A/N: Less formal summary: /311/ meets .com/art/Innuendos-in-Space-209360906, but mainly just the Rivers.

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River woke up, grabbed her gun from the nightstand, and pointed it at the figure the doorway. Standing there was a girl in a disheveled pink dress with straggly brown hair and what River had to admit were very nice boots. Despite her light build, she had clearly just kicked the door in, and River could tell she had a dancer's balance.

"Where's Simon?" the girl demanded, undeterred by the gun.

River glanced around the room, taking stock of her surroundings. It was unfamiliar, though pleasant enough, and the cheesy impersonality of the furniture suggested a hotel. Why was she in a hotel? Her brain, catching up, answered that she and the Doctor had had a couple drinks, and decided to rent a room for the hell of it. A room with a single large bed. In which she was alone.

"I don't know," she said, hoping the girl would go away. "Where's the Doctor?" River's glance of the room passed over a hat on the nightstand opposite her, and a breath caught in her throat. Much as she tried, he wouldn't have left the fez if it wasn't important. And this girl was obviously missing someone as well.

"When did Simon disappear?" she asked the girl, lowering her gun. "Why are you looking for him in here? And who are you?"

"Last night, I don't know, I should have watched him, but I had to help the cows, they needed to see the sky." She sniffed, and suddenly seemed dangerously close to tears. River wondered whether she was quite stable. "I'm searching the building, but he hasn't appeared within the parameters. Or Kaylee."

River put her gun back on the nightstand and asked more gently, "What's your name, sweetie?"

"River Tam," said the girl. "Has your Doctor gone, too? Simon's a doctor, maybe they're together." Suddenly she changed manner completely, looking at River as if she were insane. Briefly, River wondered whether she was wearing the same expression, and tried to make her face neutral. The girl's name sounded oddly familiar. "Why are you holding the sheet to your chest?"she, the other River, asked. "You are wearing presentable clothing."

River looked down at her other hand, the one that hadn't grabbed the gun. She was indeed holding the bedsheet to her chest, presumably a reflex action upon waking. And—she peeked underneath—she was also wearing the same clothing she'd had on yesterday. It looked rumpled and unwashed.

"Damn that man," she muttered. "I get him drunk, and still—" She cut off, aware of the girl's curious gaze. Sliding out of bed, she said, "My name is River as well. River Song. Nice to meet you." River held out a hand to shake, but the girl just stared at it. Turning the motion into a swipe towards the nightstand, she slid her gun into her waistband and examined the girl. Her first impression of a dancer had been right, but moving closer, she could see the intelligence in her eyes, and the battle there with some sort of madness.

"How were you conducting your search?" she inquired.

"I was just looking at the rooms," the girl replied promptly. "They were all empty but this one. This is last."

River did remember choosing the farthest room in the hallway. She knew some people were disturbed by screaming. She shook her head to clear the morning cobwebs. "Look," she addressed the girl, "do you mind if I call you 'Tam'? To avoid confusion. You can call me Song if you'd like."

The girl nodded seriously. "Yes, we can't have two Rivers. Only one river in the forest. That's the only water. But the song is music. A tune, a melody. Always singing, always running. Always backwards. Maybe, sometimes. And yes."

River was taken aback. "Are you an empath?" she asked curiously. "Or suffer visions?" She thought back on what the girl had said. "Oh, yes, then. So Tam is okay?"

"Yes, I said already" Tam replied impatiently. Her moods seemed to change with every passing second. "Help me, we can look for your Doctor, too. But let's go now, we have to find Simon!" With that, she turned and ran out of the room. River looked around in quick confusion and followed.