Anywhere But Lost
He didn't plan on meeting her on Candar III, especially not right after he'd lost his shoe to a particularly nasty mudpot. He'd limped across jagged rock formations for almost five hundred yards before the sound of a chisel caught his attention, his proverbial perked ears.
Perhaps they'd have an extra shoe. He almost felt sorry for the fellow left on his right foot, all alone without a match in the universe.
Her hair was different, short and straighter, a bit darker. It had been cut sloppily, as if done by a younger sibling in the mirror at home while Mother wasn't watching. He didn't recognize her immediately. She was crouched on the ground beside one of the steaming rock chimneys that dotted the landscape, surrounded by four or seven more dressed just like her.
The Doctor fixed his tie and cleared his throat as he approached.
She was the first to look up, tilting her pith helmet back in order to keep the sun from her eyes and the approaching stranger in view.
He caught himself halfway between words and silence, his mouth hanging open. Shocked. Painful.
She smiled. A smile that shouldn't have been familiar, that stung both his hearts.
"Hello," she said. She was young. Ten years younger than when he'd first met her. When she'd last met him. "Are you lost?" she asked. Her voice was kind, softer. Her amused eyes flicked down to his feet, one shod and one completely, irrevocably naked.
He smiled. He laughed. He laughed hard, tight, halfway to a sob. His chest and stomach doubled painfully, and he removed his glasses to wipe at one of his eyes with a sigh and a self-depricating shake of his head. When he caught her eyes again, he knew. This was the right time. He'd get it right, the way it was supposed to be, the way she'd told him that it would be.
She waited for his answer, calm, patient, her tools paused in their work and her colleagues turned to watch their exchange.
"No," he said, clearing his throat again to be sure it was clear. "No, this is exactly where I'm supposed to be."
He crossed their distance, his ancient eyes catching hers, lingering, remembering what he shouldn't have, couldn't have.
He crouched to her level, holding out a steady hand between them, smiling like he hadn't in a very, very long time. "I'm the Doctor."
"Professor River Song," she replied, taking his hand with her dusty sweaty palm and shaking. She matched his smile, almost as if she were in on the joke, the plan. "It's very nice to meet you, Doctor."
"The pleasure's all mine," he assured her.
AN: Here I am again with another ship for you! This Valentine's Day, I have literally nothing to do, so I've decided to pick my 14 favorite pairings and write some sappy vignettes for them! Not all of them will be from one fandom, so if you're interested, check out my profile! This time I've brought you Ten/River Song. Because I think this ship needs some love. And because I don't think we'll ever know how the Doctor and Prof. Song meet. And because it's Valentine's Day and I'm feeling sappy! Hope you enjoy, leave some love, and stay awesome!!