Title: The Pleasure of Your Company
Summary: River makes a young Amy Pond a tempting offer.
Rating: PG-13
A/N: General spoilers for end of series 5. Amy/Rory River/Amy.
"I know you don't usually do the escort gigs, but it is a lot of money." For Amy Pond that was the understatement of the century. She stared incredulously at the pristine white cheque that she held in her hands. It seemed too good to be true.
"Yeah. It is. So why aren't you doing it?" The young Scott questioned her boss, unsure why the older woman had turned the job over to her and not kept it for herself. In the four months she had been working for Estelle she had kept her job description strictly at Kiss-a-gram. She'd been offered escort jobs before, but not for so much money. It was harder to turn the job down when it was followed by more zeros than Amy had ever seen on a cheque.
Estelle laughed, revealing the smallest of wrinkles around her ruby red lips. At forty eight she was far older than most of the girls she employed; she was still however a striking woman and was not without her fair share of job offers.
"Trust me Amy, I offered. The good Doctor asked for you by name-"
"The Doctor?" Amy felt a fluttering the pit of her stomach. Even after almost twelve years and four psychiatrists part of her still longed for the Doctor to be real. For him to finally come back for her.
"Doctor Song." Estelle quashed all of the young girl's hopes without even knowing it.
"So why did he ask for me then?" Amy folded her arms across her chest defensively, not keen on the idea that some random man had requested her as an escort. She was aware of the extra service some of the girls offered and had no intentions of sleeping with some lonely old pervert. Even if the money on offer was twice as much as she had earned in eighteen months of doing kiss-a-grams.
"She saw your profile on the website. I told her you didn't do the escort side...or girls. The more I said no the more she offered." The redhead standing opposite Estelle's desk was speechless. "She said she just wanted company. Seemed pretty genuine to be honest.
"She?" Amy choked out. The situation was turning more and more bizarre by the second. "So some random woman saw my profile on line and offered me ten thousand pounds to keep her company? What is she like some loony old rich dear who never got around to having kids?"
Estelle shrugged, her eyes glued to the cheque in Amy's hands. "Who knows, but she's already given me five thousand just to offer you the job. If you take it the full ten is yours."
"Okay." Amy sighed, the temptation of so much money to overwhelming. "Tell her I'll do it. But it's just dinner. Any funny business and I'm walking!" Estelle had the phone in her hand before Amy could even pocket the cheque.
"Doctor Song? It's Estelle Brown, I have some good news."
"It sounds fishy to me." Amy rolled her eyes as she sat in front of her vanity mirror, her eye-liner in one hand and her curlers in the other. She didn't need Rory to tell her there was something off about some old woman offering her tens of thousands of pounds to have one dinner with her.
"Relax. You'll live longer." She shot back, though added a cheeky smile to lessen the blow of her words. Rory blushed, as he usually did around the beautiful redhead, and offered a shrug in return.
"I just worry about you Amy...I care about you. A lot."
The young Scott tried not to roll her eyes. She busied herself with curling her hair as Rory sat on the edge of her bed, nervously fiddling with the edge of the duvet that poked out between his legs. "Maybe I should find ten thousand pounds? Then maybe you'd go out on a date with me?" He tried to make a joke of it, but they both knew the raw truth behind his teasing. Rory Williams had been in love with Amy Pond far almost as long as Amy Pond had believed in the raggedy Doctor.
Amy rolled her eyes at her bumbling best friend. "Since when does a pizza and a bottle of wine cost ten thousand pounds?" She teased him as she playfully ran her fingers through his hair. A habit she had developed in the earlier years of their friendship. Rory's lips parted in order to protest to her teasing, but Amy beat him to it and bent down press their lips together. She wasn't sure what she had been thinking at the time. She had kissed him before. Light and friendly pecks on the cheek, but she had not kissed him on the lips since the one time she had decided to try it when she was fifteen. She had no idea what to say as she pulled away, and the way Rory was gawking up at her expectantly didn't help matters much. "I'll call you when I get in later, yeah? Bye." She made a hasty exit out of her bedroom, fleeing from her own house.
The taxi she had ordered earlier was already waiting outside for her and she was grateful for it as she looked up and found Rory watching her from her bedroom window. She waved awkwardly before getting in to the back of the waiting car and ordering the driver to put his foot down. She had a feeling she had just royally messed things up.
