Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The restaurant orbiting in the stratosphere of Darillium had become almost as big a tourist draw as the one overlooking the Towers in the past few years. It had been set up as a sister restaurant as the original location was constantly fully booked. It offered a fly-by view of the Towers every 3 and a half hours as it completed a full orbit of the planet. This, coincidentally, was almost the exact amount of time taken to get through the ten course ‘Tastes of the Galaxy’ menu that River and the Doctor were now half way through.

They were seated at a secluded table near the back of the restaurant with a superb view out of the large viewing window that covered one entire wall. The food was spectacular, the service impeccable and the bespoke wine list was second to none.

In fact, River thought, the only thing more perfect was the sight of the Doctor grumpily forcing himself through each course with gritted teeth as he struggled in vain to not gripe about each and every dish. They had been coming here for the past four years and every year the menu seemed to get a little more outlandish. He seemed to take it as a personal outrage much to River’s delight.

“Who puts moon dust on a sodding fish?” he muttered glumly to himself as he poked suspiciously at the plate in front of him.

“It’s not actual moon dust darling,” River smiled indulgently as she delicately cut a piece of her own fish and speared it with her fork, “It’s a type of dehydrated seaweed from the next planet over.”

The Doctor looked up indignantly at her. “Of course, I know that,” he stabbed a bit of fish a little too violently, “Actual moon dust is disgusting,” he added as River simply raised an eyebrow at him, “I would know.”

River smothered a grin as he glared at the offending fish on his fork before reluctantly taking a bite and swallowing quickly, grimacing as he did so.

“Remind me why I agree to come here every year,” he grumbled as River sat back in her chair and took a sip of her wine, eyeing him fondly over the rim of the glass.

“Because I make it worth your while darling,” she winked at him as he tried to glare at her, “Now,” she said, putting her glass down and dabbing delicately at her mouth with her napkin, “Be a dear and order me another glass of red while I go freshen up.”

She stood up from the table, picking up her clutch as she did so and blowing him a kiss as she headed towards the door.

A few minutes later, River checked her appearance in the mirror as she pulled out a tube of lipstick and began to re-apply it. Just as she pressed her lips together, the lights suddenly cut out. Freezing instantly, River listened intently but couldn’t make anything out. After a few moments, the lights flickered back on and the door to the bathroom swung open and in marched two sombrely-dressed men, both thickly set with closely cropped hair.

Eyeing them closely as they stopped a few feet behind her, River tensed automatically even as she gave them a wide smile in the mirror.

“Can I help you, gentlemen?” she raised an eyebrow at them questioningly as she put the cap back on her lipstick.

The two men shared a glance before one of them took a step forward. “You’re coming with us, Your Highness. Dinner’s over.”

“Your Highness?!” River’s eyebrow shot up even higher as she laughed, “Not in this galaxy, I’m afraid. Now, why don’t you two boys run along and play. I need to get back to my dinner date.”

The other heavy stepped forward at that, cracking his knuckles menacingly as he glowered at River in the mirror. “No funny games, Princess,” he growled, “Now, you come along quietly and no one needs to get hurt.”

River gave a short laugh at that, checking her lipstick one final time before fluffing her hair. “Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you then,” she said sweetly, stowing her lipstick and discretely removing her blaster as the men took another step forward, “But coming along quietly just isn’t my style.”

--

With a familiar sound, the TARDIS shuddered to a halt. The Doctor glanced around at her companions with an excited grin before striding over to the door.

“Now this time,” she enthused as she reached the doors and looked back over her shoulder, “This time I really think I’ve outdone myself. Even if I do say so!” Pausing for effect, she then flung the doors open and bounded out, “Here it is, the waterfalls of- Oh…“

Following close behind her, Yaz frowned as the Doctor pulled up short just outside the TARDIS. “Is something wrong? Oh...”

“Err, Doc,” Graham stepped out beside her and glanced around him in confusion, “We seem to be in a corridor. On a spaceship.”

“Yep, thanks Graham,” the Doctor nodded, scratching her head and looking around slightly sheepishly, “Definitely in a corridor. Not the waterfalls of Sylus then.”

She took a few steps forward, looking around carefully. The TARDIS had landed them in a fairly ordinary-looking corridor on what seemed to be space vessel of some kind. There were a couple of doors on one side and some small porthole windows on the other, showing simply the darkness of space.

“Sooo, you didn’t mean to bring us here then, I assume,” Ryan piped up as he joined them, raising his eyebrows at Graham as they shared a knowing look.

“Not strictly speaking, no,” the Doctor admitted, glancing back at them with a slightly bashful grin, “But we’re here now though. Might as well take a look around.”

There was no one else currently in sight. Taking out her sonic, she quickly scanned the ship for life-forms.

“Well, we’re not alone. One hundred and seventeen other life-forms registering,” she murmured, “Fourteen different species and… at least one- no, make that two androids.”

Stepping towards one of the portholes, she glanced out the window before suddenly freezing. “No,” the Doctor breathed quietly as she shook her head in dismay, “No, we can’t be here.”

“Be where?” Yaz asked, a puzzled look on her face as she followed the Doctor’s gaze looking out the small window. Stepping up behind her, she peered out over her shoulder. “Doctor, are those- are those towers on that planet?”

Swallowing heavily, the Doctor nodded mutely, still gazing out the window before tearing her gaze away and whirling round on the spot and heading purposefully back to the TARDIS. She couldn’t do this. She couldn’t be here on this space station with this restaurant. Not now. Not when she had so many memories of being here in happier times.

“Come on, fam,” she called, trying to keep her voice cheerful, “Let’s try again for those waterfalls. I think I know what went wrong this time.”

“What? Doctor?” Yaz called in confusion as the Doctor reached the TARDIS and pulled open the door, “Where are we? We must have landed here for a reason?”

The Doctor paused with her hand on the door. Bowing her head for a moment, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Pasting on a smile, she turned round to face the others who were all looking at her with puzzled expressions.

Opening her mouth to try and explain, the words faltered as suddenly the lights all flickered off, plunging them into darkness.

“Doctor?” Yaz called out uncertainly as the Doctor scrabbled for her sonic.

“What was that?” she heard Graham say.

A few moments later, the emergency lighting flickered back into life overhead. Glancing quickly at her companions, the Doctor checked they all looked alright before peering down the corridor, a sinking feeling in her stomach. She had a suspicion that she knew exactly when they had landed.

“Where are we going?” Ryan asked as she started to make her way reluctantly towards the door at the far end of the corridor.

Squaring her shoulders and trying to ignore the butterflies in her stomach, she called over her shoulder to the others as they started to follow her. “We need to find the restaurant.”

