Romance Lost, and Found Again (Amy/River)
Title: Romance Lost, and Found Again
Fandom: Doctor Who
Characters & Pairings: Amy/River
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I don’t own Doctor Who, this is not for profit, just for entertainment.
Summary: A one shot in which Amy and River have never been together, in either of their timelines, with or without the Pandorica; but they are about to be.
Note 1: A special thanks goes to persiflage_1, my beta.
From the moment River first met Amy, she was intrigued. It was more than her usual curiosity as to why the Doctor had chosen a particular human; there was just something about this one companion of his, something she couldn’t quite put her finger on, which captivated her.
They had only met a few times when Amy followed the Doctor into River’s, or more accurately Cleopatra’s, tent. Things happened so quickly and before she knew it Amy was married and there was one more companion, one whom River found she wasn’t interested in at all. Four people was too many to travel in the TARDIS, despite her size, so River got busy vying for funding for her latest dig and started seeing a delightfully attractive academic from the university she was based at. Thoughts of Amy Pond, and even her precious Doctor were soon far from her mind.
But then she happened upon something most definitely alien at the bottom of one of her trenches and she could hear the sound of the TARDIS’ screeching brakes even before she had time to prise her discovery from the ground.
“Ah, you - err - you really don’t want to touch that, River.”
She didn’t turn around - she didn’t need to, she knew who was talking to her - and besides, this rune-covered, simultaneously squishy and solid object was far too fascinating. Plus, this find would definitely get her an extension on her grant.
“You were right, it is pretty cool looking.”
That voice was familiar too. She subconsciously held her breath as she waited for the third voice, it never came.
“Why don’t I want to touch it?” River finally asked, exhaling heavily. Despite her annoyance at the Doctor’s interference, she had to concede that he was usually right about these things. “It’s not going to explode is it?” Her irritation was evident in her voice.
“No, but it will hatch,” the Doctor said, jumping down into the trench. ”And that would be very, very unpleasant, believe me.”
“So what do you propose I do with it?” River asked, standing up from her crouch. Not bothering to wait for the Doctor’s answer, she turned to look at Amy. The redhead greeted her with a warm smile and a little wave which River returned, before grudgingly looking back to the Doctor.
“Err - I -err...”
River rolled her eyes. She could always tell she wasn’t going to like what he was going to say when he did that annoying hesitating thing.
“You want me to cover it up again, don’t you?” She raised her eyebrows at him, challenging him to tell her different.
He nodded.
“No,” River said definitively. “Most definitely not. Do you have any idea how many man hours have gone in to getting this far down? There were 5 inches of 20th and 21st century tarmac that needed to be painstakingly removed and preserved! Three and a half weeks, and we’ve only just hit the 19th century. And this place hasn’t been inhabited since the 2100s so it’s not like there was lots of archaeology before it!”
Amy winced, feeling somewhat responsible for the apparent scourge that her time’s favourite road building material was to archaeology. Unbidden, the Joni Mitchell song Big Yellow Taxi started playing in her mind. ‘For paved paradise, put up a parking lot...’
“River, you have two choices; either you cover that thing over or release a deadly virus on human kind. It’s your choice.” The Doctor folded his arms, trying to look authoritative, but he was much too young for that.
River rolled her eyes dramatically. “Fine, but you had better make it up to me, both of you.”
The Doctor smiled. “I think we can do that. Fancy a trip to The Third Starbelt Planet of the Oreus System?”
“Not even you can do that,” River said in disbelief. “That system disappeared over 5 thousand years ago into a black hole. Even its original location has been lost over the years.”
The Doctor grinned. “I found it.”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“So,” Amy began, leaning back with her elbows on the console, watching River finish putting her hair up, “what is this Starbelt thingy?”