The Caledonia Hotel was half an hour outside of Leadworth. The drive seemed to take no time at all and before Amy knew it she was standing in the reception of the hotel that had once been a large country estate. The man behind the reception desk caught her eye and offered her a friendly smile. She ran a hand through her curly red locks as his eyes raked over her black cocktail dress. "Can I help madame?"
"Yes. I'm looking for Doctor Song." She spoke with an English accent, a habit while she was working.
"Oh." The young man blushed a deeper shade of red than Amy's hair. "Oh yes. Doctor Song. I'll just give her a call."
He picked up the phone and flashed Amy a professional smile. "Doctor Song, it's Michael from reception. I have a young lady here." His blush deepened as the good Doctor said something to him in response. "Ah yes, quite." He put the phone back in the cradle and indicated towards the lifts with a manicured hand. "It's room three-two-four. Have a nice stay Miss Pond."
Amy stood outside of room three two four, still in two minds as to whether to knock or not. Fighting the urge to turn around and run she finally let her knuckles wrap against the wooden door.
Inside, Doctor Song took her time in answering. Standing before the full length mirror in the bedroom she re-applied her make-up and fluffed up her hair. When she finally made her way to the door Amy had talked herself out of going through with it four and a half times. She was just about to turn around and head for the lift when the door opened. "Hello sweetie." A middle aged blonde stood in the doorway, a dazzling smile on her ruby red lips and a crimson evening gown hugging her hips.
"H-hi." Amy had no idea why she suddenly felt like a bashful teenager. She had expected some revolting old crone, not the stunning woman standing before her. "I'm sorry, I think I've got the wrong room-"
"Oh, don't worry. You've got the right room Amy. I'm Doctor River Song. Please, come in." She stepped aside and ushered the younger woman in.
Amy had to admit she was impressed with the hotel suite. The front door led in to a living room with unusually modern furnishings. Apparently the rooms did not match the rest of the hotel's Victorian style décor. The young Scott put her purse down on the glass coffee table and watched Doctor Song as she sauntered over to the bar in the corner of the room. "Drink?"
"Yes please."
The older woman pulled out a bottle of expensive looking champagne from the ice cooler sitting on the bar. She filled two glasses before carrying them over to Amy and offering her one. Amy's fingers wrapped around the cold glass, brushing against the Doctor's. She almost jumped out of her skin. "Relax Amy." River chuckled softly as she took a seat on one of the plush leather sofas and indicated for the younger girl to do the same. "I don't bite."
"I'm sorry, but how do you know my name?"
"From the website of course." River spoke as though the answer should have been obvious. Amy was not convinced.
"But why did you ask for me? I mean you're gorgeous, why would you need to pay for a date...I mean.." Amy was aware she was babbling. And her Scottish lilt had infiltrated her voice. River chuckled again. Her eyes were warm and full of mirth, as though she knew something Amy didn't.
"I'm in town for a few days on business. I don't like to dine alone. Speaking of which, shall we?"
It wasn't until the older woman pointed out the dining table in the corner that Amy realised they would be dining in. That hadn't been part of the plan. Amy had expected a night out in a posh restaurant. Though to say Doctor Song was nothing like she was expecting would be a serious understatement.
"So what kind of Doctor are you?" Amy asked over desert, a little less intimidated by the other woman after sharing three courses with her.
"I'm an archaeologist." River answered.
"Wow." Once again the other woman had managed to surprise her. "So you like excavate Roman forts and stuff?"
"And stuff." River smirked as though Amy had just told a joke that she didn't understand the punchline to. "So, tell me more about you. How did you get in to the kiss-a-gram business?"
The answer to that question involved a raggedy Doctor, a blue box, four psychiatrists and a childish need to rebel in any way she could. She shrugged in response. "It pays the bills. How about you? Why did River Song decide to become an archaeologist?" The blond mirrored Amy's shrug.
"It's a long story. I met someone. A man. He showed me the whole of time and space...and then he left. I had to go back to my mundane little life and, well, archaeology was like a window to the life I had once had. A chance to walk among other civilizations." A blush spread over the older woman's cheeks as she realised she had let so much slip. "I'm sorry, too much good champagne makes me nostalgic."
"Really? It just makes me drunk." Amy almost groaned as she realised how stupid she had sounded.