A few minutes later, they were standing outside the closed door to the restaurant lobby. They had made their way to the upper deck of the station, climbing up a ladder, through a hatch and on to an identical corridor to the one they had landed in just as a loud boom echoed through the ship followed by a juddering sensation that had them all clinging on to the walls to stay upright.

Peering around, there was no one else in sight and no sounds could be heard from the other side of the door. Taking out her sonic, the Doctor quickly released the lock and the door slid open. Glancing around, something caught her eye at the end of the corridor. Stepping back from the door, she gestured for the others to go through.

“Doctor, what is it?” Yaz asked

She shook her head. “Nothing, you go through. I’ll be there in a moment.”

Yaz caught Graham’s eye who simply shrugged.

The Doctor took a few steps cautiously away from the door, holding out her sonic as she peered into the gloomy darkness of the corridor. The emergency lighting flickered overhead and she could just make out what looked like a body at the far end when suddenly a very familiar voice carried through from the other side of the door.

“Don’t move another step,”

Stilling instantly, the Doctor took a deep breath before whirling around, stashing her sonic and hurrying through the open door into the lobby. Graham, Yaz and Ryan were all standing a few feet away, their hands up in the air and their backs to her. And there, not five yards away, wearing a deep blue evening dress with a plunging neckline, brandishing a blaster and looking extremely alive and exceptionally pissed off, was her wife.

The Doctor froze, staring at her as River’s eyes flicked up to her with no hint of recognition. The brief feeling of euphoria that had materialised when she’d heard her voice was replaced with an intense sense of longing. It had been far far too long since she had seen her wife. She had long since almost reconciled herself to the fact that River was really gone but yet, here she was, standing in front of her, vibrant and so alive.

“You too, blondie,” River quipped, casually pointing the blaster at her, “Stay right where you are. Now,” she continued, tilting her head slightly as she glanced at all of them, “Would someone care to explain what the hell is going on?”

“We just arrived,” Ryan blurted out anxiously, “We don’t know anything do we, Do-“

“No, nothing!” the Doctor quickly interjected, cutting him off as River turned to stare at her properly. She swallowed heavily as River’s gaze took her in fully before meeting her eyes again.

“Really?” River said slowly, “And who exactly are you?” she asked, gesturing at them all but her gaze remaining fixed on the Doctor who squirmed under her scrutiny.

“I’m Yaz. This is Ryan and Graham,” Yaz piped up after the Doctor stayed silent for a moment. She gestured to the two men standing next to her, “And this is the D-“

“Delivery manager!” the Doctor suddenly cut in, stepping in front of Yaz who stared at her in confusion, “Yep, I’m the delivery manager for this spaceship-, errr- restaurant.”

“Delivery manager?” River repeated suspiciously, staring at her with an unconvinced expression as the Doctor nodded vigorously, before gesturing to the other three with her blaster, causing them to visibly wince, “Really? And the rest of you?”

The others stared at each other for a long moment before Graham piped up. “Yeah, yeah, that’s right. We’re umm-, we’re part of the deliveries crew as well. We deliver-, umm-, y’know- restaurant stuff.”

River stared at them all for another moment before shaking her head dismissively. “Fine. Whatever. We need to find out what’s happened here.” She turned smartly on her heel and headed for the desk by the restaurant door, stepping delicately over the body of the maître d’ that was lying prone next to the desk.

“What has happened?” Graham asked, tentatively lowering his arms now River no longer had her blaster trained on all of them.

“Someone appears to have sealed off the entire restaurant with everyone in it,” River muttered with a nod towards the closed door as she slipped behind the concierge desk and started typing rapidly on the screen in front of her, “Including my husband.”

“Husband?” Graham repeated, looking anxiously back at the Doctor who was still lingering near the door and shifted awkwardly at River’s words.

“Mmhmm,” River nodded distractedly, “Oh, and someone tried to kidnap me a few minutes ago.”

“Kidnap you?” Graham exclaimed.

“What happened?” Ryan asked.

River looked up after a moment and bared her teeth in a grin so familiar that the Doctor almost felt her hearts skip a beat. “I said no.” She turned her attention back to the screen in front of her. “Ah-ha,” she said triumphantly, nodding at the screen, “I thought that might be it.”

“Why would someone want to kidnap you?” Ryan asked, looking puzzled.

“Well, lots of reasons actually,” River replied casually, still typing away as Ryan raised his eyebrows at Graham, “But I think this was a case of mistaken identity for once.”

“Mistaken identity?”

“Gosh, you are fond of repeating things, aren’t you? Must help you to remember all those delivery orders!” River remarked pointedly at Graham who simply shrugged in response, “I hacked into the booking system before we got here, swapped our table,” she explained as the Doctor resisted the urge to roll her eyes fondly.

Now she thought about it, River had never bothered booking very far in advance for their table, despite it having the best view. Now she knew why. She tuned back in to what River was saying.  “- weren’t supposed to be sitting at our table. Princess Despina was instead.”

“Princess Despina?” Yaz asked, “But why would someone want to kidnap her?”

“Because-“

“She’s the heir to the Midoran empire,” the Doctor cut in, rubbing a hand over her eyes briefly, and trying to suppress a headache that was forming. She could now remember coming to dinner here with River and the Midorans certainly rang a bell but she couldn’t think for the life of her what had happened after about half way through their meal.  “Her father is the current ruler. She’s one of the most eligible women this side of the galaxy. But she’s engaged to her childhood sweetheart instead of someone who would’ve been a good match politically.”

“Yes,” River agreed, as she eyed her sharply, “There’s a whole galaxy of people out there who would pay a lot of money to see her fiancé disappear for good.”

“And for her to marry someone else.”

“Precisely,” River said, still looking at the Doctor who grinned nervously back at her.

“And they’re both still in the restaurant instead?” Ryan asked.

“Yep,” River nodded, breaking her gaze with the Doctor and looking down at the screen, “And I wonder why they wanted to kidnap her instead of him and… oh, now that’s a bit worrying,” she frowned for a moment before looking up at the far end of the lobby where the door to the restaurant was firmly closed, the stricken body of a waiter lying next to it. She shook her head briefly after a moment, almost as if to compose herself before stepping out from behind the desk. “We need to get to the flight deck.”

“Wait a minute,” Yaz blurted out as River turned smartly away from the desk and headed towards the door, “Just who are you?”

For a moment River ignored her, before pausing by the door and glancing over her shoulder at Yaz. “Professor River Song. Archaeologist,” she said with a wink and a quick glance at the Doctor, “Come on, we haven’t got long.”

