Title: Partners
Author:
nancybrownRating: PG
Characters/Pairing: River, Jenny
Spoilers/Warnings: none
Words: 330
Summary: Almost a lost opportunity.
AN: Written for
spoiler_song's
One Night to Write, Prompt by
Sleepscribbling: River + Jenny, looking for their man
AN2: I HAVE A JENNY THING TO TALK ABOUT. BUT IT HAS TO WAIT TILL TOMORROW.
***
River is very nearly stupid, just once. She sees the girl, all wide eyes and ponytail and eager smile, and she almost dismisses her, almost turns away to join the throng in the marketplace. She wouldn't have noticed her at all, but fellow human-shaped beings are uncommon here. Later, River will have the occasional nightmare that seems so benign: she walks off and never finds her way back.
Then the girl says something about transmorphic propulsion, and like a beacon, she's the most interesting thing River has seen in weeks. It's not hard to sidle over to the booth and wait for a break in the haggling.
She's not wanted under her real name in this system yet. "River Song," she says, extending her hand. "And you are?"
"Call me Jenny." Her smile is bright and perky and new, but the name trips a memory, a mention River once saw in the TARDIS's memory banks when she was digging for something else.
They form a fast friendship, aligning themselves against the merchant who is trying to cheat Jenny out of too much money for the parts she needs. By the end, they've cheated him instead and there went River's good reputation in this area of space. She decides she's spent her name well this time, especially when, dashing away from the merchant's unsmiling heavies, she manages to push Jenny to the ground out of the way of a laser blast. Not only does she get a quick thrill -- blonde and pretty, River prefers redheads but she's open-minded -- she can feel the double-beat of Gallifreyan hearts. The expression on Jenny's face as they acknowledge the shared truth between them is an unneeded confirmation, but welcome.
There is no word in the language they are speaking for "the person who will someday be your step-daughter." River settles for a helping hand up, as they finally reach the safety of Jenny's tinkered-together vessel.
"Are you coming with me, then?" Jenny asks, eyes bright with a mischief River knows all too well.
As if she'd ever say no. They are, after all, in search of the same person.
"Let's go."
***
Sequel:
Intermezzo