"Me too." The blonde laughed, easing away the last of Amy's apprehension.
The conversation between them became light and easy again as River topped up their glasses. Once dinner was over they moved to the sofa again. Amy shared some of her worst kiss-a-gram experiences, including one when she had first started out and had been called out for a party for an eighty year old. Meanwhile River sat engrossed in her words, her arm draped over the back of the sofa, casually brushing against Amy's shoulder.
"And he just clutched his chest and dropped to the floor! I felt so bad! I thought I'd killed him! It's not funny!" The redhead protested as River burst in to a fit of laughter. "OK, it's a little funny, but at the time I was seventeen and terrified!"
"Should you really have been a kiss-a-gram at seventeen?" River shot back, her tone light and teasing.
"I lied about my age." Amy shrugged as thought it were no big deal. River laughed again, her fingers absently stroking the younger girl's back.
"Now that I can understand. I've been lying about my age for years. There's only so long you can still pass for twenty one."
"Oh come on, you're a total MILF!"
River's lips twitched in amusement. "Oh, am I?" Her grasp of twenty first century culture was good enough to understand the term. Amy's cheeks coloured as she realised what she had said.
"I mean...I..." she ran a hand through her curly red locks. "Well you are." She giggled, the champagne going to her head.
"Has anyone ever told you you're adorable when you blush?" River leant in close, intending to press her lips against the younger girl's. Amy pulled away, shaking her head.
"Has anyone ever told you that your pick up lines are a bit cheesy?" Amy reclined back on the couch, enjoying the way River's eyes followed her. It was nice to have some attention from someone other than Rory. Or Jeff.
"And here I thought they were vintage." River's retort rolled off her lips with practised ease. Another giggle escaped from Amy as River closed the distance between them. Despite River's advances she felt at ease around the older woman. Their lips were almost touching as Amy finally came to her senses. She pushed River away, turning her back on the blonde as she scooped her purse up from the table.
"I'm sorry. I have to go."
"Amy. Wait." River stood in her way as she went for the door. "Please."
"I can't." Amy sighed.
"You can." River's hands found the younger girl's hips. "We can." She purred as she pushed her up against the nearest wall, grinding her own hips against Amy's. There was nothing stopping them. No Rory. No Doctor. No spoilers.
"No!" Amy found the strength to shove her away and scowled. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "I'm not some cheap call girl!"
"I didn't say that." River sighed, giving the younger girl a little bit of space, but not enough that she could actually go anywhere.
"Ten thousand says otherwise." Amy snapped, feeling like a fool for being played so easily.
"Amy-"
"Don't!" Amy cut her off before she could start. She had no right to say her name like she knew her. "Just don't."
It had been a mistake to accept the job. As normal and gorgeous as River appeared she was no better than any other John who paid for sex. Maybe it was some sort of game she played. Try to seduce some young woman, act like she was genuinely interested and then swoop in when their guard was down. The cheque would probably bounce. She pushed past the blonde and collected her purse from the sofa. River did not try to block her way. She didn't need to.
"I know about the Doctor Amy." The redhead stopped in her tracks with her hand on the door. She felt her entire body shaking with anger. Was this some sort of trick? Had Estelle set her up? Was it some sort of sick joke from Rory or Jeff? "I've met him too. I've travelled with him in his blue box...the man who showed me the universe-"
"And left you." Amy choked out, still unsure as to how to react. She had genuinely enjoyed her time with River, she felt a connection to the older woman in a way she could not describe. Like they were old friends.
It was too much. She couldn't cope. Not with River Song, nor the Doctor. "I have to..." She fumbled with the door and began to panic as she found it was locked. As modern as the furnishings were the doors were still original, including the old locks. The key was missing. She knew without turning that River was holding it.
"I didn't mean for it to happen like this Amy, truly I didn't." The truth was River hadn't really planned anything at all. Seeing Amy on her wedding day, after all the mess with the Pandorica, she had acted on impulse. Left the Doctor with a hasty apology and used the vortex manipulator to go back. It had been easy enough. She was already in Leadworth. Going back a few years had been a piece of cake. She'd only meant to catch a glimpse of her, maybe even have a conversation with her, knowing that she and Rory would not yet be an item and the Doctor would not be on the scene for at least six months. She had thought it would be enough. She hadn't truly been prepared for the sight of an eighteen year old Amy Pond. A glimpse had not been enough. She needed to speak to her, to spend time with her as they had after Rory had been erased from time. In the many months after Rory's death they had grown closer. The Doctor had felt guilty for what had happened to the young Scott's fiancé and had indulged her every whim, whisking her off to distant worlds and giving her her heart's desires. It turned out that without Rory around those desires included spending time with River, much to the Doctor's dismay.
