Work Text:
River smiled as she knelt in the orange dirt of Harashi, a planet that humans had been cohabiting with the native species for hundreds of years. She was here on an expedition, just a simple teaching dig a chance to give her students real experience of archaeology without needing to worry about any mistakes they might make. The history of this planet was well known and documented and the artefacts they were looking for were rather common building remains, burials and tools of the native species. It was so low risk –yet very useful for her students’ studies- that River had brought her seven year old daughter Poppy along with her.
Poppy was remarkable, River thought. As a child of Gallifrey she was brilliant, she had a mind that worked faster than most of her students, but was still so perfectly curious and naïve like any child was. She was rather a lot like her father, really.
River chuckled to herself and wiped her dirty hands over her jeans, looking up to watch Poppy. The little girl dug carefully with a small trowel and brush, her strawberry blonde hair falling in her face and blowing in the wind. Moving closer to her daughter River reached out and pulled the girl’s hair back, tying it into a pony tail on the crown of her head.
“What have you found, darling?” she asked,
Poppy smiled and started telling her mother about what she thought she was uncovering, completely accurately, of course. She definitely made her mother proud, River thought with a smile. Pressing a kiss to her daughter’s head the archaeologist stood and made her way around the site to observe and assess her students.
She had made it about half way around when they felt it. The world shook, a deep rumbling, like thunder, echoing above them. River frowned, looking up into the sky with concern. Harashi didn’t have thunder, or quakes. The only thing that would cause such disturbance would be-
“Professor Song!”
River turned sharply at the cry of one of her students and immediately saw what was the matter. A space ship, large and incredibly fast, was heading down toward the planet and River felt her blood run cold. She recognised that ship. It was a war craft, specially designed for invasion and destruction.
“Run.” She said simply, “Everyone leave your things and just run, as fast as you can back to our ships and leave.” Nobody moved, all staring at her with wide eyes. “Now!”
Her students scrambled up and ran, and River joined them, rushing over to the other side of the site to where her daughter continued to dig. “We have to go, sweetie.” She said, scooping her daughter up into her arms and running towards the ships. But in their haste to escape her students had misjudged whether they had everyone with them, each individual ship assuming their professor was on one of the others.
“Mummy, where have they gone?”
“Home, darling.” River said trying her best to think clearly and calmly and not at all about the fact that she had brought her daughter along for what was going to be a vicious and violent planetary invasion.
“Why?”
What was she supposed to say to that? The warships she could hear landing in the distance held one of the cruellest races River had encountered. They moved from planet to planet, killing and sometimes enslaving the inhabiting races in their efforts to take over, bleeding the resources dry before moving on to the next planet in an endless cycle of destruction and death. Already she could hear the laser fire from blaster guns and screams of the poor people at the front of it all. Sirens sounded and again the world shook beneath their feet; another ship was coming.
River had her Alpha Meson blaster with her -and never had she been more grateful for the weapon- as well as a torch, a trowel, her communicator and… nothing else. That was all she had with her to try and protect herself and her daughter from what was frankly near certain death.
Running for cover in the closest building River could find she set her daughter back onto her feet and pulled her communicator from the pouch on her belt. The thunderous sound of warships entering the planet’s atmosphere was becoming more frequent and the shocks to the land beneath them made it hard to keep moving, but River tried, running with her daughter up the stairs of whatever this building was.
She needed to get a message to the Doctor. Grabbing Poppy firmly by the hand River pulled her through a door on the next landing and found a corner for them to wait in as she typed out a message with the communicator in hand and sent it.
“Mummy, what’s happening?”
River bit her lip, “Some not very friendly people are arriving. They’re dangerous and very mean and we have to hide from them until Daddy can come get us.” She moved carefully to a window and peaked out. They were coming their way already. “Come on, sweetie, this way.”
