Water Music (7/17)
Title: Water Music
Author: azriona
Characters: The Doctor, River Song
Rating: PG, so far
Spoilers: Big ones for Silence in the Library / Forest of the Dead. Compliant with Journey’s End, but if you haven’t seen it, you won’t be spoiled.
Betas: runriggers and jlrpuck

Summary: The Doctor never expects to met anyone in a linear fashion. How he meets River Song is slightly more non-lineal than most.

A/N: I’ve finished sketching out the rest of the story; shouldn’t be longer than 17 chapters or so.

Chapters One ~ Two ~ Three ~ Four ~ Five ~ Six

Alice figured it would happen one of two ways.

The first possibility was that the Doctor would go off on his own, frantic and exuberant, and leave Alice and River alone together. Without him fluttering around, she could explain the Melancholies in a calm manner, while they were both sitting down, with all the time in the world to properly tell River the whole story, start to finish.

It was a very long story, and Alice had the feeling River would want to digest it for a while.

The second possibility was where the Doctor would actually have the Melancholies and Alice would be torn between trying to care for him and explaining to River what was happening while at the same time possibly keeping them all from being eaten by whatever alien beast was chasing them that time.

Really, it could have gone either way, and both options had their pluses and minuses. On one hand, a calm, rational explanation; on the other, explanation by example. Alice didn’t much care for either.

In the end, it didn’t really matter, because that wasn’t how it happened at all.

*

The TARDIS landed with a thump and a scream. The thump was more or less expected. It took both the Doctor and Alice a few moments to realize that the scream wasn’t coming from the TARDIS, but rather from outside the TARDIS.

The Doctor stared at the normally soundproof doors. “What?” he sputtered, confused. He looked back at the console monitor and smacked it with his hand. “What?!?”

“Oh, what?” wailed Alice, trying to push him aside so that she could get a better look.

He didn’t have a chance to respond before the doors inexplicably opened. Instantly, Alice found herself shoved behind the Doctor, who pulled out his sonic screwdriver, ready to defend her. Alice’s heart pounded in her chest; she was afraid to even look at the doors. No one just came into the TARDIS – even Jack Harkness knocked first.

There was a moment of absolute silence, save for the hum of the time rotor, before the Doctor let out a final, horrified, exasperated: “WHAT?!?!”

“Don’t think I’m one bit happy to see you either, sunshine!” yelled the interloper.

Alice’s breath caught; she knew the voice instantly. She scrambled to her feet, and stepped out from behind the Doctor – sure enough, there stood River Song: slender, tall, ginger hair pulled back in a messy braid with damp tendrils hanging around her flushed face. She was out of breath and clearly exhausted; her clothes looked as though she’d slept in them for two days running, and there was a dark smudge on her forehead which might have been a bruise. She wasn’t very old; Alice thought they might have been about the same age then.

River strode toward them, tucking a silver key on a chain back under her shirt. “Alice! You’re here!”

“So’re you!” gasped Alice.

“What!” shouted the Doctor, and River glared at him, her mouth opening to deliver what was surely going to be another angry retort, when something very heavy and very metallic ran up against the TARDIS doors.

“Stop sputtering and get us out of here!” River snapped at him, and lunged for the control panel, pulling on the first lever she was able to reach.

“No!” yelled the Doctor, but before he’d had time to really react, the TARDIS tipped heavily to its side. Alice fell hard against the nearest strut, her head banging against the coral with a resounding smack. The Doctor, however, managed to hold onto the panel, and threw the ship into the Vortex, where it began to spin madly, head over heels.

“What do you think you’re doing?” the Doctor shouted at River, who was clinging to the console for dear life.

“Saving our skins!” River shouted back. She reached for a button and pushed it; the time rotor began to thump loudly, and the TARDIS stopped spinning and began moving clockwise.

Alice clung to the strut, growing dizzier by the moment. She blinked hard to clear her rapidly blurring vision, and could barely see the dim figures of the Doctor and River shouting at each other as they struggled to control the ship. They might have been grappling with each other, and the last thing Alice saw before blacking out completely was the Doctor as he fell against River, and River as she reached up and slapped him on the face.

*

The Doctor stared at River in shock, one hand on his freshly-slapped cheek.

“What?” he squeaked, and River screamed in frustration.

“Can you not say anything else? When? Where? Why? Oh, that’s a good one, try that for a change – why? Answer that, Doctor! Why?”

He couldn’t say anything – not because his cheek still stung, which it did, but because he was completely befuddled over what exactly was bothering her. Nothing had prepared him for a River who was upset with him – a River who, very possibly, actually hated him. She’s said it, back in The Library, that sometimes she did, but – this wasn’t the sort of playful hate he’d thought she meant.

This was unedited, unchecked, all-consuming complete hatred. A much different animal indeed.

River turned away from him, back to the control panel, and began to reach for the controls. The Doctor watched as she pulled on the right combination of levers and spun the wheel just enough to ease the TARDIS out of its rapid gyrations and into a more leisurely spin. As soon as she’d finished, he took her by the shoulders and pushed her into the jump seat. He was almost surprised how easily River let him move her, until he saw the weariness on her face.