“It’s the most romantic place in the universe. At least, that’s what the stories say.” River smirked mischievously at her, trying to stop her gaze falling to those perfect curves or those long luxurious legs that Amy’s position was showing off oh so well. “Contemporary scholars think it might have been something to do with a certain compound found in the mist of the inner atmosphere. It’s thought that it magnifies amorous feelings, it’s never been found anywhere else, and all lab based attempts to recreate it have failed miserably.”
Amy scrunched up her nose. “Why?”
“Every time they introduce the two reactants, they explode violently. They have no idea how the stable compound is formed.” River tucked the last tendrils of her hair up and moved to the console, flicking a few switches that the Doctor had forgotten. She really was going to have to give him lessons on flying this thing.
“It’s not a very catchy name for the ‘most romantic place in the universe’, is it?” Amy used air quotes to emphasise her disbelief that this place was romantic, it was in a black hole after all, and all of that chemical stuff just sounded creepy. However, seeing as neither of the other two were paying her any attention, her fabulous air quotes went unnoticed. She huffed and flicked the stabilisers when the TARDIS gave a particularly violent lurch.
The Doctor peered around the centre of the console and gave her a funny look. She shrugged, smiling at the fact that she had ruined his fun. It served him right for ignoring her.
She didn’t even want to go to this planet of love thingy. It’s not like she’d had the best year, love wise, and she didn’t fancy watching River and the Doctor go all mushy over each other. Besides, there was bound to be millions of other happy couples, it was enough to make any normal cynical person sick.
Still, at least there was one thing to be thankful for; travelling in the TARDIS was a much smoother experience with River on board.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Shall we do the diary?” River asked once they had landed. She opened the diary and started flicking through the pages. “Have we done the floating fields of Alahorn yet?” She addressed her question to Amy who shook her head, not able to suppress her smile at the revelation that she would meet River again. Things were always so much more fun when River was involved. “What about the big bang at the museum?”
Amy nodded. “That was the last time, for us.”
“Me too,” River said, flipping the diary closed and depositing it in her bag.
“Doctor, you have made sure that we’re not visiting on the day the system disappears, haven’t you?” Amy asked.
“Of course I checked,” the Doctor defended. “We’re going at least a week before.”
Amy made a weak sound of protest, letting her head roll back. “We’re going to end up getting dragged into this, aren’t we?” She heard River laughing richly.
“Probably,” the archaeologist said.
The sound of energetic footsteps then the opening of the TARIDS door, told Amy that the Doctor had grown impatient and gone to explore.
“Come on,” River said, tugging on Amy’s arm until the redhead righted her head and looked her, “we’d better go before he manages to get himself into too much trouble.”
A funny feeling in Amy’s stomach when River touched her caught her by surprise. She hadn’t felt that kind of feeling for a long time; it was probably just that stuff in the atmosphere that River was telling her about. It wasn’t like she fancied River or anything, was it? No, she decided it couldn’t be. River wasn’t her type.
They found the Doctor talking to one of the resident human inhabitants, asking him if he had seen anything unusual lately, he hadn’t. But it didn’t take long for them to find themselves in the middle of the action; they were soon the core resistance in preventing the artificially created black hole (created by an enemy solar system) from enveloping the planet and its neighbours. The Doctor chaired peace talks between the two planetary nations and, at the last moment, a treaty was signed and the black hole was deactivated. It was all in a day’s work when you’re the last of the Time Lords - or one of his companions.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“This wasn’t exactly the apology of a trip you were expecting, was it?” Amy asked, leaning on the barrier of the picturesque wooden bridge. The sky was a light violet and the grass a pale pastel green. Silver sparkles danced in the air at waist height, and the breeze was fresh and warm through the bright summer sunshine. The planet was truly beautiful, Amy was completely enamoured with it. And, as it turned out, she was completely enamoured with River.
River smiled. “I’ve known the Doctor long enough that this was exactly what I was expecting, it was part of the reason I agreed to come.”
Amy chuckled. “You’re so alike, you and him. You didn’t meet on some kind of compatibility test on a dating site, did you?”
River dipped her head to the side so she could look at Amy. “Do you want to know a secret?”