"Open the door." Amy's voice trembled as she spoke. She wasn't sure if it was with anger or fear, but either way she wanted the door open. "Now!"
"He comes back for you Amy. The Doctor." She knew how to play the younger girl and she could see she had her attention by the way her hand slipped from the door handle. River knew she was playing with fire. The Doctor had warned her about personal timeliness countless times. She knew that playing with the past could have serious repercussions, but her entire future had been re-written thanks to the Pandorica. She had already lost Amy Pond once, what was the worst that could happen? "I know it seems hard to hold on to what little hope you have right now, but he is coming back for you Amy. I promise you. We both are."
When Amy didn't respond River carried on. "I had no intentions of paying for you to sleep with me Amy. I just-"
"You just?" The younger girl turned around, facing River with her back firmly against the door. "You just what? Don't you think I'm messed up enough River? If you do know me, if you are from the future, and you and me do travel with the raggedy Doctor...you must know how messed up this is. If he's not coming back for me right this second, then why tell me at all? I'm right back where I started eleven years ago." Tears streamed down her pale cheeks, smearing her mascara.
"Soon." River found herself stepping closer towards the sobbing redhead. "I can't tell you when or how, but soon. I promise you sweetie." River knew her actions had been selfish, she couldn't undo them, but she could give Amy the hope she so desperately craved.
River Song was by no means selfless though. She closed the distance between them, crushing their lips together once more and stealing a kiss from the startled girl. As she pulled back the key turned in the lock and she stepped aside to let Amy leave. "I'm sorry for a lot of things in my life Amy. But most of all I'm sorry for the things that will never happen." She was slightly crushed when Amy fled without a second look, but she could not blame the young woman for her actions. She did not remember the future she shared with River. She would never remember it, because it would never happen. Not now that time had been re-written their relationship would never develop past close friendship, no matter how hard River tried.
She slumped against the door, cradling her head in her hands. She'd had to let Amy go. She had no choice in the matter. A knock at the door startled her. She presumed it was the young man from reception. He seemed to have a thing for her. She forced herself to her feet and pulled open the door, ready to tell him where to go.
"Amy?" Her eyes widened as she found the redhead standing in front of the door.
"I forgot to give you something." She handed over the plain white envelope that held the cheque inside. It was crumpled and creased as though it had been folded for a long time.
"Right." River choked out, unsure why she had returned to give her a cheque when she could have simply cashed it or ripped it up. She needn't have returned to the room.
"And there was something else." She stepped forward, placing a chaste kiss over River's lips. She kicked the door shut behind her and that was all the encouragement the older woman needed.
"It was you wasn't it. I mean the present you, not the eighteen year old Amy Pond." It had been months since River had woken up alone in a hotel on twenty-first century earth. It had taken her that long to get the redhead on her own in the TARDIS. Amy looked at her with a sad smile. She did not try to feign ignorance or even ask her to elaborate.
"Everything got all blurred together after the Pandorica. Like I'd lived so many different lives and they'd all got tangled together as one...I didn't mean for things to go so far. It was just supposed to be a kiss. A thank you for giving me hope when I needed it most...and a...a goodbye."
"Rory." River muttered bitterly, unable to look Amy in the eye.
"Is my husband." Amy answered in a way that made it clear the conversation was over. "And like it or not this is our lives now River. I'm sorry." She place a reassuring hand on her arm and kissed the blonde on the cheek. She went to leave, to find her husband and the Doctor who had no doubt managed to get themselves in to some kind of trouble in the time they had been left alone.
"Do you regret it?" River's trembling voice stopped her in her tracks.
She could not remember all of her life with River, the countless years she had spent with the blonde on distant alien worlds with no memory of her fiancée, but of what she did remember she was certain of one thing. Standing with her back to River, her hand on the door, she shook her head. "Not a single moment."
River felt her lips twitching up in to a small smile. It was a start at least.