Chapter Text
The Doctor remembers why she tries to limit companion numbers to one at a time; any more and they’re so terribly difficult to keep track off.
“What did I say,” she complains to Yaz as they meander through the busy alien marketplace, “What was the one thing I said not to do - don’t wander off!”
“I know,” replies Yaz, “I heard you the first six times.”
“I mean I expected as much from Ryan but Graham!”
“Look they can’t have gone far. They probably just… got distracted and turned around.”
“Back to the Tardis?”
“No I mean - got turned round. You know. Lost.”
“Well I know they’re lost Yaz. That’s why we’re looking for them. Now think - where did we last see them? Was it by the hats? I think it was by the hats.”
“You just want an excuse to go back to the hat stall,” Yaz says, rolling her eyes a bit. “It took us half an hour to get you away from there the first time.”
“Don’t exaggerate, it wasn’t half an hour. And besides! I don’t have any hats to fit this…”
“Doctor?”
But the Doctor doesn’t reply, having trailed off as her eyes landed on something across the marketplace she’d never expected to lay eyes on again.
“Doctor?” Yaz asks again, and following her line of sight, prompts; “Someone you know?”
The Doctor nods mutely.
Yaz nudges her. “Want to go and say hello?”
Throat dry, she shakes her head. “No,” she says, quietly but firmly. “She doesn’t know me. Not with this face. And she can’t.”
“Can’t?”
“Timelines… it’s complicated,” the Doctor gives a sigh.
Across the market, River Song finishes her bartering with the stall keeper, handing over a handful of coins and accepting a small object in return, which she tucks neatly into her cleavage. A smile tugs at the Doctor’s lips as she fondly rolls her eyes, and she is just about to sadly turn away from the ghost of her past she was never meant to see before River can spot her staring, when all of a sudden the curly-haired woman looks straight across the street and locks eyes with her. The Doctor stops breathing. River’s eyes flicker briefly over her before she looks back into her own and winks , before turning away and slipping off into the crowd.
“Er…” The Doctor hears Yaz stutter from beside her. “It kind of seems like she does know you, Doctor.”
Breathe, right, yes. Gasping a little, both her hearts beating double time due to the brief deprivation of oxygen and quite possibly the mere presence of River, she gives herself a shake. “No, she can’t,” she says firmly, to both Yaz and herself. “She’s just… I mean that’s just her. Winking at strangers. Does it all the time. I think. Probably. Typical River. Yep.”
“River? Is that her name?”
The Doctor swallows, turning away. “Doesn’t matter what her name was. She’s gone. Come on then!” She says, forcefully cheery. “We gonna go and find these two or what? Can’t have wandered far!”
--
Ryan and Graham hadn’t wandered far at all, it turns out, when they bump into them in the next street - right by the hat stall, much to the Doctor’s delight.
“Oh for heaven’s sake what did you bring her back here for?” Graham complains to Yaz. “Took us half an hour to get her away the first time!”
“It’s not my fault, you’re the ones who got lost and wound up back here!”
“Oi! What d’you think?” Says the Doctor, hands out and a ridiculous looking black stetson perched on top of her head, complete with a purple feather.
“I think none of these people have ever seen a John Wayne film in their lives,” says Graham, and the Doctor tuts.
“Not people Graham, they’re aliens. And they got it mostly right. How much is this please?” She turns to the stall keeper.
“Doctor,” it’s Ryan looking across the market place up at one of the buildings.
“Not now Ryan - unless you’ve got any money? Have you?”
“No, Doctor - look!”
She turns just as Yaz gives a gasp from next to her.
“Doctor!” She says. “It’s that woman from earlier!”
The Doctor takes the hat from her head and places it back as she stares up to where the crowds are starting to point, to see none other than River Song, standing on the very top of what appears to be a large clock tower, arms out to the side.
“Oh my god,” says Ryan. “She’s gonna jump!”
The Doctor swallows. “Yep. Yep she is, Ryan.”
Muttering is going round the crowd and the attention of almost the whole market square is now on River- just the way she likes it - thinks the Doctor.
“Doctor!” Says Yaz urgently. “Can’t we do something!?”
“Yeah,” says the Doctor, watching as River turns and lets herself fall backwards off the tower to the screams of the people below. A split second later, long before she can hit the ground, the Tardis materialises briefly in mid air, scooping her neatly up before both vanish again.
“Woah - what!? What just happened!?” Gasps Yaz.
“Was that your Tardis Doc!?” Says a baffled Graham.
“Yeah,” sighs the Doctor again, turning away. “Be right back.”
“Wait - where you going!?”
“To catch her,” she tells Yaz, like it’s obvious. “Obviously.”
--
The Tardis throws out its anti-gravity fields as River nears it, slowing her decent and settling her gracefully on her feet inside the console room.
“Ah,” says River, smoothing down her dress and hair. “Thank you dear.”
“You’re welcome,” Says the Doctor, stepping out cautiously from behind the console.
“I was talking to the Tardis,” Laughs River.
The Doctor swallows. “Still throwing yourself off buildings then?”
“Trusting you to catch me?” Smiles River, and her suspicions are confirmed. “Always.”
