Summary: River and the Doctor mourn the loss of the Ponds after escaping the angel in the graveyard. Post-Angels Take Manhattan.
A/N: Short little one shot that I wanted to write. Yes, yes, I know you hate me for dragging up your Pond feels again, but don't worry, this is a hurt/comfort story (what else is new?) so I'll try to lessen the sting. Also, this fic includes Eleven/River, which makes sense, seeing as how they're married and stuff. Sorta. Technically she married the Teselecta ship in the form of the Doctor, but he was inside the ship, so does that still count? Anyways, I wanted to write this because River is there when the angel takes Amy and Rory away and they never really show what happens with her after that. You see the Doctor read the letter from Amy but I don't think River is there at that point. Also, the title is taken from that song the people of Akhaten sing at the end of The Rings of Akhaten, which is awesome…as always.
Warnings: Pond feels, angst and other sad stuff. (Don't worry, I wouldn't write this if there wasn't "comfort" at the end)
Disclaimer: Don't own anything here! Everyone here belongs to BBC.
"Doctor, we have to go," River urges him, pulling at his sleeve while keeping her eyes on the angel. He hardly resists and she sticks an arm out behind her to avoid backing into gravestones as they make their escape back to the TARDIS. She lets out a sigh of relief when her hand comes in contact with the familiar door of the ship and opens it. Her view of the angel is obscured for a split second when she pulls the Doctor into the TARDIS and when she can see the graveyard again, it is already nearly at the door, arms outstretched and teeth exposed in a vicious snarl. She slams the door shut and locks it, just to be sure, and heads to the controls to fly them out of there.
The Doctor is sitting in the captain's chair, head held in his hands, almost as still as the statue they just escaped from. She lands the TARDIS expertly, like usual, and goes to his side. She's not even sure whether or not he notices her until she lays a hand on his shoulder, which is shaking ever so slightly. He takes a deep shuddering breath and when he lets it go, a sob catches in his throat. She sits down and wraps her arms around him.
"It's okay, sweetie. Just let go," she says softly, and he does. He buries his face into her shoulder and cries. His arms come up and he clings to her like a life preserver. His whole body is wracked with sobs and she tightens her hold on him, rocking slowly back and forth with him, not saying anything because there are no words. She feels a few tears slip down her own cheeks and as she comforts the Doctor, she mourns for the loss of her parents and friends. She loved them, of course. How could she not? But she can tell that the Doctor loved them too, maybe even more than she did. After all, Amy was the first person he saw so soon after regenerating. She supposed in a strange way it was like a duckling imprinting on the first thing it sees after birth. Except that their bond went far beyond that of a simple imprint. It's evident in the way that their loss has devastated him so, and despite being their daughter, River feels as though she can't sympathize with what he's feeling now.
"River, I…," he trails off, looking up into her eyes. She sees the pain shining in them and while the sobs have died down, there are still tears streaming silently down his face. He takes a breath and starts again.
"I don't think I can do this anymore," he says shakily. She shushes him and cards her fingers through his hair in an effort to calm him. He looks away, staring at nothing and keeps on talking, more to himself than her.
"My fault. It's my fault. I take them with me, and then I lose them. Every time. I can't do it anymore. You know I promised Brian I'd bring them back safe? Oh God, I have to tell him. He'll never forgive me. Doesn't matter, though, I don't deserve it anyway. How am I going to tell him? What will I say? 'Oh sorry Brian, an alien statue sent them into the past and you'll never see them again. Oh well, at least they had each other'?" he lets out a broken, hollow laugh that borders on hysterical.
"Stop it," she says quietly. She can't bear to see him like this, and it breaks her heart listening to his self deprecating words. Nonetheless, he doesn't seem to hear her and he continues on, because once he's started talking it's a flood of words and feelings that he's kept welled up inside him. He rambles on about his companions, enemies, and the universe in general. When he reaches the end of his tirade, he just seems exhausted.
"All my fault, all of it. You shouldn't be here, with me. You should be as far away from me as possible. I can't lose you. Not again. Not you too. It would hurt too much, and if I lost you, then I'm afraid that I'll do something…drastic. No, no, it's safer away from here, you really should get out while you can," he says. She's not quite sure what he means by "again". Maybe he means her popping in and out of his time line so frequently, but it's not important now. She squeezes him and kisses the top of his head, murmuring soothing words.
"I'm not leaving you. Not now," she says, shushing him when he opens his mouth to protest. She wipes away his tears and then stands up, taking him with her. He's partially leaning on her, but she doesn't mind and she leads them away from the console room to the Doctor's bedroom. She lays him down on the bed and lies down next to him, brushing his hair out of his face.
"Rest now, Doctor. I'll be here when you wake up," she says, touching her forehead to his. He stares blankly at her for a moment and then closes his eyes. She pulls him into another embrace and they lie there in quiet for some time. Just when she thinks that he's drifted off to sleep, he mumbles something into her shoulder and she pulls back to hear him better.
"Thank you, River, for being here with me," he says.
"Where else would I be, sweetie?" she replies and smiles softly at him. He smiles back, but it doesn't quite reach his eyes and she feels the need to reassure him. She reaches for his hand and twines her fingers with his, thumb rubbing slow circles on the back of his hand. He looks down at their joined hands before back up at her. She smiles again and this time his little smile is genuine.
"I love you, Doctor," she says, and he seems a little bit shocked by her statement, his eyes darting away before slowly wandering back towards hers. He seems to come to some decision in his head because he leans forward and plants a quick, shy kiss on her lips before pulling away and blushing a tiny bit.
"Love you too," he says, and despite her knowing him for so long, those words still set her heart aflutter like a little girl whose crush has just smiled at her. She settles closer to him, snuggling into his side. His breathing slows and soon enough, he's asleep. She smiles and closes her eyes, resting her head against his chest and letting the sound of his twin heartbeats lull her to sleep.
A/N2: Hope you liked :) And wow this is short. It always looks so much longer in a Word document XD