WHAT A NIGHT THAT WAS
Chapter One (Doctor) This is it, the moment has finally come. I can sense the moment approaching in my mind, the moment I've been dreading since I first learned of it in my tenth life. The moment when I must send my beloved River to meet my tenth self and meet her death. I remember the words of my previous self while I dress for the occasion. River told me in The Library that I showed up on her doorstep with a haircut and a new suit. I trimmed my hair and I'm wearing a tuxedo, a bit fancy but considering this is the last time we'll ever be together… I fight the wave of emotion that threatens to wash over me. In the past three hundred years River and I have shared many things together, fought many foes, had many adventures. And even though we've never been officially married, I consider River my wife in all but name. Which is why this is so hard for me. I finish dressing and examine myself in the mirror. I feel myself falter for a moment. I don't want to do this but I know that I must in order to preserve the time line. Cursing under my breath, I turn away from the mirror. Sometimes I hate being a Time Lord. My feet trudge towards the console room while I will myself to get this over with. (River) "Okay, Miles, let me know when you're ready to leave then." I hang up the phone after talking to one of my team members. Miles Johnson, one of my most trusted associates on our digs. We're planning to travel to Belrus Nine for a dig. We're hoping to find some rare dinosaur fossils. The museum there is paying plenty of credits for an intact Darunosaur skeleton and well, I always love a challenge. I go to the kitchen to put a kettle on for a nice cuppa. I think a nice cuppa and a night of telly sounds just right. I'm shagged out from several days of working on another dig. Blimey, when I read for archaeology, I only intended to find the Doctor, not break my back finding fossils. Ah well, girl's gotta have a career, right? I'm just about to put the kettle on when there's a knock at my door. I turn back towards the door, open it and my heart leaps in my chest when I see my sweetie standing there on my doorstep. For some reason, he's wearing a tuxedo, his hair's a bit shorter and he's holding a bouquet of roses in his hand. He looks absolutely stunning and he flashes that ultra cute boyish grin of his. "Are you busy, Miss Song?" "Well, I was going to have a cup of tea and watch the telly, does that qualify as busy?" I say sweetly. "No, that qualifies as rubbish. Come with me, I have a much better evening in mind for us." "Ooo, sounds intriguing, let me put on something more appropriate then." I give my loverboy a kiss on the lips before I hurry to my bedroom. (Doctor) God, I feel like such an arse. I can't believe I'm doing this, deceiving the woman I love and sending her to her death, all while I pretend to be on a date with her. She trusts me completely and I'm stabbing her in the back. Why can't the universe be on my side for once? I tried to love Rose and lost her and now I'm about to lose River. The universe must certainly hate me. I look around her house while I wait for River to finish getting dressed. She kept this little house even though she still travels with me. She prefers to be a part time companion and earn some money doing her archaeology thing, which is great since I don't know if I could handle her in the TARDIS full time. I love her but the woman is definitely the take charge kind of gal and we've had a few heated arguments before. Still, I wouldn't have made it through the past couple of centuries without her. She's been my lover, my friend and my confidant…and now she's on her way to die. I shake that thought out of my head. I can't dwell on that. I just need to give my River one last romantic dinner before she goes to The Library. (River) I finish putting on a jet black evening dress and check myself out in the full length mirror in my room. My God, I look stunning. I'm not being egotistical, it's just the truth. This body is dead sexy, much better than my last one. I turn left and right, checking myself, before I grab my black purse and head back to my sweetie. I smile when I enter the room. The dress had just the right effect on him. He turns and freezes, staring at me with delight as I cross the room towards him. I knew he'd like it. He likes me in black, says it flatters my figure. But when I walk up to him, I can't help but notice there's an aura of sadness about him for some reason. Maybe something happened today while he was off exploring and he thought up the idea of dinner with me to cheer himself up? Well, if cheering up is what he needs, I'm more than up to the challenge. He takes my hand and kisses it tenderly. The man is a real charmer, that's for sure. We walk out the door and he leads me to his TARDIS. All the while I keep sensing something is wrong. I can tell when the Doctor is faking an emotion and while he talks to me and tells me what his plans are, I get the feeling that he's faking his cheerfulness. This is nothing new but he very rarely fakes emotions around me which is why I'm wondering what the hell is going on. "Doctor, are you alright?" I finally ask, stopping him just outside the TARDIS. "Yes, of course, why do you ask?" "Because you seem a little too cheerful." I see a tiny flicker of pain flash though his eyes for a moment before he answers me. "No, nothing's wrong, just a rough day in the TARDIS so I thought I'd come and relax with you," he says with a shrug. I'm not entirely convinced but I know the Doctor won't tell me what's wrong with him unless he wants to and rather than wasting my time playing the inquisition, I decide to just relax and enjoy being with him. The Doctor clicks his fingers, the TARDIS doors open and he leads me inside. "So…" I say. "Where are we headed?" "A very special place I know of," the Doctor replies. "Oh, I see, so you're going to play hard to get?" I tease. "Spoilers," he said, touching the tip of my nose. I grin at that and sit down on his seat, watching while he works his magic on the console.
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