SPOILERS

Summary: There were some people that Rose Tyler was never supposed to meet. River Song was one of them (Rose/Ten)

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any of its characters

Rose tapped her finger on the outside of the TARDIS as her eyes wandered through the vast marketplace. Once again, The Doctor had grossly over-estimated how long it was going to take to purchase tea. He had a bet with Rose that he could find her a new tea on every planet. Rose didn't have the heart to tell him that she was becoming thoroughly sick of the stuff.

Instead, she spent her alone time with the TARDIS. Usually when The Doctor went on a Tea Mission, she headed out around the planet on her own, but today she was tired and much preferred keeping the old time machine company.

She stroked the TARDIS's outer wall and wondered whether anyone was watching her. She supposed she must look a right idiot, stroking a Police Box. She knew better. The TARDIS was very much alive, and even though she could no longer remember her time spent sharing its consciousness, she knew that somewhere deep within its wooden walls, the TARDIS could feel her and understand her.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

Rose nearly jumped a foot in the air. She spun around to see a woman in a dress suit smiling up at the TARDIS.

"Hello," she said, still startled.

"Is The Doctor here?" the woman asked, with no introduction.

Rose furrowed her eyebrows and looked discerningly at the older woman. "No," she said. "He stepped out to buy tea. He shouldn't be long." Her mind was filled with questions for this mysterious woman, but for some reason, she kept them back. Instead, she just stared and wondered.

"If it's tea, then I think we can safely wait a good hour," the woman joked. Rose smiled nervously back at her before realizing that the other woman was sizing her up. "What year is it?" she asked, after looking Rose up and down a few times.

"2045," Rose said, cocking her head. So she was a time traveller too, like The Doctor. She couldn't be a Time Lord. Perhaps she was a Time Agent, like Jack Harkness. "Do I know you?" she asked, throwing any thoughts of rudeness to the wind.

"I doubt it," The woman smiled back, apologetically. "The Doctor does, at least he might. I can never quite tell where we're up to. He will eventually if he doesn't now."

Rose shook her head, trying to make some sense of what she was hearing. "Who are you?" she asked, getting too frustrated to care at all about being polite.

The woman merely clicked her tongue and shook her head. "Spoilers," she said. "The real question is, who are you? That might give me some kind of clue as to when we are, from the Doctor's perspective at least." Rose tried to interject, but the woman just kept talking. So like The Doctor… "Right then. Young, blonde. That's interesting. He doesn't usually do blondes. Travel with them, I mean." She pulled a blue book out of her shoulder back and flicked through the pages. "Have you been here long? Because he doesn't…I mean he hasn't travelled with someone like you since…"

The woman suddenly stopped dead. She whipped her head from her book to stare at Rose.

"No," she whispered, and flicked through the book till she found the page she had been looking for. She looked up at Rose then back to the book again.

"You're Rose Tyler."

"Yes."

The woman began to pale. "I never thought I'd be here this early. This is…bad."

Rose crossed her arms in front of her. "What's bad? Who are you?"

The woman still didn't take her eyes off Rose. "I'm River Song," she said, and Rose thought she could identify the look in River Song's eyes. It was part sympathy, part guilt, and something that may have been jealousy.

"What about spoilers?" Rose asked, surprised that River Song had answered her question. "How do you know The Doctor? And why are you looking at me like that?"

"You're so young," River Song said, looking at her wonderingly. "He said you were, but I never imagined."

"He's told you about me?" Rose asked, not because she really wanted to know, but because she couldn't think of anything better to ask.

River Song laughed. It was not a happy laugh. "Not much," she said. "But you know The Doctor. Sometimes it's what he doesn't say."

Rose nodded. She could vouch for that.

"How long have you been with him?" River Song asked. "Is he still in his ninth form? I've always wanted to see it. Big ears, so he tells me."

Rose laughed, despite herself and shook her head. "No. Tenth. String bean."

River Song laughed with her. "Fabulous hair though. Where was the last place you went?"

"2012 Olympics," Rose answered, the laughter still in her voice. River Song's suddenly disappeared.

"What?" Rose asked, worried.

"So soon," River Song said to herself. "I shouldn't be here."

Rose was intrigued. The look on River Song's face was definitely sympathetic now. "Why don't you stay and wait for The Doctor? I'm sure he'd be happy to see you."

River Song seemed to understand Rose's ulterior motive in asking her to stay. She shook her head and backed a few paces away. "No, he doesn't know me yet. I should go."

"What's so soon?" Rose whipped back.

"I should go," she repeated. "I don't think I was supposed to meet you."

Rose fired up. "What do you mean? If you know The Doctor, you must know me. You knew my name!"

River Song said nothing, looking guilty again.

"Why don't you know me? The Doctor…" Rose didn't know how to finish the sentence. She was The Doctor's future. They would be together forever. He promised.

Rose remembered what he had told her, months ago. "You can spend the rest of your life with me, but I can't spend mine with you." Was she dead? In this woman, River Song's life, was Rose Tyler dead?

No. So soon, she had said. Whatever happened was going to happen soon.

"What happens to me?" Rose asked, frantically. "Why don't you know me?"

River Song didn't answer. There were no words. "You will get your happily ever after," she said, when nothing of more use came to her mind. "Don't give up hope. You'll find what you lost." She turned to leave, too grief-stricken to stay.

Rose was gasping for breath. "What do you mean? What will I lose? River Song, come back!"

River Song turned around to take one last look at Rose Tyler. She looked her up and down again, this time, with that same look of sympathy, and something that might have been regret.

"You're his everything," she said simply. She smiled sadly at Rose and walked away.

Rose chased after her, abandoning the TARDIS for a minute. She raced down the hill and through the markets, desperate to catch up with River Song. But there was no sign of her. Defeated, Rose walked back to the TARDIS with a horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach. She stopped. The TARDIS was unlocked. Rose rushed inside and looked around. Nothing was out of place. She sighed and traipsed to her room, closing the door behind her. She looked around. On her bed was an envelope.

Rose Tyler,

Open this when you have found what was lost. Not before. You will know.

Rose traced the lettering wonderingly and tried to calm herself. She ran the conversation with River Song through her mind but could make neither heads nor tails of it. She was going to lose something. And she would lose it soon. She ran a finger under the seal of the envelope, anxious to read what was inside. She sighed and picked it up, placing it in her set of drawers. She shouldn't read it. Not yet. Her stomach knotted itself at the thought of what would have to happen to her before she could read it.

"Bathingswallow Cupcake tea!"

Rose jumped, slamming her drawer closed and turning to face the door. "Doctor!" She brushed her sides and slapped a smile on her face.

"Yes, can you believe it?" The Doctor asked, beaming at her. He seemed completely unaware that anything was wrong. "Bathingswallow Cupcake Tea! The best in the galaxy. Well, best in the solar system. Well…best in this TARDIS…right now…"

"It's the only tea in the TARDIS right now," Rose said, rolling her eyes. It was so easy to get swept up in his energy. She found herself grinning at him, despite herself. Like always.

"Exactly! So…tea?"

The Doctor took her arm and together they drank a pot of alien tea. All Rose's worries about loss and River Song dissolved in The Doctor's antics. Like always.