Seeing the Stars

"Oh yeah. They’re total fun ruiners…then again that’s what Sarah and Madison call me, so maybe I take after them a bit too much, but hey…you said you have something for me?"

"Oh I doubt it. Unless you’ve perfected your stare…Scary stare I like to call it." She shuddered slightly. "Right, well, you have to share him with your sisters but," she opened the TARDIS doors, allowing the puppy to run out to Rory.

Rory's eyes widened and a broad smile formed on his face. "A puppy? You seriously got me a puppy?" He bent down and scooped the dog into his arms, scratching behind his ears and laughing. "This is awesome! You...Mum really let you get him? For me?"

"Yeah. I’m glad to see you too. Not that I don’t love the other versions of you, this one’s just…fun. I totally agree with that, but, for fear of the three of them totally freaking out at me, I’m sticking with Nana for now. Unless you have another suggestion that won’t make every Pond woman I know give me the Pond stare?"

"I hope that’s a good thing. Though knowing River and your mum I’ve probably gotten you into trouble more than once….they ruin my fun you know? Luckily…I have something for you that your mum was more than happy to let me get you."

"Oh yeah. They're total fun ruiners...then again that's what Sarah and Madison call me, so maybe I take after them a bit too much, but hey...you said you have something for me?"

"Oh…right. Sorry. Yeah. That’d be me. Rory Pond. I wasn’t sure if maybe you’d seen me in the interim. I guess not. And, for the record, you tried to get us to call you Grand Empress of the Universe, but Mum, Dad, and Nan all shot you down."

"Sorry, afraid not. Though I’m glad to be seeing you now." She smiled. "Grand Empress is a fantastic title. Everyone else is just jealous of me. True story. Ask your mum."

"Yeah. I'm glad to see you too. Not that I don't love the other versions of you, this one's just...fun. I totally agree with that, but, for fear of the three of them totally freaking out at me, I'm sticking with Nana for now. Unless you have another suggestion that won't make every Pond woman I know give me toe Pond stare?"

"Woah Nana! Hey! Haven’t seen this version of you in awhile. Like…awhile awhile. Everything okay?"

"Nana…what a horribly uncool name. I thought you’d call me something like…. well not Nana. You’re Rory correct? I mean I assume you are since you’re calling me Nana."

"Oh...right. Sorry. Yeah. That'd be me. Rory Pond. I wasn't sure if maybe you'd seen me in the interim. I guess not. And, for the record, you tried to get us to call you Grand Empress of the Universe, but Mum, Dad, and Nan all shot you down."

Madison appeared in the console room in a cloud of smoke. She coughed, clearing it out of her face. "Whoops...I don't think it's supposed to do that...oh! Nan! Hiya!" She ran over and gave her grandmother a hug. "How's it hangin'?"

"Oh...right...sorry. No yeah, she does. I just...don't really pay attention to them. I'm always ending up in different ones and it always ends up getting super confusing so I just gave up trying. Besides, I think Mum put something on Rory's vortex manipulator so it can't actually go that far back...or at least makes it really hard. Totally lame if you ask me. But...wait...do you not know? I'm assuming since you mentioned Mum, you know about her at least. I'm Madison. Currently the youngest."

Madison wasn’t entirely sure where it was she’d ended up this time, but she did recognize the woman she’d appeared near. She’d only seen her in pictures, but she had a good memory, and knew instantly who it was. Walking up to her, she tapped her on the shoulder and, when the woman turned around, instantly threw her arms around her in a hug. Pulling back after a moment she grinned and offered her hand. “Hiya. You’re Katie Brax, right? I’m assuming you don’t know me yet since that seems to be my trend lately, but I’m your granddaughter. Very nice to meet you.”

The tap on the shoulder came as a surprise, so much so that she jumped slightly. However, she curiously turned around, only to be greeted by a hug. It was unexpected, although completely welcomed, but Katie barely had time to react before the girl pulled away. Eyes widening at the girls words, Katie couldn’t help the huge grin which grew instantly on her face. “Another grandchild, huh?” She’d met Rory and Sarah already, but this definitely wasn’t Sarah. An undeniable wave of happiness passed through Katie, the chance of meeting her grandchildren was something she didn’t think she’d end up having. Swatting away the girls hand, she made haste in consuming her in a tight hug, letting go only after she was completely satisfied. “I am most definitely Katie Brax, so you are most definitely my granddaughter. I have to say I absolutely love that confidence you have going on, young lady. Now, I know you’re not Sarah so would you give me the pleasure of allowing me to know your name?”

Madison laughed and returned her grandmother's hug happily. She'd always been a bit jealous of the fact Rory and Sarah had gotten to meet her, though they'd never say how, but now she had her chance and she couldn't be happier. "Well hey, combine Pond genes and Brax genes and you're bound to get some pretty confident kids, especially when you're really smart too. Well...Rory's kind of timid, but he's the exception so he doesn't count." She let out a small, happy giggle before it turned into a gasp. "Oh! Right! My name! Sorry! I'm Madison! Madison Rose Pond. I'm not bugging you am I? I sort of stole the vortex manipulator Mum gave Rory for this birthday, makes me pop up at random times."

Rory: "Oi! A packet of rice?! Really? Is that all I'm worth to you?" ((I'm sorry I had to))

"You actually suck Dad. Cool, I get it. Sarah’s worth something Mum loves. I’m just uncooked monocot seed. So not cool. Is this what I get for being the only one in the family who actually behaves?"

"Hey, there is nothing wrong with rice! I, for the record, love rice. You should count yourself lucky that we’d swap you for something. My father would have willingly given me away for free. Besides, you hit the nail on the head. This is totally what happens when you become the well behaved one! You know, I’d happily watch you misbehave for a while. You never know, it could boost your rating up to more than a bag of rice!"

"Dad! I’m not just going to go off and get in crazy amounts of trouble because you think it’d be funny! Someone has to be the sane one around here, and I don’t see any of the rest of you stepping up to the plate! Honestly! It’s fine though, your bag of rice son will just got sit in his bag of rice room and think about how loved he is by his family. Who knows? Maybe I’ll even ditch the rest of you and go join the circus or something! Or live with Nan and Granddad…then again that’s sort of the same thing isn’t it?"

Rory: "Oi! A packet of rice?! Really? Is that all I'm worth to you?" ((I'm sorry I had to))

"You actually suck Dad. Cool, I get it. Sarah's worth something Mum loves. I'm just uncooked monocot seed. So not cool. Is this what I get for being the only one in the family who actually behaves?"

"I…what?! Hang on…Mel!" He got up and looked around frantically, as if expecting police officers to come arrest them at any moment. "Mel you can’t just steal a bus! What the hell did you even steal a bus for anyway?! Are you trying to make me regenerate from stress?!"

"My grandmother is definitely not someone you should be imitating! You do realize she was in jail for a really long time, right?! Have I not mentioned if we go to jail, our parents will bail us out, kill us, and then stick us back in again!" He ran a hand through his short hair and licked his lips, trying to think of what to do. "All right. Here's the plan. If we're taking pages out of my grandparents' books, which is never a good idea by the way, we might as well do it properly. I say we run for it. You game?"

River was working on the TARDIS when someone came in—how could someone get in?!