“Doc,” Graham hissed as the four of them trailed behind River as she marched down the corridor, “What’s going on?”

“Shhh,” the Doctor quickly raised a finger to her lips, “Don’t use my name.”

“Do you know her?” Yaz asked, throwing a puzzled glance at the Doctor.

The Doctor hesitated for a moment, looking up at River as she strode on ahead. “It’s… it’s complicated.”

“But-“

“Later,” the Doctor whispered forcefully as Yaz started to protest, “We just need to get to the flight deck.”.

“But, how do we know what…“

The rest of that sentence was cut off as the sound of River’s blaster echoed through the corridor. Looking up in alarm, the Doctor saw River standing over two more bodies.

“Come on,” River said grimly, nodding towards a door at the far end of the corridor, “I think that’s the flight deck through there.”

“Hang on a minute!” Yaz exclaimed in alarm, bending down to look at the bodies of what appeared to be two waiters, “You can’t just shoot people!”

River paused briefly and glanced back at Yaz before continuing on down the corridor. “I think you’ll find I can actually.”

Yaz looked up at Ryan and Graham before turning to the Doctor, a horrified expression on her face. “Do-,” she started and then stopped when the Doctor frantically shook her head, “We can’t just let her do this, can we?”

Putting a hand on Yaz’s shoulder, the Doctor gently steered her upright. “We need to get to the flight deck.

“But-“

“They’re not dead, just stunned,” the Doctor said quickly as Yaz started to protest further, “Probably,” she added with a small gulp, fervently hoping that this wasn’t the time River reverted to simply shooting before asking.

“Doctor, who is she?” Ryan muttered quietly, “You never just let people get shot.”

Again, the Doctor looked helplessly up towards River who was frowning at the sealed door up ahead of them.

“She’s-, it’s-“

Yaz turned away, a look of hurt on her face. “Yeah, it’s complicated, we get it.”

The Doctor felt a pang of guilt as she watched Graham and Ryan turn away as well and follow Yaz. Sighing heavily, she threw one final glance at the two waiters before hurrying to catch up.

Yaz was standing with her arms crossed, glowering at River who was holding up and fiddling with a small device next to the door control pad.

“Dammit,” River muttered under breath after a few moments, “They’ve overridden most of the door controls,” she continued, twisting one of the dials carefully, “Maybe, if I just do this and…“

There was a small hiss and the door slid open a few inches. River shrugged and turned back to them, gesturing to the door. “Hmm, well that will have to do. Just breathe in,” she looked at them as they all just stood there, “Well, go on then, we haven’t got all night.”

Graham looked up at the Doctor who nodded briefly. “Alright then,” he shrugged and then squeezed himself through the small gap, “Blimey. Glad I didn’t have that extra sandwich for lunch,” he mumbled as he just managed to fit through.

The Doctor stood back as Ryan went next, stumbling slightly as his foot caught on the door frame.

“You were very well informed about the Midorans,” River remarked to the Doctor casually as Yaz stepped towards the door.

The Doctor laughed nervously. She’d forgotten just how shrewd her wife was at times. “Oh, you know, I like to keep up with what’s going on.”

“Hmm,” River simply pursed her lips and nodded, staring at her closely, “No other reason then?”

The Doctor opened her mouth to deny it but the words died as she stared back helplessly at River. “River, I-“ she started but was cut off suddenly as there was another louder hiss and the door slid shut again.

“Bugger it,” River muttered, the moment between them broken as she turned back to the door.

“So,” the Doctor said awkwardly after a few moments of silence, “Can you open that lock again or-“

“Or we could use your sonic screwdriver?” River interrupted tersely as the Doctor froze, her mouth going dry all of a sudden, “I know it’s you,” River added quietly, still looking at the door.

“You-, you know it’s-” the Doctor stumbled over her words as River finally turned to face her.

“Yes, Doctor,” River sighed heavily, “I know it’s you.”

“How?” the Doctor blurted out as River raised an eyebrow at her.

“Terrible clothes, accompanying gaggle of humans, a mouth that doesn’t know when to quit,” River shrugged as she gestured towards her, “Shall I continue?”

“Oh, well I thought- you know…” the Doctor waved a hand vaguely in front of her, everything she had wanted to say to her wife now escaping her entirely.

“Besides,” River carried on, ignoring the Doctor’s stuttering, “Whoever is behind this seems to have killed or teleported away the rest of the crew so it was a bit of a giveaway when you were still here.”

“River, I didn’t…”

River let out a small huff as she turned away again, running a hand over the door. “I might have been a blind idiot once and failed to recognise you but I like to think I don’t make the same mistakes twice.”

“Why didn’t you say anything sooner?” she asked.  And why haven’t you kissed me?

“Why didn’t you?” River retorted, turning back to face her, a challenge in her eyes.

The Doctor stared at her for a long moment. Because I’m an idiot and thought it would be easier for me. Because it’s been far too long since I saw you. Because I thought I’d never see you again. Because you’ve already left me.

She clearly took too much time trying to formulate a coherent reply as River simply shrugged again. “It doesn’t matter,” she said dismissively although the Doctor could practically hear her forcing herself to sound cheerful. Still hiding the damage.

“No, River, I-“

“We need to get through here and into the flight deck,” River interrupted her briskly, “We haven’t got long. Sonic please?”

The Doctor let out a long sigh before reaching into her pocket and holding out her sonic. “Where’s yours?” she asked, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in her stomach as River quickly took the screwdriver, making sure their fingers didn’t touch.

“Left it in my other bag,” River muttered shortly, sounding annoyed with herself, “Honestly, that’s the last time I assume we’re just off for a quiet dinner.”

The Doctor let out a small snort of laughter. “Quiet dinner! I didn’t think you knew the meaning of that phrase.”

River stilled briefly before resuming fiddling with the lock. “I’m surprised you remember,” she muttered, half to herself.

The Doctor flinched, a pang of guilt running through her at River’s words. Honestly, it was like she was back in her tenth regeneration again and couldn’t say anything right around her. “River, I’m…”

Before she could really start to apologise however, there was a loud hiss and the door opened once more, this time more than just a few inches. River stepped through without looking back at her and held the sonic out to her wordlessly as they re-joined the other three.

Chapter Text

A few minutes later, they were all stood in the flight deck. River was typing something rapidly into the main console while the Doctor was scanning one of the smaller screens with her sonic. They’d marched up here practically in silence. River had led the way, ignoring the mutterings of Yaz, Graham and Ryan who were looking between River and Doctor with increasingly worried expressions.

