Disclaimer: Don't own Doctor Who. Just enjoy the goddamn story. :)

River's eyes darted from side to side. She couldn't see very far to the left...or to the right. Something was blocking her peripheral vision. Come to think of it, all she saw in front of herself was blackness. She reached for her holster.

Her arm didn't move. She frowned, brow furrowed.

Footsteps. Footsteps? Who was coming?

"It's okay. I know it's you."

She knew that voice...it was the voice of the man she'd long since claimed as hers. The blackness was lifting from her vision. Suddenly, River was begging, begging him to run, to get far away. The Doctor closed his eyes. With the suit in control, she raised her gun—

"River...River..."

She just managed to suppress a scream as her eyes flickered open. The thick fog lifted from her mind. The world around her was coming into focus.

The Doctor lay on his back, legs stretched out in front of him. His arm was draped around the shoulders of Dr. River Song, who was curled up next to him, nestled into his side. Her head rested in the crook of his arm.

That's right...we're on a date.

"River!" He poked her more insistently.

"Mmmph. What is it, my love?" She lifted her head groggily and met his eyes. He nodded slightly towards the sky.

"Look up there."

She squinted up at a glittering constellation. She recognized that one, studied it before, although the name momentarily escaped her.

"That's nice, sweetie." River mumbled. Shifting her body slightly, she laid her head on his chest instead of his shoulder. The steady THUMPTHUMP-thumpthump of his hearts had been her lullaby lately. She wrapped a protective—possessive, even—arm around his waist, as if challenging the universe to take him away from her again.

Go 'head, she thought cockily. I dare you. She tightened her arm slightly.

"You're the one who wanted to...to stargaze. Practically begged me," he muttered, and River understood completely. He wasn't one to settle down and admire the stars from afar, not when he could be very close.

She thought briefly, fondly, of the TARDIS, who was parked close by. He'd been particularly protective of the Old Girl lately.

She understood his need to explore, to find new things and have adventures and run for his life. She shared this love, shared it with a passion! After their "wedding," though...

River smiled slightly as the memory of a tiny Doctor waving from inside his own eye.

"River? What's wrong?" He raised his head, peering worriedly at her.

She twisted around to face him again."How dare you! I don't beg!"

She had, once. Both of them knew it, but neither would bring it up.

"I know." He grinned at her. An enormous, stupidly happy smile spread over face.

"I hate you." She replaced her head on it's former resting place.

"No, you don't."

Of course I don't, you idiot. Can't you see that? She added silently. Some things were better left unsaid.

After Lake Silencio, she wanted to lie there forever. She would have liked to never let him out of her sight again, to somehow keep him safe under her arm. Occasionally, when she caught him staring, she saw the same kind of sadness in his eyes. Her future, no doubt. She knew better than to ask what it was.

Yes, some place deep within each of them wanted desperately to protect the other from anything and everything. But that wasn't how their relationship worked. It would create a massive paradox, trying to go linear now. Besides, it wasn't either of their style. They were protectors, not the protected.

River snuggled closer to him still. He rubbed small, comforting circles on her back. She felt his lips on the top of her head, lingering for a moment before breaking away.

Yes. The time would come when each of them reached their end. It was inevitable.

But it wouldn't happen tonight.

No. Not tonight. River tightened her grip around his waist yet again, ignoring his uncomfortable cough.

You belong to me, she thought. Get used to it.

After all, some things were better left unsaid.