You Are Always Here To Me

One-shot

It was nighttime (on Earth) and team TARDIS had all retired to bed, exhaustion taking over. As she didn't sleep as much as Humans, the Doctor had stayed in the console room to tinker wih her ship and make sure they didn't drift into any suns or black holes.

She was currently pulling levers and flipping switches to keep them on course despite the TARDIS not needing piloting at the moment. With an exaggerated yank, the Doctor pulled a lever then jumped around the console to press a blue button.

As she was about to stop her piloting and go back to tinkering with the wires under the console, a voice stopped her in her tracks.

"Hello, sweetie."

Her hearts pounded within her chest and her hand shook above the blue button she had just pressed. Her mouth felt suddenly very dry causing her to swallow and lick her lips. Slowly, she brought her hand back to hang limply by her side along with her other one.

As slowly as she allowed, she turned around to come face to face with her wife, blinking harshly to keep the tears at bay. River looked the same as she had the last time she'd seen her, her white dress and cardigan, some of her pinned back away from her face. She was beautiful, the Doctor mused. But then again, River had always been beautiful to her.

"River," the Doctor acknowledged. There was no point in ignoring her. She already knew the Doctor could see her. Could always see her. Had always been able to see her.

River's eyes did a slow once over of the Doctor's body, taking in the sight of her new regeneration with approval. The Doctor hadn't known how much she needed that until now.

A smile lifted at the corner of River's lips and the Doctor let out a breath she didn't realise she'd been holding. "I see you got the upgrade, my love," River noted, her smile remaining.

"You like it?" The Doctor asked.

"Sweetie," River chuckled, "I love it. Though I not sure about your clothes..."

"What? Why? I think they're brilliant," the Doctor defended, running a hand down her coat for extra emphasis.

"I'm just teasing, my love. You look lovely," River chuckled and stepped closer to the Doctor.

A weird feeling started up in the Doctor's throat and as much as she tried to get rid of it, it wouldn't go away. She swallowed and looked down, focusing on the hem of River's white dress. It was the same dress she'd worn when the Doctor had uploaded her to CAL. The same one she'd worn when she appeared on Trenzalore.

"What's the matter, my love?" River asked, sensing the Doctor's distress.

The Doctor found the strength to look into her wife's eyes, "you're not really here."

"That doesn't mean I'm not real," said River and she lifted a hand to cup to Doctor's cheek.

"Why do you keep doing this to me? Appearing when I least expect it? It hurts, River," the Doctor admitted, trying to swallow that stubborn feeling in her throat.

"Am I not allowed to come and see my wife?" River questioned, dropping her hand.

"I didn't say that. I just... our time is over, River. You have to let me go."

"I can never let you go, sweetie, I love you."

"I thought you might say that," sighed the Doctor. "I suppose we'd better make the most of our time. You can't stay forever. What do you want to talk about, wife?"

River smiled sadly at the word 'wife' and moved to lean on the console with her arms crossed over her chest. "Tell me about your new friends," she requested.

A bright smile lit up the Doctor's face at the mention of her fam and she joined River against the console. "Oh, they're brilliant, River! You'd love them," she began.