Poppy accepted her mother’s hand and followed her back to the stairwell. As they ran together up the stairs the entire building began to shake. Poppy lost her balance and fell to the floor but River scooped her up quickly, holding her firmly in her arms without stopping. Another ship had landed, right outside if the noise and tremors were anything to go by. River could already hear the marching feet of the soldiers.
Search every building, kill anyone you see. Those were the orders given to the warships.
Explosions sounded outside. Harashi was fighting back, but it was hopeless. Fighting them would only make matters worse.
They would be in the building in a matter of seconds. River changed course, darting into the next available door and rushing through the bullpen of whatever abandoned office this was. She needed to find more stairs, she needed to keep moving. She ran a loop around the building and found, thank god, a second stair well. She pushed through it and forced herself to keep running, moving as fast as she could up the stairs.
They were searching the floors below. She could hear them blasting their way through each floor; hear them marching upwards and upwards. Her hearts were caught in her throat, pounding and pounding. They reached the top floor, and rushing quickly around the entire loop of the building it became clear that there was nowhere else to go.
“Mummy I’m scared.”
Poppy was crying. River set her down and crouched to her height. There was nothing more she could do.
“Darling you have to hide.” She told her, “You have to take this and find the very best hiding spot you can and stay there, stay there and don’t come out for anything. Daddy will come for you, I promise.” She pulled out her communicator –the Doctor would be able to track it- and tucked it into Poppy’s arms.
“What about you?”
“Mummy’s going to make sure they don’t find you, okay? Hide as best as you can and don’t come out for anything. Wait for Daddy.” Poppy nodded, “Promise me Poppy, promise me you’ll stay put. No matter what.”
“I promise.”
“Good.” River wrapped her arms tightly around the little girl and kissed the top of her strawberry blonde hair, “I love you.”
“I love you too, Mummy,”
The blasts were getting closer, “Now hide, darling. Fast as you can.”
Poppy ran, clutching the communicator, and found a big important looking office with a large heavy door. She snuck inside and looked around for a hiding spot.
River didn’t watch her go. Instead she pulled her Alpha Meson gun from its holster and prepared herself. Tears stung at her eyes but she wiped them away determinedly. She had to be strong for her daughter.
Taking her place around the corner, gun in hand, River waited. The door swung open. She darted out, quickly, shooting blast after blast hitting the first four soldiers between the eyes, killing them instantly. Quickly she collected their weapons and tucked herself back behind the wall.
She waited with bated breath. There would be more.
If River had to compare them to anything, she’d say they most resembled an eagle the size of a large man. They were six foot tall and had muscular chests much like a humans, but feathered backs, necks and heads. Their feet were taloned and deadly sharp, their faces beaked and their hands clawed as they grasped onto their stolen and adapted weaponry.
They wore scaled armour over their backs and arms resembling the feathers underneath and a large heavy plate across their chest. All made of one of the strongest metals available in this galaxy.
More soldiers reached the floor, and seeing the fallen bodies of their fellows they screeched madly. River took a steadying breath and once more darted from her spot behind the wall, shooting her Alpha Meson gun with one hand, and a blaster gun from one of their own in the other.
Again she didn’t miss a shot, and avoided any blast sent her way expertly.
Without waiting this time River holstered her Alpha Meson gun and tucked one of the acquired blasters under her belt, using her free hands to grab two more. She rushed down the hall way and moments later heard the screech of more soldiers. They would alert the warship outside, and then she’d have a problem.
A blast flew over her head; she ducked and dived through the closest door. They were closer than she had thought, and very mad if they were missing. She took cover in the room, the open door hanging out into the corridor, and shot out from behind it. Another screech, she must have hit one of them.
The door behind her jolted with the force of their shot; it wouldn’t hold, she had to keep moving. She stood and jumped out, shooting four times in quick succession, hitting only two of them before she turned and ran for the next corner. She saw a blast fly past her and hit the wall ahead, a deep scorch burning into the plaster.