“Oh, that’s bad,” the Doctor murmured, looking at the readings, “Very bad indeed.”

“What’s bad?” Yaz asked, looking worried as River briefly glanced up at her and then returned to the screen.

The Doctor simply shook her head.

“Doc-“ Yaz started again and then caught herself, “Umm, err, boss?

River rolled her eyes and let out a small huff as she continued to frown at the computer screen.

“Umm, it’s alright, Yaz,” the Doctor said, somewhat sheepishly with a glance at River, “River knows who I am.”

“An idiot, that’s who,” River muttered under her breath as the Doctor turned to look at her indignantly.

“Oi, that’s rude and…”

“Doctor!” Yaz interrupted, just as the Doctor was about to launch into why exactly she might be an idiot but really, she was only trying to do what she thought was best and try to keep spoilers from her wife. “What is going on? What is bad news?”

The Doctor turned back to Yaz who was standing next to Ryan and Graham, hands on her hips and looking most put out. “They’ve jettisoned the lower flight deck,” she explained quickly, “That loud noise we heard earlier?” she added as they all nodded, “That was it being blasted away.”

“The lower flight deck?” Ryan repeated, looking worried, “But, that’s-“

“That’s where I parked the TARDIS, correct Ryan,” the Doctor nodded grimly, “We are currently orbiting without an exit strategy right now.”

“That’s not actually the worst bit,” River piped up casually, as they all turned towards her.

“I’m not sure I want to know,” Graham mumbled to himself.

River flashed him a mirthless grin. “They’ve rigged explosives on this ship that are set to go off in,” she paused briefly for dramatic effect, “Oh, about nineteen minutes.”

“Nineteen minutes!” Ryan squawked, his eyes wide with panic.

“Everyone calm down,” the Doctor instructed firmly as Yaz and Graham also started to mutter, “We’ll sort this out. Nineteen minutes is loads of time. I’ve saved tons of planets in less time than that,” she declared confidently as the others looked at her dubiously, “In fact, there was this one time, we were trapped inside a type of giant marshmallow. Well, actually it wasn’t…”

“Yes, Doctor, we get the point,” River cut in with a hint of exasperation, although the Doctor was sure she could detect a note of fondness in there. Somewhere. Hopefully. Maybe she was just imagining it she thought as she stared hopefully at River.

“Can you not remember anything about what happened?” River asked pointedly, cutting through her reverie, “Did I not tell you anything helpful? I know it’s spoilers but that really was most inconsiderate of me.”

The Doctor shook her head ruefully. She’d been trying to remember what had happened ever since she realised just exactly where they had ended up. “It’s all a bit fuzzy,” she admitted, “It’s coming back to me a bit but all I can remember is getting to the fish course and then it all goes a bit blank. And then I can’t remember anything about afterwards until we got off the spaceshuttle back on Darillium.”

“Hmm, well at least we know it all works out,” River sighed with some disappointment, “Still, it would have been nice to have had the odd pointer.”

“I’m sorry,” Ryan looked between the two of them in confusion, “What are you two talking about?”

The Doctor gulped slightly. “I’ve, umm, I’ve kind of been here before,” she admitted as they all looked at her with equally baffled expressions, “Time travel,” she shrugged, “Sometimes you cross your own path. Bit tricky and can get very messy if you’re not careful.”

“Can also be very fun though,” River interjected, looking up with this time a sly smirk on her face as the Doctor blushed and looked away. She knew exactly what times River was referring to and there was no way she was going into those now. She glanced back at River who had turned her attention back to the console again but she couldn’t help the glimmer of delight that bloomed in her chest at the briefest glimpse of River’s flirtatious side.

“So, you two, you know each other?” Graham asked slowly, looking between the two of them as River nodded, her eyes darting back to the Doctor as if waiting to see what she would say.

“Yes,” the Doctor nodded as well, “We’ve…we’ve known each other a long time,” she said softly, “We’re…well, back when I was a man, we…”

“I’m sorry?” Yaz spluttered, interrupting her mid-sentence.

“I thought that was a joke?” Ryan muttered as River raised an eyebrow questioningly at the Doctor.

“Not covered regeneration yet, then?” River murmured pointedly as Graham looked at her in confusion.

“It’s been busy and, well, you know how it is with the adventures and the running,” the Doctor blustered defensively, crossing her arms as River eyed her thoughtfully, “Some of these details just sort of slip.”

Ryan opened his mouth but before he could get a word in, the sound of groaning from the other side of the room caught their attention.

Spinning quickly on her heel, the Doctor hurried over to the far side of the flight deck. Tucked around the corner, out of sight of the main deck, was a small cupboard and slumped against it, lying on the floor was one of the crew members. He was clutching his abdomen with both hands but there was a dark, sticky patch of blood on his shirt that was slowly spreading.

The Doctor crouched down beside him, pulling out her sonic and quickly scanning his injuries. “What happened?” she asked gently, “Who did this?”

“Soldiers,” he managed to gasp, drawing in a deep breath, “Ambushed us all. Rest of the crew. Taken.”

“Taken where?” Yaz asked, looking worried and crouching down beside the Doctor.

The man in front of them simply shook his head, a pained expression on his face. “They’ve… they’ve rigged explosives. Going to blow…” he trailed off, wincing in pain.

“We know. Where are they?” River asked urgently, “Here?”

He shook his head, again grimacing in pain. “Not here. Engine room,” he managed to gasp out.

The Doctor glanced at the sonic again and then back to his wound. It looked fairly deep but seemed to have missed any vital organs. All the same, he’d have a better chance of survival if she could just…

“Doctor, we don’t have time for this,” River said quietly over her shoulder, interrupting her thoughts, “We have to get to the engine room. We can leave him here with the others.”

The Doctor hesitated for a moment, looking up at River. Her wife was right. As usual. She couldn’t stay here and help this man and defuse the rather extensive set of explosives set to go off very shortly. She turned back to the man in front of her. “I’ll be back very soon,” she said firmly, “This is the Yaz, Ryan and Graham,” she said gesturing to the others, “They’ll take care of you and then we’ll get you to a hospital as soon as we can.”

“Doctor?”

She looked up at Ryan who was exchanging worried looks with the other two. “I need you three to stay here and look after him. Try and stop the bleeding. River and I will go to the engine room. It will be quicker that way.”

“But…”

“No, Yaz,” the Doctor said firmly as the younger woman started to protest, “River and I have done this before.”

“We certainly have,” River murmured with a wry smile as she turned towards the door, “Doctor, come on.”

