Chapter Text
There's no intruder alarm going off, but the Doctor is still getting used to this new TARDIS. It's been a bit unpredictable since the moment she regenerated, and she's not entirely sure the old girl isn't actively trying to kill her. Still, she imagines the TARDIS is as dedicated to keeping out strangers as much as she is.
Nevertheless, she's sure she hears someone enter the control room and rushes through the corridors toward the noise. On the other side of the console is the familiar din of moving levers, and she surges down the stairs toward the unwelcome visitor.
"Excuse me!" she starts, already digging into her pocket for her sonic screwdriver. "What exactly do you think you're doing?"
She rushes around the console, but quickly comes to a halt; as does the hand in her pocket.
"No need to worry, dear," River responds calmly, not sparing The Doctor a glance as she watches the monitors. "Go back to whatever it is you were doing, I'll bring it right back. Sailor's promise."
The Doctor stammers for a response, swallowing thickly as she fights back the tears involuntarily pooling in her eyes. "Right back from where exactly?" she asks, voice quieter than she had intended. The shift in the Doctor's tone must have caught River's attention, as she finally looks down at her.
"Ooh, you're new. Another pretty, young one, aren't you? He never changes," River tuts, giving her the once over.
The Doctor narrows her brow; she certainly does not appreciate that implication of her character, or the fact that she suddenly feels rather insecure by River's appreciative gaze.
"What is going on with you?" River asks gently, pushing a set of buttons on the console as the TARDIS begins to take off with a sputter.
"Nothing!" the Doctor responds, defensive.
"Not you, darling," River says, turning back toward her with a smile. "The TARDIS. I think she's upset."
The Doctor straightens her posture, also feeling a bit upset herself. River's taller than her. River has never been taller before.
"Has he done something to you?" River questions airily toward the console.
"No," the Doctor replies, still defensive. "Everything is fine. And you should definitely not be here."
River's still barely paying attention to her, which bothers the Doctor even more. "Really, you mustn't make a fuss. I will pop it right back soon as possible."
"The Doctor will be very cross," she says, trying her very hardest to appear stern -- but this new face is much too gentle to pull it off convincingly.
River taps the side of her nose. "What my hubby doesn't know won't hurt him, will it?"
At that the Doctor huffs. "The Doctor will know!"
"Can't we keep this just between us girls?" River asks. She moves in closer and smiles down at the blonde cheekily.
They are getting dangerously close, and the Doctor is suddenly very aware of the way she smells--lovely, as always. And now she's wondering how she smells -- imagining whatever perfume River wears might smell rather nice on her as well. Of course, once River is nearly in her face, the Doctor's brain appears to stop working altogether and she feels her face start to redden immediately.
"Well, we-" she sputters. "You shouldn't."
"Shouldn't...?"
"Steal vehicles!" she exclaims, jumping backwards away from River. "It's naughty!"
"Mmmm, I like being naughty."
And just like that, River is closing in on her again - with each step closer, the Doctor takes another step back. But her legs are so short! Why are they so short! When did River get this intense? Was she always this intense? Was it just because she was taller now? That had to be it! Taller River Song is a much more dangerous River Song.
Suddenly, the Doctor stumbles into the railing behind her, and there's no space left for her to go. So of course, River takes the opportunity to descend upon her.
"So? Do we have a deal?" she asks, voice dangerously quiet, inches from the Doctor's face.
The Doctor nods in response. To what though, she's not exactly sure. She has a feeling she's just along for River's ride, and has a startling realization that this must be what it feels like when she whisks her friends away for adventures too. Although, in her defense, she's a lot less scary than River Song.
"Excellent!" River's demeanor changes and she returns to the console, pushing buttons and pulling levers. The Doctor watches carefully, in case River pushes the wrong button or something. And then she'll have to jump in, of course, to save the day. For River.
"It's broken, you know," the Doctor chimes in. "Won't go to the past. Big problem really!"
