"Mitsy, have you brushed your teeth?" River asked her 6 year old doubtfully.
"Yes mummy, now come tell me a doctor adventure!" Mitsy replied enthusiastically from inside her bedroom.
River let out a loud sigh and rolled her eyes as she slowly walked over to the little girl's bedroom to start the usual evening routine. "So... which one do you want tonight then sweetie?" River asked as she saw a beaming smile spread fully across her daughter's face.
River starts off by retelling Mitsy the time the doctor and her went to America for a picnic by a lake. "I wear a Stetson now...Stetsons are cool! The doctor said; well mummy had to see to that didn't she? Mummy shot the hat right off his head and I bet you know what I said to the silly man?"
"Hello sweetie..." Mitsy said quietly as she was just starting to fall asleep.
River placed a small kiss to the child's forehead before walking quietly out of the room. River walked into the living room and slumped down on the sofa with her head in her hands and silent tears began to trickle down the sides of her face.
'one day she's going to find out who the doctor really is... she's going to hate me for keeping it from her... she won't understand it's for her own protection... 6 years and not once has he stopped by...not once... how could he?... he promised...' all these thoughts were going through her head and after a while she realised that she was actually thinking out loud. "Go to bed River, tomorrow is a fresh day..." River told herself as she slowly went off to bed.
The next Morning River was woken by Mitsy clambering on to the bed as she did most mornings shouting "Hello Sweetie!"
"Come on Mummy! We're going to be late for school! Come on sleepy head, wake up!" Mitsy carried on shouting until River let out a groan and finally started pulling back the covers.
"Ok,ok, I'm up already!" River moaned as she spun round to grab Mitsy and tickle her for being so cheeky. "Right then, what would madam like for breakfast?" River asked already knowing it would be the usual of banana on toast... 'One of her dad's favourites as well...' River thought absent-minded as she led her daughter out of the bedroom and into the kitchen to start their morning.
As they sat up to the table eating their breakfast Mitsy insisted on talking about her hero and whether he and River would go on an adventure while she was at school and where he might take her and what monsters and villains they might meet. As the child chatted freely away about the doctor, River's thoughts trailed back to the last thing he said to her, "I'll always come back because I love you and I love mummy so it's goodbye for now but not forever"
River has been thinking about these words a lot over the last month, turning them over in her head again and again but to uncover nothing. 'forever' is such a big word for now, 6 years have passed for us stuck on the slow path but for him it could have only been a matter of minutes but that's the curse of being the time-traveller's wife.
"Mum! Are you listening to me at all?" Mitsy pulled River from her thoughts quickly.
"What, what was it sweetie?" River asked what she had missed. She still couldn't get over how intellectual her little girl was and showed it by the way she talked which was very hard to explain to the teachers at school.
"I asked you a question; I said you talk about the doctor a lot, and that he takes you on many adventures and some are very dangerous but he always saves you in the end, and then I asked whether you loved the doctor because it sounds like you do from the way you always tell stories about him." Mitsy stated innocently which left River stunned.
River took a moment to respond working out her answer in her head first; contemplating the many different answers she could say and then settled on one that was honest but wouldn't give anything away, "Yes sweetie, I love things about him... for instance I love his personality... and if you ever meet him don't let him know that I love his hair!" this seems to satisfy Mitsy for a moment as they both break out into giggles and then laugh at each other's giggles.
After a minute of high-pitched laughs Mitsy turns back to being as serious as a 6 year old can be as she asks her mum another question. "Mum... a friend at school says everyone has a mum and a dad so why don't I have one?"
River felt her whole world just stop for a second as her daughter asked the dreaded question that she was bound to ask sooner or later. River took a deep breath before coming up with the answer that she had been preparing for two years.
"sometimes sweetie, when two people love each other they have a baby but," River pauses and steadies her breathing, "things can happen which keeps them apart... sweetie... your father does love you, you must know that...it's just difficult for him to be around all the time, he will be back though... one day..." River trails off while absent-mindedly staring off at nothing in particular.
River snaps herself out of her thoughts after a minute or two realising that her daughter had finished her breakfast. "Right come on then monkey!"
Before River knows it they're washed, dressed, Mitsy's dropped off and River's back at home again wondering what to do with herself.
River turns on some music while she starts riffling around in the cupboards looking at what ingredients she has to make some cakes when suddenly there are strong arms wrapped around her waist from behind.
"Hi Honey, I'm home!" The male voice says from behind her.
The male spins her around in his arms to face her expecting to see a wide smile but instead is greeted by tears. "River what's wrong?" the Doctor exclaims.
River looks up at him through her tears, "How long has it been, Doctor, for you, how long has it been?
"A day, two days tops, why?" the Doctor asks confused which just leads to more tears from River.
It suddenly dawns on the doctor what's going on, "Oh god River, how long has it been for you?"
"Six and a half years!" River shouts out at him as she gets free from his grasp and runs to her room slamming the door behind her.