------------------
Poppy could hear horrid screeching outside and the echoing blast of guns it was getting closer, and she was so scared. Despite her promise Poppy crawled from her hiding spot and over to the door. She peaked underneath and saw her mummy hiding behind a door along the corridor. The creatures, big and mean just like mummy had said, were holding guns. So was mummy.
A shot echoed out and hit the door mummy crouched behind. Poppy jumped and watched as mummy stood up, holding her two big guns and shot at the creatures. Two of them fell to the ground and Poppy stared at them, wondering if they were dead.
Mummy was running closer and she wanted to scream because some of the creatures were still standing, and they shot, mummy only just moving out of the way in time. The shot hit the office wall, Poppy felt it shake, another shot and the wall broke open. This time Poppy did scream.
--------------
River felt her hearts seize at the sound of her daughter’s voice. Her little girl had screamed and she realised with a stab to her gut that she had been hiding in that room.
She dived for the door, pulling it open and almost tripped over the little girl cowering on the ground. She didn’t have time to tell her daughter to close her eyes, or block her ears. She had to act.
Standing over her daughter River poked out from behind the door and shot another soldier. The last remaining solider screeched out at her and already River could hear the scratching footsteps of more back up. They stared at each other, guns raised, and without blinking both shot at the exactly same time. River dodged to the right, to hide behind the door, but not fast enough. The blast hit her left shoulder and she yelled out in pain.
The creature must have had more luck, because another shot came and hit the door.
“Poppy, you need to run.”
“Mummy, I-”
River jumped out, holding up her one good arm and shooting madly, hoping to whatever God she could think of that Poppy was running. The last soldier fell to the floor, dead like his fellows.
She looked down, Poppy had run. Good girl. River turned and ran down the corridor, she saw a flash of her daughter’s hair darting around a corner and followed quickly. River saw Poppy freeze near the entrance to the first stairwell, there were so many bodies, crumpled on the floor from where River had shot them. How she’d explain that later she had no idea, but for now River just had to focus on making sure there was a later.
A sign above the stairwell door caught River’s eye. She smiled, her heart flooding with hope as she called out, “Go up darling. Up to the roof.”
Poppy snapped back into action, pulling open the door and running up stairs, she could hear her mother following her. River looked down the stair well, trying to see how much time she had.
A shot came straight for her. She ducked and it hit the door.
Not much then.
Shooting back quickly River ran up the stairs. The roof door swung shut after Poppy and River reached it a moment later. Pushing through the door the sounds of distant blaster fire and screams filled the air. River rushed to Poppy who stood frozen, still clutching River’s communicator. Crouching before the girl, River dropped her weapons, taking one of Poppy’s hands in hers.
“Poppy darling, you have to trust me, okay?” Poppy nodded, and River wrapped her good arm tight around the girl and stood, “Hold on.” She murmured, and the girl linked her legs around River’s middle and her arms around her neck.
The door behind them opened and River broke into a run, cradling her daughter protectively to her chest with both arms, ignoring the pain in her injured shoulder. She opened her mind, concentrating on the precise time and coordinates, yelling out to the Doctor.
“Close your eyes, Poppy,”
River did the same; her eyes shut tight, her arms fused around her daughter she kept running, ignoring the blast shots that missed her feet by mere seconds. She just ran, straight off the building and hoped.
Poppy screamed. She hadn’t closed her eyes.
River barely had time to wince at the wind stinging and whipping into her face as they fell, before suddenly she was submerged in water. She kicked out, pushing their heads up above the surface, and her grip on Poppy loosened. They were in the TARDIS pool and already River could feel the ship dematerialising and taking them away. They were safe.
She breathed a sigh of relief and carried Poppy to the side, lifting her out of the water despite her protesting shoulder and onto the edge. It was only when she saw a large towel engulf her daughter before the girl was swooped up into the air that River realised the Doctor was standing there.
