Finished series 4, so here's another Doctor Who fic!
As usual, I don't own Doctor Who or any characters!
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River thinks about Rose sometimes.
Sometimes, when she’s cleaning out rooms within the TARDIS that her husband hasn’t entered in a century, River will find an Old Earth-style photograph and stare into the brown eyes of the blonde woman her husband loved.
River has heard the story, of course. A Time Lord keeps few secrets, and only those he must, from the woman who knows his name. River knows that her husband found Rose in those first hard years when the anguish of the Time War still raged in his hearts, long before River herself was even thought of. She knows that this shop girl from London past healed the last of the Time Lords with her smiles and laughter. Rose trusted the Doctor, and so the Doctor became someone who deserved that trust. If not for that blonde woman with lilting Cockney in her voice, would the Doctor have become his wiser, older self who captured the heart of a young archaeologist with his pointed laughter? River has to admit to herself that she isn’t sure.
River knows, too, about the other man who wore her husband’s young face and bore his memories while one lone heart beat in his chest. Her husband’s other self, born of Donna Noble’s sacrifice when the Daleks threatened all of time and space. River knows that her husband sent this human Doctor to the other world, where Rose Tyler could work her love-magic on him as well. River thinks of them, then, as her brother-in-law and sister-in-law. It’s easier that way. She knows, of course, that her husband had yielded to this younger, fragile self so that Rose Tyler’s husband could grow old along with her. As far as either of them knows, Rose Tyler Smith and Doctor John Smith did exactly that, dying peacefully together after a lifetime of running hand in hand. But River knows that it nearly broke her husband’s hearts to watch another man kissing the woman who had rent the dimensions for him. He had realized then, on Bad Wolf Bay, that holding himself back from Rose Tyler did not mean he wouldn’t lose her, did not mean it wouldn’t hurt when he did. If not for that heartbreak, River wonders, would the Doctor ever have found the courage to pledge his troth and share his name with a young human archaeologist who pointed and laughed right back? River has to admit to herself that she isn’t sure.
River accepts, without grudging, the history that made her husband who he is today. Doing otherwise would surely drive her mad, she thinks, with a husband more than thirty times her own age. She knows that her Doctor loves her with all of both his hearts. She revels in that love, and she in turn loves her husband deeply. Rose Tyler is part of her husband’s past, but River Song knows that she herself holds his present and future as they run, hand in hand, through sunlit fields and dark cities. But could she honestly say that she has never felt the least bit jealous of Rose? River has to admit to herself that she isn’t sure.
~~~
River thinks about Rose sometimes.
Sometimes, when she’s cleaning out rooms within the TARDIS that her husband hasn’t entered in a century, River will find an Old Earth-style photograph and stare into the brown eyes of the blonde woman her husband loved.
River has heard the story, of course. A Time Lord keeps few secrets, and only those he must, from the woman who knows his name. River knows that her husband found Rose in those first hard years when the anguish of the Time War still raged in his hearts, long before River herself was even thought of. She knows that this shop girl from London past healed the last of the Time Lords with her smiles and laughter. Rose trusted the Doctor, and so the Doctor became someone who deserved that trust. If not for that blonde woman with lilting Cockney in her voice, would the Doctor have become his wiser, older self who captured the heart of a young archaeologist with his pointed laughter? River has to admit to herself that she isn’t sure.
River knows, too, about the other man who wore her husband’s young face and bore his memories while one lone heart beat in his chest. Her husband’s other self, born of Donna Noble’s sacrifice when the Daleks threatened all of time and space. River knows that her husband sent this human Doctor to the other world, where Rose Tyler could work her love-magic on him as well. River thinks of them, then, as her brother-in-law and sister-in-law. It’s easier that way. She knows, of course, that her husband had yielded to this younger, fragile self so that Rose Tyler’s husband could grow old along with her. As far as either of them knows, Rose Tyler Smith and Doctor John Smith did exactly that, dying peacefully together after a lifetime of running hand in hand. But River knows that it nearly broke her husband’s hearts to watch another man kissing the woman who had rent the dimensions for him. He had realized then, on Bad Wolf Bay, that holding himself back from Rose Tyler did not mean he wouldn’t lose her, did not mean it wouldn’t hurt when he did. If not for that heartbreak, River wonders, would the Doctor ever have found the courage to pledge his troth and share his name with a young human archaeologist who pointed and laughed right back? River has to admit to herself that she isn’t sure.
River accepts, without grudging, the history that made her husband who he is today. Doing otherwise would surely drive her mad, she thinks, with a husband more than thirty times her own age. She knows that her Doctor loves her with all of both his hearts. She revels in that love, and she in turn loves her husband deeply. Rose Tyler is part of her husband’s past, but River Song knows that she herself holds his present and future as they run, hand in hand, through sunlit fields and dark cities. But could she honestly say that she has never felt the least bit jealous of Rose? River has to admit to herself that she isn’t sure.