A shiver of anticipation travelled up Amy’s spine and down her arms. She nodded.
“I’m not his wife,” River admitted, her eyes twinkling. “But don’t tell him that, I’m enjoying watching him squirm.”
A freeing feeling of relief caught Amy by surprise as she and River laughed, only slightly awkwardly, and she realised that she and River were standing close enough that their arms were touching.
“Who are you then?” Amy asked.
“Spoilers,” River said, using her usual defence. She bumped her shoulder against Amy’s, hoping to ease the annoyance she knew the younger woman felt when she refused to spill the beans. “You know,” she said, “it really is true.”
“What is?” Amy asked, her breath catching when she noticed the space between her and River was slowly closing. She couldn’t do this, could she? She couldn’t kiss River like she longed to, or reach out to cup her cheek.
River sighed contentedly. “This place, I think it really is the most romantic place in the universe. I just feel so...”
“So like all the reasons for not falling for someone, aren’t reasons anymore?” Amy suggested.
“Yeah,” River said softly, “exactly.”
And then the distance between them disappeared, lips slid languidly together and hands clutched at waists and the back of necks. Amy submitted, opening her mouth to River’s conquering tongue and yielding to her firm touch, bringing their bodies together. She had never been one for letting someone else take the lead in situations like this, she was usually the one in complete control, but there was something about this place and about River that was making her head spin and her body surrender.
“Wait,” River gasped, barely breaking the kiss, “you’re married. I can’t...”
Amy silenced her with a kiss, finding it was still in her to take control. “We’re... divorced... it didn’t... work out...” she murmured between kisses.
They eventually parted, breathing slightly more heavily than usual.
Amy wanted to ask where they would go from here, what River wanted, what this meant, but instead she asked, “Take me back to the chalet?”
River raised an eyebrow at her.
“I didn’t mean... we don’t have to -” She was cut off by another kiss.
Her eyes were closed in bliss when River’s fingers twined with her own, tugging lightly. “Come on, the Doctor will be out all night.”
Fandom: Doctor Who
Characters & Pairings: Amy/River
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I don’t own Doctor Who, this is not for profit, just for entertainment.
Summary: A one shot in which Amy and River have never been together, in either of their timelines, with or without the Pandorica; but they are about to be.
Note 1: A special thanks goes to persiflage_1, my beta.
From the moment River first met Amy, she was intrigued. It was more than her usual curiosity as to why the Doctor had chosen a particular human; there was just something about this one companion of his, something she couldn’t quite put her finger on, which captivated her.
They had only met a few times when Amy followed the Doctor into River’s, or more accurately Cleopatra’s, tent. Things happened so quickly and before she knew it Amy was married and there was one more companion, one whom River found she wasn’t interested in at all. Four people was too many to travel in the TARDIS, despite her size, so River got busy vying for funding for her latest dig and started seeing a delightfully attractive academic from the university she was based at. Thoughts of Amy Pond, and even her precious Doctor were soon far from her mind.
But then she happened upon something most definitely alien at the bottom of one of her trenches and she could hear the sound of the TARDIS’ screeching brakes even before she had time to prise her discovery from the ground.
“Ah, you - err - you really don’t want to touch that, River.”
She didn’t turn around - she didn’t need to, she knew who was talking to her - and besides, this rune-covered, simultaneously squishy and solid object was far too fascinating. Plus, this find would definitely get her an extension on her grant.
“You were right, it is pretty cool looking.”
That voice was familiar too. She subconsciously held her breath as she waited for the third voice, it never came.
“Why don’t I want to touch it?” River finally asked, exhaling heavily. Despite her annoyance at the Doctor’s interference, she had to concede that he was usually right about these things. “It’s not going to explode is it?” Her irritation was evident in her voice.
“No, but it will hatch,” the Doctor said, jumping down into the trench. ”And that would be very, very unpleasant, believe me.”