"Hmmm," River responds, tapping something. "Time direction seems fine to me."
"What?" the Doctor questions, perking up. "Let me see that!"
She rushes to River's side, grabbing a hold of the screen. She squints her eyes, because, like usual, River's right and that's just not fair. It was definitely broken before, that's why she had parked the TARDIS in the middle of the moon - to work on building some new transistors in the workshop.
"I think it's lying," she concludes, nodding knowingly at her wife.
"The TARDIS doesn't lie," River responds, rolling her eyes.
"Does so," she mutters begrudgingly in response, not really wanting either the TARDIS or River to actually hear her.
"The acceleration is damaged though, I'll get it fixed in a few," River continues, sliding herself under the console to pull open a panel and get to work.
The Doctor watches the woman elegantly position herself on the floor, legs crossed, dress hiked up just a little, as she begins to splice a few wires together. It takes the Doctor a few seconds to get herself together, swallowing thickly, before running off to her workshop and returning immediately.
"Use these!" the Doctor exclaims, thrusting her pair of goggles at River as she ducks down underneath the console beside her.
"Thank you, darling, I'll be fine," River responds, before drilling a hole into the motherboard.
"You've got to protect your eyes!" the Doctor bellows over the sound of the drill, forcing the goggles into River's free hand.
River smiles in response, a tender smile, but one better suited toward small children and gentle dogs. The Doctor huffs. Nevertheless, River takes the goggles, and rests them on her chest instead.
Disappointed, the Doctor hands River a pair of gloves. "At least protect your hands!"
Sighing, River does take the gloves, putting them on and immediately getting back to work.
The Doctor watches her wife contentedly for a little while, reveling in the familiarity of the woman's presence. There had been so much change recently, she hadn't slowed down long enough to take in how much she had missed.
Looking up, she notices a set of staring eyes. Upon the second floor railing, Graham and Ryan watch the Doctor and her wife curiously. Not wanting to give River any hints, the Doctor bounds her way upstairs towards the boys.
"You should be sleeping!" she says. "Humans need sleep!"
"Do you not sleep, Doc?" Graham asks, curiously.
"Keep your voice down," she hisses, though it would be impossible for River to hear them at this distance with the whirring of the TARDIS' engines all around her.
"Who is that?" Ryan asks, looking down at River who has gotten up from underneath the console and begun to break apart the motherboard behind one of the TARDIS' screens.
"Oh that?" the Doctor says, as though she hadn't noticed River was there before that very moment. "That's my wife. But she can't know I'm me. It's complicated. Time stuff. You know how it is."
"You have a wife?" Graham replies immediately.
"That's your wife?" Ryan says incredulously, at the very same time, to which the Doctor furrows her brow.
"Ryan!" Graham scolds softly. He was thinking the same thing, but you're not supposed to say it like that.
"What? Why? Of course she is!" The Doctor says defensively, jumping up onto the second rung of the railing to keep a better eye of River. She doesn't know if her wife has caught onto the new biscuit dispenser, though she'd quite like to show her.
"It's just... she's... you know. Doesn't seem like she'd be your type."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"She's very... hot!" Ryan blurts out guiltily. "She's really feminine! And-and-and I dunno--bit out of your league, honestly!"
"Yes," The Doctor replies, nodding without turning her gaze from River for even a second. "Oddly, I do find that very attractive."
"Right. Everyone does," Ryan agrees. "But you... you're-"
Graham gives him a pointed look, a warning.
"You're dressed like a twelve-year-old boy, is all I'm saying."
The Doctor freezes at that, finally tearing her gaze away from her wife working away at the TARDIS console. Worry grows on her face as she whips around to face Ryan. "Do you-D'you think she won't like how I look now?"
"What? No, Doctor, don't you worry about anything Ryan says," Graham assures, patting a hand on her shoulder. "If she's your wife, then she'll find you attractive no matter what."
