The wind blew cold air on her face and her glorious curly blond hair spanked her cheeks as she stood in front of the Tardis. It was late autumn in England, all the leaves had fallen from the trees and the air smelled mix of rain, wet grass and dying leaves.
Behind her stood a majestic white stone house. In this house she'd waited for years and years to meet her mad man again. And as she stood in front of the house trying to remember all the times she'd dreamed about this moment a memory from a few summer back popped on to her mind.
It was late June or early July, she sat in the backyard of the stone house in her terrace and she had just finished watering the plants. The air was hot and the sun was burning her skin, the heat was almost evident. There was a total silence, nothing moved, not a single bug, not even the air and most definitely not a single human being. It'd been so hot for so long that everyone barricaded themselves inside for midday, but not her. She enjoyed the silence that took place in the middle of the day. This sort of silence was rare at this hour. If it were any other summer you would be able to hear chit chat and laughter of the children everywhere. So she decided to enjoy the quiet time as long as she could. Nothing, not even the burning heat could drive her away from her terrace.
As she was sipping the ice cold soda suddenly she heard something, this something broke the peaceful silence that had taken place only a few seconds ago. She listened carefully as the noise grew louder and louder. It wasn't exactly loud at any point but it was becoming more recognizable by the minute. Her heart rate started raising and her breathing became more superficial. It can't be, it's impossible, she though as the noise begun to sound more familiar. The blonde stood up and ran as fast as she could towards the noise. Now her heart beat even faster than before, she couldn't believe it was true. The grass under her feet tickled her and the small stones scratched her skin, but she didn't care. Nothing could stop her, she needed to see if her suspicions of the noise were right. When she arrived on the road were the voice had originated, there was nothing and suddenly the noise was gone. No blue police box or a mad man who owned it. She knew it was a long shot from the beginning but it didn't stop her from feeling an enormous disappointment when the blue police box wasn't there.
Even back then she wasn't sure if she'd imagined the whole thing, still after the incident she fell into deep depression. She felt betrayed and alone and at one point she was sure she was crazy and that there were never any blue police box or a mad man with a bow tie. She was sure that all that was just a figment of her imagination. Including all the exciting adventures they'd had during that one magical week years ago.
The feelings of depression and betrayal were so overwhelming that she didn't get out of the bed for weeks. Everything seemed pointless and nothing could peak her interested, not even the garden which she loved and cared so much. All the flowers and other plants from the garden died and the whole backyard looked just sad and lonely.
But after a few weeks, maybe a month, the schools started again and she had to go back to the university. By that time she had already accepted that she had made up the man and the box that they were never true and she had just imagined the noise on that deadly warm day.
Of course she wasn't exactly herself when the schools begun, but at least now she could drown herself to work. Things began to move on a better direction and eventually there came days when she didn't even think about the raggedy man or the police box. At one point in these years she even had a boyfriend and everything seemed normal, at least to other people's eyes. She still had dreams of this man and the adventures they had had. And every time she woke up from one of those dreams she cried, the dreams felt just so real. For a moment she was sure that these dreams were true.
Years had went by and now she was actually looking at the blue police box in front of her house. Everything felt so unreal, she was sure this was again one of her dreams and that soon she would wake up on her own bed and the box would be gone.
She touched the blue wooden door of the Tardis. She stroked the wood and breathed in the cold air in amazement, it couldn't be true. It was all just a dream and figment of imagination, right? The man and the bigger on the inside box couldn't have been true. It was all too unreal until the man stepped out from the police box. He still looked the exactly same than he did all those years ago. The same hair, same clothes and the same bow tie. She remembered the precious smile this man had given him the first time they met, he still had that smile and she couldn't help but smile back to him.
"Well aren't you going to come in Professor Song?" The Doctor gave a crooked smile.
River looked at the man and the amazement and happiness she had just felt changed to anger in a matter of seconds. How could he smile and act like nothing had happened. He had left her in her kitchen, said he'd be back in a moment but he never came back, until now.
River looked at The Doctor all serious and the silence between them seemed to last for ever. But then the silence was broken by a smacking sound. The cold air tickled River's fingers.
The Doctor gave a long whining sound and asked bit dazed:
"Hey, what was that for?"
Tears begun to roll down on Rivers soft pale cheeks. She sobbed quietly, how he could be so cold. In which universe it's OK just leave without any explanation and then come back and act like nothing had happened.
"River, what's going on, why are you crying?" The Doctor was confused why River was so upset. He tried to pull her on his arms but was interrupted when she pushed him away and cried angrily:
"What the hell! You honestly don't know why I'm upset. You left me without any goodbye, not even a one letter or a phone call, nothing. And then after many years you just drop out from sky on my yard and expect everything to be okay. How in hell you think that's okay? I was sure you weren't even real and that I had imagined you and everything we experienced. I thought I was crazy. Do you understand what you did to me? Every day I waited to see you, but you never came!"
River had never been this angry to anyone before. Tears were rolling down on her cheeks, her hands shook, she was sure she was going to explode. The whole world was spinning in front of her eyes.
The Doctor took River gently by her sides and asked:
"What do you mean by many years, I was just gone for a while?"
"It's 2014 and when we last saw it was 2006. It's been almost ten years." River couldn't stop crying. The mix of anger and happiness was tearing her apart from inside. Also the fear of this all being a dream was so terrifying that she could even think about it. Everything was just so absurd, after eight years he was finally back.
The Doctors expression was now somewhere between apologetic and extreme sadness. He didn't realise that he had come back to the wrong year. And to see what the years of waiting had done to River broke both of his hearts. And to even realize that River had actually waited him for all these years was just tragic. She was clearly broken, he had to make it up to her some way. He was willing to do anything to fix this situation. The Doctor cared about River Song deeply, during the short time they'd spend together she had grown on him.
"I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry River. You must know that I didn't do it on purpose and I'll do anything to make it up for you. Come inside, you'll freeze out here. I have an idea." He brushed some of the cold tears from her face and took her hand.
The apology seemed sincere and even though River hesitated she followed The Doctor inside the Tardis. No matter how angry she was to The Doctor she had to see the Tardis, she needed to know that she didn't make it all up. And though she remembered exactly how much bigger the Tardis was from inside it still was able to amaze her. Nothing had changed, controls and everything it was all the same, which was in a way quite comforting, though that the years had gone by, and everything had stayed as they were. It crated the sensation that she hadn't missed anything, like the time had stayed still.
The Doctor dragged River next to the control board of the Tardis and asked playfully with a crooked smile:
"So where's the next stop, honey?"
Rivers tears were already all dried and smile escaped from her lips. She thought for a second and then gave an impish smirk. "The next stop: Everywhere"