“So what do you propose I do with it?” River asked, standing up from her crouch. Not bothering to wait for the Doctor’s answer, she turned to look at Amy. The redhead greeted her with a warm smile and a little wave which River returned, before grudgingly looking back to the Doctor.
“Err - I -err...”
River rolled her eyes. She could always tell she wasn’t going to like what he was going to say when he did that annoying hesitating thing.
“You want me to cover it up again, don’t you?” She raised her eyebrows at him, challenging him to tell her different.
He nodded.
“No,” River said definitively. “Most definitely not. Do you have any idea how many man hours have gone in to getting this far down? There were 5 inches of 20th and 21st century tarmac that needed to be painstakingly removed and preserved! Three and a half weeks, and we’ve only just hit the 19th century. And this place hasn’t been inhabited since the 2100s so it’s not like there was lots of archaeology before it!”
Amy winced, feeling somewhat responsible for the apparent scourge that her time’s favourite road building material was to archaeology. Unbidden, the Joni Mitchell song Big Yellow Taxi started playing in her mind. ‘For paved paradise, put up a parking lot...’
“River, you have two choices; either you cover that thing over or release a deadly virus on human kind. It’s your choice.” The Doctor folded his arms, trying to look authoritative, but he was much too young for that.
River rolled her eyes dramatically. “Fine, but you had better make it up to me, both of you.”
The Doctor smiled. “I think we can do that. Fancy a trip to The Third Starbelt Planet of the Oreus System?”
“Not even you can do that,” River said in disbelief. “That system disappeared over 5 thousand years ago into a black hole. Even its original location has been lost over the years.”
The Doctor grinned. “I found it.”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“So,” Amy began, leaning back with her elbows on the console, watching River finish putting her hair up, “what is this Starbelt thingy?”
“It’s the most romantic place in the universe. At least, that’s what the stories say.” River smirked mischievously at her, trying to stop her gaze falling to those perfect curves or those long luxurious legs that Amy’s position was showing off oh so well. “Contemporary scholars think it might have been something to do with a certain compound found in the mist of the inner atmosphere. It’s thought that it magnifies amorous feelings, it’s never been found anywhere else, and all lab based attempts to recreate it have failed miserably.”
Amy scrunched up her nose. “Why?”
“Every time they introduce the two reactants, they explode violently. They have no idea how the stable compound is formed.” River tucked the last tendrils of her hair up and moved to the console, flicking a few switches that the Doctor had forgotten. She really was going to have to give him lessons on flying this thing.
“It’s not a very catchy name for the ‘most romantic place in the universe’, is it?” Amy used air quotes to emphasise her disbelief that this place was romantic, it was in a black hole after all, and all of that chemical stuff just sounded creepy. However, seeing as neither of the other two were paying her any attention, her fabulous air quotes went unnoticed. She huffed and flicked the stabilisers when the TARDIS gave a particularly violent lurch.
The Doctor peered around the centre of the console and gave her a funny look. She shrugged, smiling at the fact that she had ruined his fun. It served him right for ignoring her.
She didn’t even want to go to this planet of love thingy. It’s not like she’d had the best year, love wise, and she didn’t fancy watching River and the Doctor go all mushy over each other. Besides, there was bound to be millions of other happy couples, it was enough to make any normal cynical person sick.
Still, at least there was one thing to be thankful for; travelling in the TARDIS was a much smoother experience with River on board.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Shall we do the diary?” River asked once they had landed. She opened the diary and started flicking through the pages. “Have we done the floating fields of Alahorn yet?” She addressed her question to Amy who shook her head, not able to suppress her smile at the revelation that she would meet River again. Things were always so much more fun when River was involved. “What about the big bang at the museum?”
Amy nodded. “That was the last time, for us.”
“Me too,” River said, flipping the diary closed and depositing it in her bag.
“Doctor, you have made sure that we’re not visiting on the day the system disappears, haven’t you?” Amy asked.
“Of course I checked,” the Doctor defended. “We’re going at least a week before.”