“Please, Yaz,” the Doctor said again, more quietly as Yaz frowned again at River, “I need you to do this. I need you to trust me.”

“I do trust you,” Yaz muttered with a resigned sigh and a nod.

“Good,” the Doctor deliberately ignored the implication of that sentence and simply smiled at her before spinning around and heading for the door to follow River, who was watching the exchange with an inscrutable expression on her face. She spun back to the others as she reached the door. “Right, fam, we won’t be long. Well, we haven’t got long so that doesn’t give us much choice really so either we’ll be back soon or we’ll all be in rather more of a…”

“Anytime, sweetie, anytime,” River drawled from behind her, rolling her eyes at the Doctor’s rambling.

“Yes, yes!” the Doctor nodded once more at the others and then spun back round on her heel to follow River who had headed back out into the corridor. As she picked up her pace to match River who had begun to run towards the engine room, she couldn’t resist a small grin. They might now only have sixteen minutes to stop this entire ship from being blown up but River was here, alive and running and had called her sweetie.

A couple of minutes later, the Doctor and River were inside the engine room. Her sonic and a swift kick of the door from River had got them inside very quickly this time and they were now both crouched down in front of a mass of wires and explosives that were rigged into one of the main engine consoles. It was so familiar to her - rushing headlong into danger with River, having just minutes to save the day – if she didn’t know better she could’ve fooled herself into thinking she was back in her eleventh regeneration and they’d just skipped out on dinner.

“So, which one are you?” River asked quietly after a few moments, her tone seemingly casual although the Doctor could tell from the set of her shoulders that it was anything other than small talk, “It’s obviously been a while since you saw me.”

“Umm, the next one,” the Doctor mumbled, nodding her head vaguely in the direction of the restaurant, “After Eyebrows.”

“Oh.”

“Oh?” the Doctor repeated, frowning as River tried to quickly wipe the look of surprise off her face.

River shook her head. “Nothing. I just thought-, No-.”

“Just thought what?”

“It’s really nothing.”

The Doctor stopped what she was doing abruptly, grabbing River’s arm as she did so, forcing her to look directly at her. “Of course, it’s important,” she said insistently.

River rolled her eyes and shook her arm free, focusing her attention back on the wires in front of her. “We haven’t got time for this,” she muttered, shaking her head and getting back to work.

The Doctor stared at her wife, her jaw set determinedly as she expertly sorted through the mass of wires. She took a deep breath and steeled herself. She wouldn’t undo all that work her previous self had done to make River open up. To make her feel like she no longer had to hide the damage. She owed River that much.

“I’m sorry,” she said softly, watching as River paused ever so slightly before resuming her task, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you who I was when I saw you.”

“Well,” River muttered, keeping her gaze on the wires in front of her, “Why didn’t you?”

The Doctor sighed softly, watching her wife closely as she scanned first one set of wires with the sonic, then another. She wasn’t quite sure how River had ended up with her sonic she thought absently but, if she was being honest, she was probably doing a more effective job with it currently.

“I didn’t want to disrupt things,” she said quietly, “Things were so… It was all so perfect on Darillium. I didn’t want to accidentally change any of that.”

River paused and turned slightly to face her again. She stared at her for a long moment. “I’m sorry, sweetie, but I’m calling bullshit on that.”

The Doctor gaped at her. “What? River, I…”

River shook her head and continued. “You’ve forgotten how well I know you, Doctor,” she pointed the sonic knowingly at her, “Now, all that stuff about wanting to preserve the timelines may be lovely and true but it’s not the main reason is it?”

“I…it’s not that, it’s…” the Doctor stuttered, as River simply raised an eyebrow at her. She closed her eyes briefly and let out a sigh. River was right. She had forgotten just how well she knew her. Even before they spent a lifetime on Darillium together, River was still the one person in the universe she could never fool. “You’re right.”

“One of my favourite sentences to come out of your mouth,” River muttered sardonically as the Doctor attempted to glare at her.

“I thought it would be easier,” she admitted, wringing her hands and looking guiltily up at River who simply pursed her lips and nodded. The Doctor nodded in the direction of the door. “Yaz, Ryan, Graham,” she paused for a moment, trying to find a way to explain it, “I haven’t really told them much. Who I am. What happened before…” she trailed off, gesturing down at her body.

“I kind of figured,” River murmured, eyeing her knowingly, “It seemed a bit of a shock to them earlier.”

“I thought if I pretended not to know you then I might not have to explain everything to them,” the Doctor sighed again, rubbing the bridge of her nose as River looked at her curiously. “It’s hard. Without you. This face,” she continued haltingly as she gestured towards herself, “It’s not good at talking. Last time,” again, she motioned towards the restaurant, “Even after Darillium. I could talk about you. About your parents. It helped. But this time…” she shrugged helplessly and turned towards River, trying to keep the anguish from her voice, “Sometimes, I just don’t know how to go on without you.”

“Oh, Doctor,” River’s voice was soft, no hint now of the bitterness from earlier, “Of course, you do. And anyway, I’m here now.”

“It’s not the same,” the Doctor mumbled, swallowing the lump in her throat as she thought of all the lonely days and nights since sunrise on Darillium.

“I know,” River said quietly, “ It’s why I’ve told you before, so many times, that you shouldn’t be alone,” she added, gently reproving her, “I know what you get like.”

The Doctor frowned at her and shook her head. “I’m not alone,” she replied in confusion, “I’ve got the fam, three of them this time, and they’re great. Plenty to keep me busy.”

River simply gave her a knowing look. “Are you sure?” she murmured quietly, before turning back to the task in hand, “You know,” she added conversationally after a few moments, as if they were simply enjoying dinner instead of frantically trying to defuse a mass of explosives, “If you never let anyone get close. If you keep those around you at arms’ length, never let them in, never tell them anything. Well, then that’s almost the same as being alone,” she glanced up meaningfully before adding quietly, “Believe me, I would know.”

The Doctor stared at her as she turned back to what she was doing, frowning in concentration. Damn River and her ability to see her like no one else. She’d always been able to see through her façade.

“I do let them in,” she replied, a touch defensively.

“Do you?” River asked gently, pausing her work and looking up at her again. The Doctor opened her mouth to protest but the words died in her mouth. She turned away after a long moment, almost unable to bear the depth of understanding and love shining from River’s eyes.

“I- It’s-“ she began falteringly. How did she explain? How did she articulate it when she hardly acknowledged it herself?

“I know,” River said softly, her voice cutting through the Doctor’s thoughts as she reached out tentatively and covered her hand with her own, “You’ve lost so many. It must seem easier to not get so close sometimes.”

