It was on rare, very rare, occasions that Aderyn went to River's house. It was a small house. River never saw the point in having somewhere large and extravagant. She wasn't there that often. She was usually at Aderyn's or off somewhere in space and time. But today, Aderyn knew she would be home.

Taking a deep breath she knocked on the door. The late autumn breeze sent a shower of orange and red leaves over her.

River smiled broadly when she saw Aderyn stood on the doorstep, brushing leaves out of her hair.

"Hi," Aderyn smiled "Sorry to drop in unannounced but I figured a spontaneous date night was in order." River picked a large leaf off of Aderyn's lapel and stepped aside.

For most of the day, they did nothing but talk and laugh. Aderyn had planned on going out for dinner, but a night in was proving too much fun. They opened a few bottles of beer and Aderyn cooked. She hated cooking, but there was no denying she was good at it. She was always good at the things she hated the most. Aderyn knew that this was her last night with River. She wanted to make it special, not to linger on what would be happening in the next few days. She gave River a gift. It was a sonic screwdriver. She said there was no reason why she shouldn't be able to give her wife a present. And argued that everyone needed a sonic screwdriver. Although River accepted it, it was with suspicion. After they had eaten the conversation began to fade. There was only so much entertainment they could get out of talking about the few things that had actually happened to them both over the last few weeks since they had last seen each other. Aderyn had been particularly down hearted last time. She had seen that there had only been one or two pages left in River's diary. She had been counting down the adventures she had left with River since Manhattan. Aderyn had caught sight of River's diary then and had been horrified by how few pages there had been left. But they had some good times. Aderyn had found it strange running from monsters and aliens with River, but it had been a good strange. They had laughed afterwards and had a few pleasantly relaxed evenings. Last time, River had taken Aderyn to the theatre to see a brilliant production of the Rocky Horror Show. And by the time they had gone back to Aderyn's cottage they were both happy and exhausted. But now, there was nothing else to focus on but River. And Aderyn knew that River deserved all of her attention.

"Are you alright, Oz?" River asked quietly, pulling Aderyn from her reminiscing.

"Yes, I'm fine." Aderyn lied quickly.

River stood and held out her hand. Aderyn took it and River pulled her to her feet and into a slow dance. Aderyn rested her head on River's shoulder, enjoying the feeling of being so close to her.

It felt like River had given her life meaning. River was always there when she needed someone and the Doctor couldn't be there. But those days were over. After tonight, that would be it. The tears stared to flow as she clung to River, not wanting to let her go, but wanting to run away at the same time.

"Are you alright?" River asked again.

Inside her head, Aderyn screamed. No, no I'm not okay. I'm loosing everyone I love and you're next. This is the last time I'll see you. You're going to die. But as much as she wanted to say all of that, she couldn't. She knew she couldn't.

She took a deep shuddering breath "I'm just tired. I've not slept properly in a while. I think it's just catching up with me."

Still swaying gently to the music, River held Aderyn tighter "You'll be okay." she whispered.

But Aderyn knew she wouldn't be ok. Not for a while.

Despite River's protests, Aderyn didn't spend the night with her. She told River she had a meeting with her publisher the next day and had to be there early. In truth, she couldn't face spending a night with River, knowing that she would be gone by the time she woke up the next day. That was would happen. She would get a call during the night and she would leave before Aderyn woke up. Aderyn would wake up to find a note from River saying she had gone to do a job and would be back later. That's what always happened. Usually Aderyn got a message on the psychic paper when River was finished and that would be followed by a phone call or flying visit. But not this time. Aderyn knew she wouldn't be able to cope if she awoke to find a message from River, knowing that River would say she'd speak to her later, knowing that she wouldn't.

Her walk home was painful, each step away from River was like walking from warmth into freezing cold. As soon as Aderyn got home she locked the door and wrapped herself in a heavy blanket, watching the weather from her window. She watched as the sky darkened and the first few raindrops splattered against the window, perfectly imitating her mood. She fell into a restless sleep that seemed to last only minutes. When she woke up it took her a few minutes to realise why she had been feeling so miserable. She soon realised the psychic paper she had taken out of her pocket was no longer blank. She picked it up from the coffee table, where she had thrown it when she'd emptied her pockets. It was a message from River.

I've got a job at a library. Not sure what's going on with that but it shouldn't take me too long. I'll pop in later when I finish. Hope you're feeling better today x.

Aderyn's hearts shattered. She had the opportunity to tell River not to go. She could do that. But she didn't. She didn't know if she would be changing a fixed point. Unlike the Doctor, she didn't instantly know what was in flux and what was fixed. That was one Time Lord trait she hadn't inherited from the Doctor but really wished she had. She threw the psychic paper back on to the table, pulled the blanket over her head and let out a loud, pained sob.