriding my controls!" the Doctor yelled.

A short man in a red bow tie and tweed jacket appeared on the stairs behind the Doctor. "Well, that took a while. Honestly, I'd heard such good things. Last of the Time Lords, the Oncoming Storm. Him in the bow tie", he said.

"How did you get into my TARDIS? What are you?"

"What shall we call me? Well, if you're the Time Lord, let's call me the Dream Lord".

"Nice look".

"This? No, I'm not convinced. Bow ties?"

The Doctor tossed his screwdriver at the Dream Lord and it went right through him. "Interesting".

"I'd love to be impressed, but Dream Lord. It's in the name, isn't it? Spooky. Not quite there". He popped up behind them. "And yet, very much here".

"I'll do the talking, thank you. Amy, want to take a guess at what that is?" the Doctor asked.

"Er, Dream Lord. He creates dreams".

"Dreams, delusions, cheap tricks".

The Dream Lord pointed to Rory. "And what about the gooseberry, here. Does he get a guess?"

"Er, listen, mate. If anyone's the gooseberry round here, it's the Doctor", Rory said.

"Well now, there's a delusion I'm not responsible for".

"No, he is. Isn't he, Amy".

"Oh, Amy, have to sort your men out. Choose, even".

"I have chosen. Of course I've chosen", Amy told him. There was a pause before Amy hit Rory. "It's you, stupid".

"Oh, good. Thanks".

The Dream Lord popped up behind them again. "You can't fool me. I've seen your dreams. Some of them twice. Amy. Blimey, I'd blush if I had a blood supply or a real face".

"Where did you pick up this cheap cabaret act?" the Doctor asked.

"Me? Oh, you're on shaky ground".

"Am I?"

"If you had any more tawdry quirks you could open up a Tawdry Quirk Shop. The madcap vehicle, the cockamamie hair, the clothes designed by a first-year fashion student. I'm surprised you haven't got a little purple space dog just to ram home what an intergalactic wag you are. Where was I?"

"You were..." Rory said.

The Dream Lord appeared on the upper part of the TARDIS. "I know where I was. So, here's your challenge. Two worlds. Here, in the time machine, and there, in the village that time forgot".

"One question. What have you done with Elise?"

"And why would you care about that brat? She's been a burden on you ever since you 'acquired' her".

"She's not a brat. She's my daughter".

The Dream Lord rolled his eyes. "Fine. I've sent her into her own dream. But it's not all sunshine and roses there either".

"If you've harmed her..."

"Nothing dangerous. Just not as sweet as it can be. Soon as you choose, you can have her back. Here are the rules for you three. One is real, the other's fake. And just to make it more interesting, you're going to face in both worlds a deadly danger, but only one of the dangers is real. Tweet, tweet. Time to sleep".

The birdsong started up again.

"Oh. Or are you waking up?"

The Doctor and River walked hand-in-hand down to the shops with Elise riding her tricycle in front of them.

She noticed the looks they were getting. People whispered behind their hands as they passed.

"Ignore them, sweetie" River told her.

They finally came to the park and Elise left her bike with them to go play on the playground. But all the children she encountered ignored her. It was like she wasn't even there. Every time she tried to insert herself into a game, the other children stopped playing and walked away from her. Elise finally sat down on a swing by herself as she watched her father and River argue.

"It's okay, sweetie", River told him.

"No! It's not, River! Look at her!"

"Shh, keep your voice down".

"The other children won't even play with her. What are we supposed to do when she starts the Academy? The teachers are going to be extra tough on her because she's my daughter".

"We'll figure that out when it comes time".

Tears filled Elise's eyes as she stormed over to them. She wrapped her arms around River's legs as she cried.

River picked her up. "Shh...it's okay, sweetie".

The Doctor sadly picked up the tricycle and they walked home while River tried to comfort Elise.

Elise didn't understand what was going on, but she didn't want this anymore. She wanted to be with Amy and Rory and her father in the TARDIS.

Exploring the galaxy and running around saving people.

When they got home, Elise went straight to her room and climbed in bed. Her father followed her and laid down behind her. Elise rolled over and buried her face in his chest, taking comfort from his scent.

Whatever this was, he still smelled the same to her and wore his tweed jacket and bow tie with pride. "I'm sorry", he said as he stroked her hair.

She could hear the tears in his voice. Elise closed her eyes as he started to hum "Rainbow Connection".

The song he used to help her fall asleep after the Byzantium.

A few minutes later, the door opened and River walked in carrying a breakfast tray with three bowls of ice cream.

"I thought you two could use some cheering up", she said. She set it down on the bed as Elise and the Doctor sat up. River went into the bathroom and grabbed a warm wet towel and cleaned Elise's face. "There we go", she said, smiling.

Elise gave her a small smile before grabbing her bowl of ice cream.