The Doctor inhaled sharply, staring down at their hands. Swallowing heavily, she looked back up at River. Opening her mouth, she tried to say yes, yes that the pain and misery of always saying goodbye, of always counting down, of always letting them go was just too much. Too much this time. “I- I’ve- I’ve missed you,” was all she managed to choke out instead.

River simply squeezed her hand and smiled again as if she knew. Knew exactly what she wanted to say but couldn’t.

The Doctor opened her mouth to reply but River looked back at the wiring in front of her and frowned suddenly.

“Hmm, that’s not right.”

“What?” the Doctor looked at her in surprise, her mind still on the previous conversation, “Yes, it is. I have missed you, I think I would know by…”

River shook her head. “No, not that sweetie. Look at this wiring.”

The Doctor moved closer to River so their shoulders were brushing and peered closer at the wiring. “It looks fine to me,” she said with a shrug, “I mean, not fine obviously. It’s all a bit explodey to be fine but…”

“Not that,” River cut her off impatiently, before pointing to a specific set of wires that trailed out of the console. The Doctor looked again. Then back at the console and to the detonator that was sitting on top of it counting down the minutes. It all looked like it was set to blow. She frowned and was about to turn back to River when she spotted- “Oh…”

“Oh, exactly,” River repeated, her expression turning grim.

“But, if this is just a decoy…” she muttered, running her hands frantically over the wires as she shook her head in disbelief.

“Then where is the real one?” River finished her sentence for her as they turned to each other.

“The flight deck!” they said in unison after a moment before they both scrambled to their feet and headed for the door.

--

Chapter Text

“How could we have missed it?” the Doctor panted as they ran back along the corridor, stopping only briefly to sonic open a door when needed.

River shook her head, either in disgust at herself or their lack of concentration. “I don’t know,” she muttered as they paused at another doorway that led back into the flight deck, “That man, the one we found in the flight deck,” she shook her head again as she pointed the sonic at the lock, “There was something not right… I just can’t put my finger on it.”

Turning to River, she watched as she swore under her breath as the lock in front of them refused to open. Suddenly overcome with the need to continue their conversation from before, she reached out grabbed River’s wrist before she could move away. “It’s not just that I don’t want to let them in,” she blurted out, “Yaz, Ryan and Graham,” she clarified, swallowing heavily, “It’s just that… it’s such a lot sometimes,” she trailed off and looked up imploringly at River.

“What’s such a lot?” River asked softly, as if they had all the time in the world to talk instead of only seven and a half minutes left before this entire spaceship blew up in front of them.

Closing her eyes briefly, the Doctor took a deep breath and barrelled on. If she didn’t say it now then she probably never would. “Everything. I don’t want to burden them.”

“You told me?” River observed, watching her closely.

The Doctor shook her head. “That was different. You were- you were always different. And anyway, by the time I told you, I already knew you would be ok. One small blessing of being back to front. Besides, they’re only human.”

“Oh, Doctor,” River finally reached out for her, her hand covering her own, “We’re not so fragile you know,” her voice was soft and so full of concern as she ran her thumb gently over the knuckles on her hand, “We won’t break.”

The Doctor looked down at their hands and turned hers over, interlacing their fingers together. Their hands were virtually the same size now, she thought idly, her mind briefly racing back over all the times they’d run together, hand in hand. She swallowed heavily. “What if I do?” she said quietly gripping River’s hand so tightly as if to draw strength from it.

She kept her gaze down on their hands as River reached up with her free one, gently tracing over her cheek with the back of her finger. The Doctor closed her eyes at the light touch until River gently tilted her chin up with the tip of one finger. “You won’t,” River said softly, as the Doctor looked up at her, “You’re the strongest person I know.”

The Doctor leant into her touch and for a blissful moment she felt River leaning forward into her as well. Before they could get any further though, they were rudely interrupted by the video intercom screen next to the door abruptly crackling to life.

“Not interrupting anything, am I?”

River and the Doctor turned to look at the screen. As River had predicted, the man they had left apparently on the verge of death in the flight deck had made a rather miraculous recovery. He was now standing near the door, looking much more chipper than a few minutes previously.

“You!”

He smiled cruelly and gave a small wave with one hand.

“Where are the others?” the Doctor demanded, her hearts in her throat. The man in front of them stared them down briefly before turning slightly so they could see Yaz, Ryan and Graham, all sat on the floor, their hands tied behind their backs. A small sigh of relief escaped the Doctor before she turned her attention back to the man still standing in front of them.

“What happened?” the Doctor snapped, “You’ve made a rather rapid recovery.”

His grin, if anything, just grew even wider.

“His blood,” River suddenly muttered next to her, shaking her head in fury with herself, “It was dark green, not red.”

The Doctor closed her eyes briefly. How had she missed that?

“You’re a Midoran,” she said as he raised an eyebrow and nodded, “You’re behind all of this.”

“Well done,” he retorted sarcastically, “Took you long enough.”

“Keep him talking,” River muttered suddenly as she began to edge slowly out of the sight of the camera.

The Doctor resisted the urge to glance at her as she began to back away carefully and silently down the corridor. She took a deep breath. Keep him talking. Well, that was certainly something she could do.

“So, you gave yourself that injury?” she said, drawing his attention back to her, “What, when you saw us heading towards you on the cameras? Why not just shoot us if you were armed?”

He shrugged. “I didn’t know if you were armed as well. I thought I could send you off on a wild goose chase. You left me with these hapless three. It wasn’t hard to get the better of them.”

“If you’ve harmed them…”

“You’ll what?” he interrupted her with a sneer, “You’ll glare at me really crossly over this screen?”

The Doctor did indeed glare at him. Over his shoulder, she could see her companions and they all looked to be ok.  She could just see River sneaking away down the corridor out of the corner of her eye. “Why are you doing this?” she demanded again as the man’s attention flicked back to her and away from her companions, making sure to keep him talking. “What do you want?”

He laughed cruelly, almost snarling as he bared his teeth at her and the Doctor could see Ryan and the others shudder at the sound. “What do I want?”

“Yes?”

“I want to make sure our hard-won empire doesn’t disappear when that stupid cow and her idiot fiancé take the throne.”

The Doctor narrowed her eyes at his words. “When you say ‘stupid cow, I presume you really mean, Her Royal Highness Princess Despina?” she said coldly, crossing her arms in front of her.

He spat on the ground in front of him. “She’s barely worthy of the title.”

“So, what was your plan instead?” the Doctor rolled her eyes at his antics, “Kill her fiancé and make her marry someone more worthy? Someone more like her father?”

