Time Crash (Locked to songofsong)

[doctor_three]

The Doctor stormed into the TARDIS, making certain that the doors slammed shut behind him. That pompous, stuck up Brigadier and his stupid Geneva! As if he cared enough to throw himself about just for them. Didn't they realise he had better things to do?! He was a Time Lord after all. The nerve

Comments

[songofsong]

The TARDIS gave a lurch that made River stumble and she quickly held onto the wall and waited for the turbulence to stabilise. Really, she left the Doctor alone at the controls for five minutes. Once it felt steady enough to walk, she continued on, only to hear the Cloister bell ring out down the halls.

Sighing, she pushed open the door to the main control room, ready to sweep on down the staircase and fix the navigation for the Time Lord.

"Really, I put the coordinates in for Storm - " she cut herself as she entered, almost stumbling when she didn't go down a step, but rather her boot hit a hard floor. Catching herself, she stared ahead of her. The rusted amber of the TARDIS console was gone, instead replaced with a cool, grey interior, all neat lines and open space.

[doctor_three]

The Doctor was rubbing his chin, squinting at one particular reading, trying to figure out what the neutron flow was up to when he heard a voice. He whirled around on the spot to find a woman standing in the entrance to the console room looking just as flabbergasted as he felt.

"Who're you?" he asked rudely. Of course, the Doctor is a gentleman of grace and good manners but as far as he was concerned, this was a stowaway. And he didn't like stowaways. Especially from UNIT HQ.

[songofsong]

River stood silently for a couple of long seconds before she began to carefully step forward. "I think the most appropriate question here is ... who are you? At least, which version of you?" she asked.

She walked close enough until she was on the other side of the console, still staring at him before she breathed out a soft sound of disbelief, shaking her head as she smiled. This was ridiculous, mad impossible! And yet, wasn't that everything the Doctor ever was?

[doctor_three]

"I asked you first!" he immediately shot back in a childish manner as he stomped around to her side of the console, so that he could stand close enough to get a good look at her. She didn't look like any of the soldiers in UNIT he'd seen.

"And you seem to know who I am. How did you get in here?" the Doctor was becoming more and more irritated. "I suppose one of those idiotic soldiers promised you a ride through the stars or something similar."

[songofsong]

River made her way around the console as he did, revealing more of herself as she approached. She was certainly not dressed like any UNIT soldier, but that didn't mean she didn't look dangerous. She was currently clothed in a favourite of hers - a grey dress cinched by a chunky leather belt, completed with a gun holster that strapped around her thigh. A gun holster that was always armed.

"I walked in through the door," she replied, reaching him and walking a circle around his form as she studied his appearance as much as he studied hers. She grinned as she took in the velvet jacket, the frilled shirt, the familiar addition of a bowtie. "Oh, now this is precious. Look at you!" she said fondly, beaming.

[doctor_three]

His eyes lingered over the weaponry strapped to her thigh - it was unusual for a woman to carry such things in this century. But that didn't tell him much.

"But how did you get into the TARDIS to walk through the door?" The Doctor battered a hand in the air, waving off her patronising comment.

[songofsong]

It certainly was unusual, because that weapon wasn't from Earth, nor was it of this century. But as he'd soon discover, her gun wasn't the only mystery she carried with her.

"I was already on board," she explained. "I was returning to the control room when the Cloister Bell sounded and I came in to find a completely different console. I'd say the TARDIS is playing games with us, but this is too risky, even for her."

[doctor_three]

"You were already-?" he cut off. The cloister bell was still ringing and he should probably find out why. How could she have already been on board?

Hesitating, the Doctor moved back to the console. He held her in his sights for as long as he could before turning his back to her to check another dial, another screen, more readings. Each time he moved around the console, he through her a glance before looking back down at what he was doing. There was something strange going on but the TARDIS wasn't revealing anything more than the thing being unusual. Which wasn't exactly helpful.

"Can I at least have your name if you won't tell me how you go on board?" he asked, looking at her from the other side of the column, which had stopped dead.

[songofsong]

River turned to accompany the Doctor to the console, taking her place with natural ease. As he checked the readings, so did she, investing the screens and dials on her own side of the console. She seemed to be confident enough to make a few of her own adjustments.