He didn’t speak, didn’t even look down at her. He just cradled Poppy close to his chest and carried her away. River tried to follow him, but to get out of the pool she forgot about her arm and tried to push herself up over the edge. Pain shot through her and she fell back, biting back on a yell that threatened to leave her lips. Blood was seeping into the water and the wound was beginning to sting quite badly. River made her way gingerly to the step ladder and climbed up, ignoring the towels. She needed to make sure her daughter was going to be alright.
------
Save us, Daddy!
That is what the psychic paper had said. The time reference and coordinates had been in the familiar yet panicked letters of his wife, but that, those three little terrifying words tucked just underneath, they had been in his daughter’s handwriting.
So he’d gone to the coordinates, running around the console fumbling in his haste to get there, to save them. The TARDIS materialised and the Doctor had raced for the swimming pool, opening all the doors and waiting by the wall until, with a great splash, his wife and daughter appeared before them and cool blue water of the pool began to fill with red.
His hearts had seized at the sight and he watched River lift Poppy to the pool side, covered in blood. He’d acted on instinct, wrapping his daughter in a towel and carrying her straight to the medical bay. River could look after herself, but Poppy was just a girl.
“Daddy!” Poppy cried, her arms flying around his neck, tears streaming down her cheeks.
“Poppy, what happened? Are you hurt?”
She shook her head but continued to sob into his neck as he entered the med bay. The Doctor sat her down on an exam table and ran a scan over her; accelerated heart rate that was already slowing, but perfectly healthy. He breathed a sigh of relief, picking her up once more and carrying her to his room and adjoining bathroom. Poppy let her father undress her and led her under the warm spray of the shower. He washed her, then wrapped her in a fresh towel and rubbed her dry.
The Doctor found an old shirt for her to wear as a nightdress, and tucked her into his bed, lying next to her, his arms wrapped around her small frame as he sang her gently to sleep.
------
River ignored the pain. She ignored the way her whole left side buzzed, her hand and arm numbing, her shoulder ablaze. She ignored the TARDIS when every door she came to led to the empty med bay. At least that was something; Poppy didn’t need the medical attention. But apparently the TARDIS seemed to think she did, and River was in no mood for it.
“I’ll look after myself later, but I need to see my daughter.” She yelled out in frustration as again the TARDIS revealed the med bay behind the wrong door. “I need to see her. I need to know she’s okay.”
Tears gathering in her eyes River reached a hand out to stroke the walls of the ship with her fingertips, “Please.”
Shaking, River moved to the next door in the corridor and opened it. Her bedroom stood before her, and in her bed was Poppy, curled up with her father and asleep as he sang softly, the old nursery songs from Gallifrey. He’d taught River those songs when they were expecting Poppy and had sung them to her swollen stomach at every opportunity. He didn’t look up as River stepped inside.
“You jumped off a building.” He said, breaking away from the song, “With our daughter in your arms.”
Guilt flooded through River once more. She could hear the underlying anger in his voice. The distrust and blame. “Yes.”
“Why?”
“It was our only chance,”
The Doctor’s head snapped up at that, and his mouth open and she knew there was poison on his lips. Hissed words demanding why she’d found herself in a situation where the only chance of survival involved jumping from a building with their seven year old. But when he saw her his face paled, and the anger melted away replaced with only worry.
“River,” he breathed, “River where were you?”
“Harashi,” she told him with a frown, “On a practice dig with my students.”
“But Harashi is peaceful.” Carefully he moved away from their daughter, stepping from the bed and leaving the room, leading River to the corridor outside. “How did this happen? Who did this to you, Harashi was always peaceful, always. Until the very end, until-”
“The invasion.” River nodded, “They came, Doctor and I had no choice. I had to run with her and hide with her and hope you’d be there to catch us when we fell.”
“You should have known not to go there on that day, River! How could you have been so stupid? She’s only a child; you’re supposed to keep her safe!” She barely flinched as he yelled, held her jaw stiff and her back straight. He was right, of course. She should have known. But that didn’t mean his words didn’t hurt.