“Exactly!” he hissed at her as she simply raised an eyebrow at him, looking distinctly unimpressed.

“Well then,” she said, taking a step forward and crowding the camera, hoping he wouldn’t notice that River wasn’t now standing next to her. She’d just seen her wife manage to disappear down the corridor and out of sight. “Your little kidnap attempt didn’t work,” she told him, “Your Princess is still in that restaurant along with everyone else, including her fiancé. If you blow up this spacestation, she’ll get blown up as well.”

“You’re lying,” he scoffed at her.

“Why would I lie?”

He stared at her for a moment as if she was an idiot. “So, I defuse the bombs before they go off in,” he turned around to glance at the console and the small timer that the Doctor could now see sitting on the top, “Ooh, in just under four minutes.”

The Doctor winced and gave a small shrug. “Well, yes there is that,” she admitted. Damnit. She hated it when they called her out on the obvious. “Well,” she continued, hoping that River was making some headway with whatever it was she had run off to do, as she herself currently had only the very faintest outline of a plan to get them out of here. “How would we have known about your plan otherwise? We foiled your goons who were sent to do the kidnapping.”

A slight embellishment to the truth, she thought with a mental shrug, grateful for a moment that River wasn’t there to correct her. She’d tell her later. Maybe.

On the screen in front of her, the man frowned and for a moment looked put out but then he shrugged.

“Too bad,” he said with a scoff, “It’s all in place now. If she is still on this ship then to hell with her. That bitch can be blown to bits like the rest of you. Maybe that whole damn line can just die out.”

“And just how do you think you’re getting out of here, eh?” the Doctor retorted, gesturing around them as she peered into the camera, “I can’t see any escape pods or anyone coming back to get you. Looks like you’re being blown to smithereens along with us.”

“Is this the part where I tell you my secret escape plan and you foil me right at the last minute?” he laughed again before stopping abruptly and peering at the screen more closely. The Doctor froze, watching as he scanned the screen carefully, knowing exactly what he was about to say. “Hey, where’s the other one. There were two…”

“I’ll give you a handy tip,” a very welcome voice crackled through to the Doctor over the intercom, and she couldn’t help the massive grin that now spread over her face as the man in front of her turned around in shock. There behind him, having appeared via the internal teleport, still wearing her evening gown, heels, eyes ablaze and brandishing her blaster, was River. “Never take your eyes off me for too long.”

He turned around, mouth agape. “How did…”

The words were barely out of his mouth before he was hit with a blast from her gun. He slumped to the floor immediately as River crossed the room without pause and quickly released the door lock, letting the Doctor back through into the flight deck.

They turned as one and ran to the main console, this time pulling out a mass of wires and explosives from beneath the console that were attached to the timer on top. Now they had the real thing, it was a matter of moments between the two of them to disable the explosives and reroute the power to the correct areas.

In the corner, Graham had managed to shrug off the ropes tying his hands behind his back and was now quickly untying Yaz who then did the same for Ryan. As River finished, she glanced round to see if they were alright before standing up and making towards the body of their erstwhile captor.

“Is he… is he dead?” Ryan asked tentatively, looking down at the slumped body on the floor with wide eyes.

River gave a shrug and tucked her blaster away, stepping delicately over the body as she did so. “Oh no, just stunned,” she turned around to give the others a wicked smirk, “Don’t worry, he’ll have a killer headache when he wakes up.”

Ryan just gulped heavily, looking at River with something like awe in his eyes as River turned away, “Oh, ok. Great. I think…”

“Sweetie?” River called, looking over at where the Doctor was still furiously typing into the console, “How are you doing over there? Nearly done?”

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Yaz mouth ‘sweetie’ while looking pointedly at Ryan who simply shrugged, eyes agog as he watched them closely.

The Doctor held up a finger as she continued typing with the other hand. “Two ticks. Well, maybe five ticks. Actually, probably more like thirteen when you…”

River rolled her eyes affectionately as the Doctor started to prattle, biting her lip to stifle a smile. “Anytime, sweetie.”

“Bingo!” she pressed a key emphatically and spun around to face the rest of them, a triumphant grin on her face, “Dead lock on the restaurant door is now released so everyone should be able to get out of there including the Princess and… well, and me! Other me, that is.  So, that’s all good. And, I’ve sent a communication back to Darillium and to the crew trapped on the other half of this spacestation. They should have us all sorted in no time.”

“So, we can get back to the TARDIS alright?” Yaz asked, still looking concerned as the Doctor nodded reassuringly.

“Absolutely.”

“And what will happen to Princess whatsherface?” Graham asked, looking anxiously between the Doctor and River.

“Well, if I remember correctly,” River said with a small frown of concentration, “She peacefully overthrows her father in a couple of years’ and has a long and prosperous reign alongside her husband.”

“Sweet,” Ryan nodded. They all smiled and nodded enthusiastically along with him for a moment before Ryan turned to River and asked what had clearly been on their minds for a little while. “So, ummm, who are you exactly?”

The Doctor took a deep breath, reaching out and taking River’s hand as she laced their fingers together. She turned to the other three. “Graham, Yaz, Ryan,” she said, standing tall and holding their joined hands up together, “This is my wife, Professor River Song.”

“Your wife?!” Yaz and Ryan exclaimed in unison, both staring at her and River.

“Ha, I knew it!” Graham said gleefully, turning to the other two in delight, “You both owe me a fiver!”

“So, how come we’ve never met you before?” Ryan asked River curiously, “If you two are married and all?”

“Timelines,” River gave an easy shrug, “I’m also a time traveller. In my timeline, I’m married to the previous versions of the Doctor. This is the first time we’ve met.”

The Doctor shook her head and frowned as River gestured between the two of them. “No,” she said, firmly as she gripped River’s hand tightly, “You’re married to every version of me.”

The look on River’s face as she turned towards her was one that she’d wait a thousand years just to see. It was so full of love and joy that she had to swallow the lump that rose unexpectedly in her throat as River squeezed her hand tightly in response.

Thirty minutes later or so, they were now standing in the restaurant lobby. The two halves of the spacestation had been reunited, complete with the Doctor’s TARDIS, and the rest of the crew had been found and briefed on what had happened. The restaurant was now open and now that the air had been filtered, all the customers and staff were now waking up.

“Well, I’d better go and rescue him indoors,” River quipped with a grin, nodding behind her at the restaurant where a very dazed looking waiter was now stumbling towards the door.

“Be gentle with him,” the Doctor winced and nodded at the restaurant door, “I remember waking up with a terrible headache. I think they pumped some sort of soporific into the air that really didn’t agree with me.”