"Dr River Song," she said without glancing up, and that was as much as she was going to tell him. The TARDIS wouldn't allow them to meet if it was causing a paradox, and she had faith the old girl knew what she was doing.

[doctor_three]

"Well, Dr River Song," he began, flicking a thing she'd switched with the frown of a spoiled child, "I believe that we can safely say this is all your fault."

Of course, the Doctor referred to whatever was wrong with the TARDIS. It was perfectly fine until just before she'd arrived, so he can't imagine what else would be the cause. Certainly nothing of his doing. As the Doctor spoke, he continued fiddling with instruments and dials, trying to get the TARDIS back into a more stable state.

"So I think you'd best tell me how you got to be on board my ship!"

[songofsong]

"My fault?" she replied, lifting her gaze and shooting a look across the TARDIS console. Without another word, she confidently pulled on a lever, softening the turbulence to a steady rock. "In my experience - of which I have plenty, sweetie - it's normally your fault." She then reached over and hit a button on the console, calming the TARDIS of its motion.

She looked towards him, tossing her hair out of his face and giving him a cool look, though her eyes sparkled with mischief. "I told you, Doctor. I entered through the door. But what could have caused this? Are your shields down? Are you going to leave the shields down?"

She sighed, looking down at the screen and tapping on the keyboard. "Thankfully, it looks like there's only one TARDIS present. We must have crossed paths at exactly the same moment in the exact same part of the vortex. Passed through each other, scrambled into atoms, rebuilt on the other side. Looks like the old girl accidentally put me back in the wrong TARDIS."

[doctor_three]

The Doctor spent a moment looking about the console room for a reason for the sudden peaceful state. When he found nothing that stood out as foreign and controlling, his gaze rested upon the woman; upon Dr. River Song.

"Yes," he muttered, bringing a long, aged finger to his chin in thought. She didn't give off the same energy as Time Lords did but she certainly wasn't human as he first suspected. And no human could tame the TARDIS like that.

"I've no need for shields!" he grumbled as he pulled himself from the train of thought he was quickly becoming lost in. "They only use up valuable power! But I suppose you're right about the time paths. There's no other explanation for it"

[songofsong]

River scoffed to herself when he said he had no use for shields. "I've heard that before," she said, but not unkindly. "In fact, right before you ploughed into the One-Star Galaxy and almost took out, well, the only star in the galaxy! Not exactly difficult to miss, honey.. ! Well, I suppose you were a little distracted..."

She shook her hair from her face, continuing. "But yes, I'm right. Of course I'm right. I was right then and I'm right now." Another switch was flicked before she sighed to herself, setting a hand on her hip and cocking her head at him.

Her expression then changed into a knowing little smile as something dawned upon her, unable to show much frustration towards him for long.

"You never admit I'm right!"

[doctor_three]

"Madam, I can hardly never admit you're right when I don't even know who you are!" the Doctor didn't like the change in her expression. It worried him somewhat and he took a step back. "So let's not get carried away."

He frowned and went back to searching the control panel for some kind of answer. After another weary glance at River.

"But the TARDIS should have picked up the crossing of the time streams before it happened. Paradoxes aren't exactly tactful in nature."

[songofsong]

"But you will do," said River, leaning her hands upon the console as she watched him. She was sure he had already worked that one out, but he seemed to be rather intimidated by the idea of it!

When he went back to talking about their predicament, she returned her eyes to the TARDIS screen, investigating the readings. "The Cloister Bell was a fairly big warning, although nothing could be done about it. She was forced to let it happen, otherwise I would've been dropped into the middle of the vortex and disintegrated."

She patted the column gently. "Thank you, by the way. I appreciate it even if he doesn't."

[doctor_three]

From under a raised eyebrow the Doctor watched the interaction between TARDIS and...female. For he had no other word for her. It was as though she were almost human but not quite. Something so familiar about her tickled in the back of his mind but she was from his future, he dreaded to think what he got up to. That and he didn't want to cause a second paradox by figuring out some awful truth.

"It isn't a question of appreciation, Miss Song. It's more of a -" the Doctor cut off, unable to finish his sentence as a crash from within the TARDIS rang out.

It sounded like one of the walls had fallen in on itself or a car had crashed into a lamp post. Neither of which were exactly giving him any positive ideas about the source of the noise. The Doctor stared at the entrance before wheeling back around to the woman.

"You haven't brought friends, have you?!"