“She could have died, River! They would have killed her- killed you!” His voice wavered, and his eyes filled with tears, “And by the looks of things they almost did.”
She couldn’t help but wince as he reached for her arm, “I’m fine.”
“You’re not fine.” He growled, “River, that’s a blast wound, you could’ve lost your arm.”
“But I didn’t, did I?”
“Not yet you haven’t, but leave it like this and you might. Come on,” he took her firmly by her good hand and pulled her across the corridor, opening the first door he came to. He sat her on the exam table in the med bay and cut away her clothes carefully, ignoring her protests and glares.
He scanned her and examined the wound more closely, apologising profusely at the smallest gasp of pain from his wife’s lips. “You know there is an easy way to fix this,” he said.
“Don’t you dare waste your regeneration energy on me,” River warned.
“Not a waste. And it’s my regeneration energy to use as I please. Perhaps I please to use it to save my wife.”
“Doctor you know just as well as I do that there are other things you could do to save me and my arm.”
“But they don’t guarantee you full function afterwards, I could.”
She glared at him, “No.”
“River-”
“Find another way. I won’t have you wasting your life away for me. I know I won’t be around forever. Poppy is going to need you to have as much of your life as possible.”
He scoffed, “So now you care about P-” She slapped him hard around the face with her right hand, unfiltered anger in her eyes.
“Don’t you dare.” She whispered; her voice cold venom that stung at his hearts, “Don’t you dare say that I don’t care about my daughter; that I don’t do everything in my power to keep her safe and protected.”
“I-” The Doctor swallowed, “I just don’t want to lose you again. Either of you, you’re all I have, River. You and Poppy, and if you ever- ever... I could never come back from that.”
Silence fell between them. The Doctor busied himself around the med bay finding what he’d need to heal River’s arm. He did as best he could with the equipment available to him, applying a harsh healing gel and bandaging the wound before finally placing her arm in a sling. She should be fine, she would heal faster than an average human and the TARDIS would let them know if any problems arose. But there were no guarantees the gel would heal her arm completely, a lot of time had passed since the injury was sustained and she hadn’t exactly been gentle with her injury. River never was.
“Thank you.” She murmured softly as he finished his work and allowed her to slip from the exam table.
She began to walk to the door, but the Doctor reached out, grasping her free hand. “River,”
River stopped and the Doctor stepped closer. “Please,” he said, “I didn’t mean- Of course I know how much you care for our daughter. That you’d do anything to keep her safe. Of course I know that, I’m sorry, I just-“
He trailed off, his eyes closed, his head resting on top of her head, “I was so scared.”
“Sweetie?”
Silently the Doctor reached into his coat and pulled out his psychic paper, showing River the message that was still displayed there. She gasped. Her hearts clenching as she read her daughter’s plea.
“Oh Doctor,” She turned on the spot and cupped his cheek with her good hand. They stared at each other, neither sure what to say until eventually the Doctor gave in. He bent down until his lips found hers, kissing her desperately, as though he thought if their lips parted for just a moment she would disappear into thin air.
She clung to him as best she could with her one arm, letting him run his tongue across hers, letting him grip her waist in a stinging grip. Words were nothing when they could have this. And when they parted the Doctor said the only thing he could.
“Stay.” River opened her mouth to speak but he continued, interrupting her, “If not for me, River, for Poppy.”
River swallowed her excuses, and looked up at him with shining eyes and a set jaw. “Okay.” She said, “We’ll stay. But understand, my love, it’s not just for her, but for me as well. For us.”
“Will you forgive me? For saying…” He sighed, “For being so cruel?”
“Eventually.” She stroked his cheek fondly, “I always forgive you in the end; just as you forgive me.”
He smiled softly, sadly, and nodded. “Always and completely, my dear River,”
“Until death do us part,”
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.” And they sealed it with a kiss.