“I’m always gentle!” River replied with a wink as the Doctor snorted in amused disbelief.

“That, River Song, is a big fat lie!” she replied, leaning in and bopping River on the nose just as she used to do, so long ago in her eleventh regeneration.

“You love it,” River grinned at her as the Doctor swayed towards her.

“Always.”

“Ahem.”

The moment between them was quite abruptly broken by the sound of three throats being cleared quite loudly. The Doctor pulled back from River to turn to the others who were looking slightly embarrassed and as if they didn’t quite know where to look.

“Umm, fam, could you give us a moment?” the Doctor said sheepishly, “I’ll meet you at the TARDIS. We’ll be on our way soon. I’ll take you to those waterfalls, I promise this time.”

“That’s alright, Doc,” Graham said with a grin as he gave her a quick wink and began to shepherd the others towards the door, “You take your time. It was lovely to meet you, Professor,” he nodded at River who nodded back, “I hope we see you again.”

As they left them alone, the Doctor turned to River who was staring at her curiously. Deciding for once that talking was definitely not the best option, she reached out for River, closing the distance between them again.

As she was just leaning up, she suddenly paused. Maybe this wasn’t what River wanted and maybe they should talk or…

“Oh, just shut up and kiss me, Doctor,” River murmured with a roll of her eyes, reaching out and grasping her behind the neck. And then, finally, her lips were pressed against River’s and she was kissing her wife again after far, far too long. Sliding her hands up to cup River’s face, she let out a groan as she felt River’s tongue slide along her upper lip, opening her mouth willingly as she held nothing back.

“I’ve missed you,” she gasped, pressing her forehead against River’s as they finally broke apart, pressing small kisses along her wife’s cheeks and nose.

“Don’t be alone, Doctor,” River whispered urgently as she leant into her touch, “Listen to me, please. Just this once.”

“I always listen,”

River pulled back and smiled but she could see it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Oh, sweetie, for once I really hope that’s not Rule One.”

--

“I told you, the food doesn’t agree with me at that place.”

River bit her lip against a fond smile and instead ran her hand soothingly through the Doctor’s hair. They had arrived back on Darillium a couple of hours ago and had headed straight back home. They were now in the small snug in their cottage, tucked up together on the sofa. As his later incarnation had correctly remembered, he had indeed stumbled out the restaurant with a terrible headache and absolutely no idea what had happened beyond mid-way through their dinner. As a result, he was feeling very sorry for himself and was currently sprawled out on the sofa, his head in River’s lap as she indulged him, carding her fingers through his hair as he nuzzled into her touch like a cat.

She’d been suitably vague about what had happened, telling him there had been some trouble with the air filters which is why all the customers had suddenly passed out. Luckily, she’d told him, the bathrooms hadn’t been affected and so she’d been able to help out. The restaurant staff had been equally keen to keep things quiet. They didn’t want word to get out that their restaurant was a particularly at-risk venue for kidnappings or bomb explosions so they’d kept everything very hush hush. They had been extremely grateful however, telling River that she was welcome back any time.

“That’s a shame,” she murmured, scratching her nails absently against the Doctor’s scalp as he leaned into her touch, “They’ve offered us a free meal next time we go back.”

The Doctor harrumphed, squirming in her lap and muttered something about not stepping foot there ever again. River let him mutter to himself for a moment or so, continuing to stroke her hand through his hair, lulling him into a false sense of security.

“Oh, well, never mind,” she said with a slight shrug, feigning an air of indifference. She watched him as he settled back down, the set of his shoulders relaxed and he gave a small huff of agreement. “Maybe I’ll see if Ramone wants to go instead…”

“What? No, River, don’t be ridiculous, of course…”

He sat up immediately, turning round to look at her and spluttering in outrage. He stopped when he caught sight of her grinning outright at him this time, realising he’d been had.

“It’s alright, sweetie,” she said as he settled back down on her lap with some disgruntled muttering, “No one pouts as attractively as you across the dinner table.”

“Maybe next time I won’t have the fish,” he mumbled half into her stomach, nudging at her hand until she started petting his hair again, “I should’ve listened to you.”

River closed her eyes briefly, a worried frown creasing her face as she thought of his future self out there with her companions. “Yes, sweetie, you should always listen to me,” she murmured, wondering just exactly what the Doctor was up to and whether or not she’d heeded her words this time.

Caught up in her thoughts, she almost missed his muffled reply. “I always do. Eventually.”

--

The TARDIS brakes creaked as they landed with a judder. Yaz, Ryan and Graham headed eagerly towards the door, keen to get out and look. The Doctor hung back just for a moment, her hands still braced on the console.

As they pulled open the door and bundled out they stopped abruptly just outside the door.

“Err, Doc,” Graham called out, “Are you sure you’ve got this right?”

The Doctor took a deep breath and straightened up, nodding to herself before she spun on her heel and headed for the door herself. Leaving the TARDIS, she took a few steps out into the very familiar sight of early nineteenth century London. Breathing in deeply, she turned to the others.

“We’ll go to the waterfalls another time. This is one of the frost fairs on the Thames. Back when it still froze.”

“Oh, wow,” Ryan breathed, looking impressed, “That’s so cool.”

“It’s not the very last one. Been there a few times. Probably shouldn’t risk running into myself again,” she explained apologetically with a shrug.

“You’ve been here before then, Doctor?” Yaz asked curiously as the Doctor nodded, “Why bring us now?”

She opened her mouth to reply and stopped. Maybe this was a mistake. Maybe she shouldn’t have brought them here after all. Would they really understand why she had brought them here after all? If they all turned around very quickly then she could definitely get them all to those waterfalls this time.

“You came here with River, didn’t you?” Graham asked quietly, breaking the silence.

The Doctor looked around at all three of them. Ryan glancing around looking like he couldn’t decide whether he was terrified or ice skating or desperate to go exploring. Yaz biting her bottom lip and looking concerned despite trying to hide it and Graham. Dear old Graham, he was looking at her like he knew there was something more going on. She took another deep breath. Maybe she could do this after all.

She thought back to that wonderful day. The crisp, cold air. The sounds of Stevie Wonder drifting over the ice. River’s laughter in her ear and her warm breath on her cheek as they stumbled their way delightedly across the frozen water.

Steeling herself and thinking of her promise to her wife, she took a deep breath in and took a chance. “Yes, Graham, I did. Now,” she clapped her hands together and grinned at them all, “Let’s all get the right clothes on and then I’ll tell you how I convinced Stevie Wonder to sing here as well. I tell you, getting a grand piano into the TARDIS is no mean feat.”

--