For Lizzy via the Drabble Game Challenge (11River, "You don't have to leave.").
River hates this part the most. For one brilliant moment, she's running with him through time and space, pretending that the inevitable will never catch them. And now she's here, alarms blaring, lights flashing. Guards' voices drift along the corridor.
The Doctor smiles at her, and River is afraid that she may melt. Really, it isn't fair that anyone can have that effect on her.
"You don't have to leave," he says, as though it's the simplest thing in the world.
"Oh, Doctor," she laughs, brushing her fingers over his cheek. "How am I going to become an honest woman if I keep breaking out."
He raises his brows, a hint of a smirk playing at his lips. "To be fair, you always break out."
"Yes, but I always come back, sweetie. That's the way it works."
"It doesn't have to be. You could come with us. Amy and Rory would love that."
His offer is too tempting. She remembers being a little girl, dreaming of the day the Doctor would take her away, just as he took her mother. And now the chance is there before her. All she has to do is reach out and take it.
Instead, she leans in, pressing a quick kiss to his lips. "I'll always go with you," she says, her voice barely above a whisper. "But not all the time. I have dues to pay."
"Doctor Song! Put your hands up!" a guard calls, coming around the corner.
"Until next time, Doctor," she says, lifting her arms over her head and turning from the man that she loves. "Breaking in, not out. Honestly, boys, when will you learn the difference?"
The guard takes her by the wrist, cursing under his breath as he leads her along. River glances over her shoulder, but the Doctor is already gone, and she pretends that her heart's not breaking inside her chest.