The Doctor is only half paying attention to Graham's words though, already spinning on her heel to rush into the depths of the TARDIS. "I'll be back!" she informs them, running off.
"What'd you have to go and say all that for?" Graham chastises of Ryan who looks more and more guilty by the second.
"You were thinking it too!" Ryan says defensively.
"She is quite the woman," Graham says appreciatively. "Let's say hello, then."
Graham begins down the steps toward River, who has begun to splice together a set of steel pipes.
"Hello," he greets. "I'm Graham, that's my grandson, Ryan."
"Lovely to meet you," she responds, holding a pipe in one hand, and putting out her other for a shake. "Dr. River Song."
Graham shakes her hand. "A Doctor, eh? Of what?"
"Archaeology," she replies shortly, focused on twisting together a few wires.
"Space archaeology! Well, that sounds very exciting," he says, giving a look back to Ryan who has decided to remain shy and quiet behind him.
"It's certainly never dull," she agrees, moving back toward the keyboard in the console -- typing away.
Graham is completely unable to read any of the strange Gallifreyan circular writing, or figure out what the heck it is Dr. Song is doing exactly, and suddenly finds himself rather appreciative of the way that the Doctor is always thinking out loud.
"You're not nearly as chatty as your spouse, now are you?" he voices aloud.
River glances up at him then. "Oh, I can make plenty of noise in the right situation," she responds, an eyebrow raised.
Graham feels himself immediately redden, and finds that he's very much agreeing with Ryan all of sudden. The Doctor wouldn't stand a chance at the mercy of this woman.
It's then that the Doctor comes running back into the console room, awkwardly slowing down and pretending not to be as winded as she really was. Graham notes that she's shed her over sized coat, and is instead wearing a very flashy, brightly-coloured, cropped jacket instead. He's not sure what look she was going for, but he doesn't think she's quite achieved what she thinks she has.
"Did you fix it?" the Doctor asks, sliding up to the River's side.
"Almost got it," River responds, not sparing the Doctor a glance.
Trying not to be too disappointed in the lack of attention, the Doctor slides around to River's other side, sticking her face in close to see what River was working on.
Before the Doctor has a chance to say anything though, River says, "There!", clicks a button and the screen changes. The TARDIS makes a strange sound, almost like it's revving up and the lights turn off and back on and they begin to move.
"Uhhh, where are we going?" Ryan asks, staring between the two women worriedly.
The Doctor seems unfazed by the question, still apparently trying to get River to notice her new jacket.
"I just needed to hop a ride 'round my parents' for supper," River replies, punching in her coordinates. "Promise I'll bring the TARDIS right back. The Doctor won't even know it was gone."
"Your parents?" Graham repeats, more and more curious about the woman. "Where's that exactly?"
"New York City," she responds, twisting around the clock to go backward, and putting a hand to the acceleration lever. "1939."
The Doctor's eyes go wide suddenly, and she rips River's hand away from the lever on the console just as she's about to take off. They both stumble backward at the sudden movement, the Doctor practically falling into River's lap.
"What's that all about!" River exclaims.
"We can't go there!" The Doctor responds in kind, scrambling up off the floor.
"Sure we can!" she says, also getting back to her footing and forcefully shaking the Doctor's hand off of hers. "It's only the Doctor who can't!"
"River!" she argues back. "I'm the Doctor!"
"I know you are!" River parries immediately to a very stunned Doctor. She pulls off her glove, proceeding to smack it against the Doctor's shoulder in grief. "Why! Did! You! Lie! To me! About! It!"
"I'm sorry!" she replies, recoiling at the smacking of the glove.
Once River is done, she sighs heavily, finally taking in her wife's new form. She takes her face into her hands, pulling her in for a kiss. The Doctor leans awkwardly into it before relaxing, hands wrapping themselves around River's waist.
"This is different," the Doctor says when they pull apart. "You're taller."
"No, I'm not. You're shorter."
"Same thing."