“Very dangerous you know,” the Doctor says, because she doesn’t know what else to say.
“Well I had to do something to get your attention sweetie. You didn’t come after me in the marketplace.”
The Doctor shrugs, stepping a bit closer. “You could have just come and said hello,” she says quietly.
“So could you!”
“I didn’t know you knew me!” She exclaims, and River pauses at that, eyes widening a bit.
“You’re new.”
The Doctor swallows again. “How can you know me?” She breathes, and then River straightens, and smiles at her, eyes twinkling with a thousand promises.
“Spoilers.”
The Doctor lets out a laugh that comes out like a sob, and to her horror realises her eyes have quickly filled with water.
River’s face softens.
“Are you crying?”
“No,” she says firmly, sniffing. “I don’t cry. That’s for humans.”
“Sweetie, I’ve watched ‘the Good Dinosaur’ with you.”
“That film is not for children!” The Doctor exclaims, wiping at her cheeks. “That film shouldn’t even be allowed for adults!”
River chuckles as the Doctor sniffs again, getting control of herself. Stupid emotions!
But River is standing just across the console from her, gazing at her with a soft smile on her lips and there’s still spoilers! And she wants to cry all over again. But she’s not about to do that - not now, in front of her wife, whom she hadn’t seen in so long it feels like an eternity, and who she never expected to see again. So she clears her throat and sets about distracting herself; “So River Song. What brings you to this planet. Not much happening here - pretty peaceful time period; not your sort of place at all.”
River laughs. “Oh you know me so well,” she purrs, and the Doctor is glad her wife understands her well enough to go along with the change of conversation direction. “The same thing that’s brought you here though, I imagine.”
The Doctor’s eyebrows shoot up. “And what’s that?”
“Oh,” says River. “You don’t know.” Her eyes twinkle. “Nothing. Forget I said anything.”
“River…”
“Thanks for the catch sweetie but I really should be going.”
“River!” She bounds round the console and into River’s path before she can leave. They are closer now and she looks up into her wife’s face - up! She’d never had to look up before! “Tell me what’s going on.”
“Nothing for you to worry your pretty head over honey,” she says patronisingly. “I’ll catch up with you another time.” She goes to brush past her but the Doctor blocks her path, squaring up to her crossly.
“River Song,” she says sternly, “If you -” But she doesn’t get to finish what she’d been going to say because her wife has seized the sides of her face, pulled her in close and is kissing her.
Kissing River. She’d forgotten what that felt like. Well no, that was a lie, kissing River Song wasn’t the type of thing one ever forgot , but certainly the feeling it gave her had been dulled over time because the ringing in her ears and the way (almost) all the thoughts in her head suddenly went quiet is certainly something she hadn’t explicitly recalled whenever she thought about it. (Which she can’t deny is something she had done very often.)
She doesn’t remember ever having to tilt her head back to kiss her, and as she winds her arms up round her neck she finds herself going up onto her tiptoes to gain better height and that’s certainly something she also doesn’t remember, along with the strange exclamations of “Woah, what!?” She can hear in her head. No, wait - those aren’t in her head. She pushes River back, landing back down on her feet properly and looking around, wide eyed and slightly short of breath, at her three companions who have just entered the Tardis and are now staring at them in shock.
“Oh,” the Doctor says, shoving her hair out of her face (it was always doing that this time around - so annoying) “Hello gang. You found me then. Where did I park?”
“The same place as before - three hours ago,” says Ryan, sounding annoyed.
“Oh - oops. Must be the - time rotors off. Or me. We haven’t been doing that for three hours have we?” She looks at River.
“I’m good but I’m not that good, sweetie,” River rolls her eyes. “Just your driving - as usual.”
“Hey - I resent that.”
“Doctor!” It’s Yaz, looking between them oddly but clearly distracted. “Look - that building your friend,” she nods at River, “jumped off earlier? It was a museum, and it was raided. They said they’ve had their most valuable artifact stolen some… puzzle piece, or something?”
“Shard,” says Graham. “It was a shard belonging to -”
“The pyramid of life!” Gasps the Doctor. “Their most sacred item - the people of this world worship that - and not only that it’s a way for them to look into the past - connect with their ancestors even! And if a shards missing that means…”
“Well this has been lovely but it’s time I was off,” River cuts in and the Doctor whirls to face her with a gasp.
“You didn’t!”
“Girl’s gotta make a living somehow,” she shrugs. “Oh don’t worry - they’ll get it back. Eventually.”
“River! No - wait, don’t you dare - !”
But with a a quick tap on her wrist River vanishes just as the Doctor lunges for her. She gives a cry of frustration as she scrambles off the floor and flies to the console.
“What the - did she just vanish!?” Exclaims Ryan.
“Vortex manipulator. But I can track her signal…” She says, tapping away. “Aha! There! Not far, same place same time, just across town.”
“Doc who was that!?” Asks Graham.
“That? That was my wife. And we’re going after her. Hold on gang!”
“But Doctor - surely she knows you can follow her?” Yells Yaz over the engines of the Tardis as they fire up.
“She doesn’t just know Yaz,” Says the Doctor with a mad grin, “I’m betting she’s counting on it.”