Amy made a weak sound of protest, letting her head roll back. “We’re going to end up getting dragged into this, aren’t we?” She heard River laughing richly.
“Probably,” the archaeologist said.
The sound of energetic footsteps then the opening of the TARIDS door, told Amy that the Doctor had grown impatient and gone to explore.
“Come on,” River said, tugging on Amy’s arm until the redhead righted her head and looked her, “we’d better go before he manages to get himself into too much trouble.”
A funny feeling in Amy’s stomach when River touched her caught her by surprise. She hadn’t felt that kind of feeling for a long time; it was probably just that stuff in the atmosphere that River was telling her about. It wasn’t like she fancied River or anything, was it? No, she decided it couldn’t be. River wasn’t her type.
They found the Doctor talking to one of the resident human inhabitants, asking him if he had seen anything unusual lately, he hadn’t. But it didn’t take long for them to find themselves in the middle of the action; they were soon the core resistance in preventing the artificially created black hole (created by an enemy solar system) from enveloping the planet and its neighbours. The Doctor chaired peace talks between the two planetary nations and, at the last moment, a treaty was signed and the black hole was deactivated. It was all in a day’s work when you’re the last of the Time Lords - or one of his companions.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“This wasn’t exactly the apology of a trip you were expecting, was it?” Amy asked, leaning on the barrier of the picturesque wooden bridge. The sky was a light violet and the grass a pale pastel green. Silver sparkles danced in the air at waist height, and the breeze was fresh and warm through the bright summer sunshine. The planet was truly beautiful, Amy was completely enamoured with it. And, as it turned out, she was completely enamoured with River.
River smiled. “I’ve known the Doctor long enough that this was exactly what I was expecting, it was part of the reason I agreed to come.”
Amy chuckled. “You’re so alike, you and him. You didn’t meet on some kind of compatibility test on a dating site, did you?”
River dipped her head to the side so she could look at Amy. “Do you want to know a secret?”
A shiver of anticipation travelled up Amy’s spine and down her arms. She nodded.
“I’m not his wife,” River admitted, her eyes twinkling. “But don’t tell him that, I’m enjoying watching him squirm.”
A freeing feeling of relief caught Amy by surprise as she and River laughed, only slightly awkwardly, and she realised that she and River were standing close enough that their arms were touching.
“Who are you then?” Amy asked.
“Spoilers,” River said, using her usual defence. She bumped her shoulder against Amy’s, hoping to ease the annoyance she knew the younger woman felt when she refused to spill the beans. “You know,” she said, “it really is true.”
“What is?” Amy asked, her breath catching when she noticed the space between her and River was slowly closing. She couldn’t do this, could she? She couldn’t kiss River like she longed to, or reach out to cup her cheek.
River sighed contentedly. “This place, I think it really is the most romantic place in the universe. I just feel so...”
“So like all the reasons for not falling for someone, aren’t reasons anymore?” Amy suggested.
“Yeah,” River said softly, “exactly.”
And then the distance between them disappeared, lips slid languidly together and hands clutched at waists and the back of necks. Amy submitted, opening her mouth to River’s conquering tongue and yielding to her firm touch, bringing their bodies together. She had never been one for letting someone else take the lead in situations like this, she was usually the one in complete control, but there was something about this place and about River that was making her head spin and her body surrender.
“Wait,” River gasped, barely breaking the kiss, “you’re married. I can’t...”
Amy silenced her with a kiss, finding it was still in her to take control. “We’re... divorced... it didn’t... work out...” she murmured between kisses.
They eventually parted, breathing slightly more heavily than usual.
Amy wanted to ask where they would go from here, what River wanted, what this meant, but instead she asked, “Take me back to the chalet?”
River raised an eyebrow at her.
“I didn’t mean... we don’t have to -” She was cut off by another kiss.
Her eyes were closed in bliss when River’s fingers twined with her own, tugging lightly. “Come on, the Doctor will be out all night.”