“What’s happened to you?”

Her laughter was abrupt. “Can’t tell you, Doctor.”

“Spoilers?”

She flinched. He moved his hands away from her, wondering if he’d held her too harshly. “Can’t tell you,” she repeated firmly, and crossed her arms, leaning back. “Take me home.”

“What was it chasing you?”

“None of your business, you made that clear.”

“When did I make that clear?”

The glance she gave him was so quick, if he’d blinked, he would have missed it. “You could stop asking me questions I can’t answer. Not like I really care, but I’d rather not cause death and destruction and the end of the universe, if it’s all the same to you.”

He backed up against the console, and crossed his ankles, looking at her. She looked extremely tired to him – weary and worn and sorrowful. There were dark patches under her eyes, and her skin was pale and thin; he thought he could see the veins throbbing in her neck. The bruise on her forehead was dark, and he could tell that she was stiff. Before he even conscious of what he was doing, the sonic screwdriver was in his hand, and he’d taken a step toward her again, almost surprised when she numbly allowed the examination.

“Who hit you, River?”

“No one.”

“Didn’t get this from tripping,” he half scolded her, and switched the setting on the screwdriver to start repairing the bruise. She didn’t say anything, but he noticed her wince as her muscles began to heal. “Don’t you trust me?”

“No,” whispered River.

He flicked the screwdriver off and stared at her, bending to look her in the eyes. She couldn’t have been too old – she was still so small, and her face was still round, but her eyes – her eyes were impossibly old and sad. She couldn’t have been older than Alice –

Alice.

“Take me home,” said River.

“Wait,” said the Doctor gruffly, and crossed the grating to where Alice still lay. A flick of the screwdriver, and she began to blink. “Alice, wake up now.”

“Ow,” mumbled Alice.

“Alice, you’ve got concussion. You need to sit up and stay awake.”

“Do not.”

“Don’t argue, sit,” he told her, and helped her to lean against the strut. She winced, reaching for her shoulder, and he scanned it too. “Just a bruise, you’ll be fine.”

“River still here?”

He sighed. “Yes.”

“Did you do diaries?”

“Can’t,” said River suddenly. “I don’t have mine.”

He turned and stared at her. “You always carry your diary.”

She shrugged and looked away. He wondered how long it’d been since she last saw him – had she given up on him?

Or was he going to give up on her?

“Doctor?” asked Alice. “Could I have a cold compress? For my concussion?”

”No,” said the Doctor, still staring at River.

“All right, a hot one?”

He shook his head and turned back to Alice, lifting the screwdriver again. “No, I can—"

Alice shoved his hand away. “No, that’s fine. The grating’s a bit uncomfortable, could you fetch me a pillow? Or blanket?”

“If River budges over you can sit on the jump seat—"

“Don’t want to move,” said Alice, suddenly sounding almost desperate. “How about a glass of water?”

“Not a good idea—"

“Oh for the love of God,” shouted River suddenly. “She wants you to leave the bloody room, you stubborn alien!”

He nearly stumbled over his own feet in his rush to leave the room. He paused in the corridor, half expecting to hear a stream of girlish laughter follow him; instead, silence.

He walked blindly to the kitchen, wondering what he had done.

*

Alice watched River, who had been momentarily buoyed into energetic anger and spirit, deflate once the Doctor had left the room. She wanted to tell River how brilliant she had been; she wanted to tell River how the Doctor could understand pain and loss too; she wanted to tell River that it’d turn out right, in the end, spoilers be damned.

She had to tell her about the Melancholies.

In the end, all she could manage was “Wow.”

River slid to the floor and wrapped her arms around Alice, shaking. It was almost as if she were coming down from a fever, and Alice put an arm around the other girl’s shoulder.

“Didn’t think I’d see him again,” said River mournfully.

“That why you don’t have your diary?” asked Alice carefully.

“No – I mean, yes, but I wasn’t talking about the Doctor. I meant Aubrey.”

“Aubrey?”

River nodded at the TARDIS doors. “Aubrey. My boyfriend. Well, ex-boyfriend.”

Alice looked at the doors with wide eyes, remembering the massively strong thing that had tried to get in. “Nothing can get through those doors.”

“Genghis Khan never met Aubrey,” was the terse reply. “Didn’t think he’d be daft enough to follow me. Last time I underestimate an android, I’ll tell you that.”

Alice swallowed. “An android named Aubrey?”

“He’s really quite clever,” River replied, half defending, and then she sighed and shook her head. “Awful, sometimes, isn’t it? I hate it when I’m ahead of him.”

“Aubrey?” asked Alice, confused, but River shook her head again.

“The Doctor. He doesn’t know, does he?”

“I don’t think so,” said Alice, who didn’t know either.

River sighed. “He hates me.”

Alice sat up, alarmed, and winced when her shoulder flared with pain. “No, he doesn’t!”

River snorted. “He does. He as good as tossed me off the TARDIS, you know. Or – maybe you don’t.” She sighed. “Sorry. I forget, you shouldn’t know what’s coming either.” River sat back a little, and gave Alice something of a studying glance.

“You’ve seen me before, surely,” said Alice, somewhat disarmed.

“But never when you’re not older than me,” replied River thoughtfully. “We’re about the same age now, aren’t we?”

“Twenty-two,” offered Alice, and River grinned.

“Four years off, that’s a change. I’m twenty-six.”

“You always look younger,” sighed Alice. “Either that or I’m getting wrinkles.”

“Ages you, it does, traveling with him,” said River soberly, and brushed her fingers against the coral strut. “She’s none too sure about me.”

“You did try to shove her into the Vortex.”

“I already knew how, makes her nervous.” River sat back and looked around the console room. “He’s not my Doctor yet, is he?”

Alice held her breath and bit her lip. “I...I don’t think so. No. River—”

River sat up suddenly, as if she could sense something. She leaned forward and kissed Alice’s cheek. “Good to see you again, Alice.”

“Same here. I need to talk to you—"

River scrambled to her feet and sat on the jump seat, and kept her eyes focused squarely on the control panel, or the floor, or the swooping ceiling. The grating on the floor clanged as the Doctor returned, glass of water in hand. Alice watched River as she steadfastly refused to look at him, wondering how the girl had known the Doctor was returning. She took the water from the Doctor absently and watched them both try to ignore the other. Her head was spinning, full of fog; perhaps she did have a concussion. She let the glass sit on her knee.

“Still want to go home then?” the Doctor asked listlessly.

“Yes,” replied River, her hands tightly clasped.

“Did I—"

River’s back straightened; her voice was wary. “What?”

“Did I do something?”

“Must have.”

The Doctor sighed; Alice watched his shoulders slump as he leaned over the control panel. “Spoilers.”

River flinched again; the Doctor’s eyes flickered towards her.

“Big spoilers, I suppose,” he said softly, and once again, River flinched. He remained still for a moment. “What was chasing you?”

“No one you know.”

“Another spoiler.” Flinch.

“Just – take me home.”

The Doctor straightened. “If that’s what the lady wants.” He leaned over and began throwing levers and switches. Normally smooth and efficient, he worked at the control panel harshly, jerking the controls as if he really wanted to pull them out by their roots. “What were you doing out there, River? Oh, sorry, that must be a spoiler.”

Flinch.

“Were you with anyone else? Oh, wait – spoiler.”

Flinch.

“Where’s your diary, River? Never mind, spoiler.”

Flinch.

“How long’s it been for you, River? Since you saw me last? A year? Two? Six? Or is that a spoiler too?”

“Stop!” shouted River finally, and Alice nearly sighed in relief. Every flinch River had made, she’d copied; her muscles ached more than her head. River trembled, her hands shaking as she wrapped her arms around herself. “Stop saying that! You don’t mean it anyway!”

The Doctor looked up, his entire body trembling. Alice couldn’t breathe.

None of them said another word until the TARDIS landed.

The time rotor came to a stop.

River slid off the jump seat, her shoes making soft pats against the grated floor. She walked to Alice and knelt beside her, wrapping her arms around her for a tight embrace. Alice’s shoulder hurt, but she barely noticed.

“Goodbye, Alice,” River whispered.

“No,” said Alice, growing frantic, the letter and its reminder burning a hole in her pocket. “No, I have to talk to you—"

But River was past hearing. She stood and walked past the Doctor without saying a word, her chin in the air as if she were trying to keep her balance steady, and when she was steps from the door, she broke into a run and dove out of the TARDIS into the rain.

“Wait!” shouted the Doctor, and flew after her. He leaned on the doors and hung out into the driving rain, staring at where River had stopped in her tracks, already soaked to the skin. “It can’t end this way.”

“I’m sorry!” River shouted back. Even Alice, from where she struggled to get to her feet, could hear the pain and the tears in her voice. She held tight to the railing and began to pull herself to the door.

“No,” insisted the Doctor. “It doesn’t end this way, River. I know how it ends, and this isn’t it!”

“I’m sorry!” shouted River again.

Alice fell against the Doctor just in time to see River dash away, obscured by the rain. The Doctor struggled to keep her on her feet, clearly torn between assisting Alice and racing after River.

“Go after her,” said Alice, and then she saw his face.

It was blank. Horribly, horrifically, all-too-familiarly devoid of any feeling or thought or remote spark of interest in life. His eyes were wide and dark; his mouth dropped open in a sort of shock. Alice glanced out the open doors, half wondering if she’d see the vanishing figure again, but instead there was only the driving rain.

“Doctor?” asked Alice carefully.

“She’s gone,” said the Doctor, and that’s when Alice knew. He was slipping into a Melancholy, sure as he’d ever done. Maybe it was Fate playing a trick on Alice, a sort of punishment since she’d been meant to tell River about them.

But there was something Alice knew without a doubt. There hadn’t been the familiar figure vanishing in the rain this time, dressed in leather and looking for him in all the wrong times and places. This wasn’t the same sort of Melancholy as before.

This Melancholy was all for River Song. And Alice had no idea how she was going to break him of it.


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