A/N: This is the second story to a one-a-day challenge I'm giving myself. Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who or the wonderful characters of Rose Tyler and River Song. Thanks for reading! –thefaultoflegend
February in London was never a good time to get into a fight. Storming out of a flat wasn't much fun when the cold cut through jackets like a knife and snow floated down from the smoggy sky. These were Rose Tyler's thoughts as she walked down the steps of Mickey's building and out into the harsh air. She pulled her pink hoodie tighter around her body, wishing she would have taken her mom's advice and put on a real coat before leaving their flat earlier that day. As she stomped down the dark road towards anywhere but Mickey's place, she recounted their fight in her head.
It was stupid really, all of their arguments. They had been happening more frequently in the past few months and she could never figure out why. He just made her so mad sometimes and it felt like they were light years away from each other. He was content to just get up every day and go to work and go to the pub and that's it. Rose was different. She was so bored with her life, and she wanted to do more with it. But, she didn't know how. It felt like a cycle that she could never break. It was just wake up, go to work, hang out with Mickey, hang out with Mum, go to sleep and start all over again. How could she do that every day for the rest of her life? In fact this particular fight started because Rose wanted to go out and do something exciting but Mickey wanted to stay and watch the match on TV. Rose stormed out after he told her she was being ridiculous.
Now she found herself at a pub. She saw the irony in it all, looking for adventure and instead just continuing her monotonous routine, but she went in anyway and ordered herself a drink. She sat for a while, stuck in her own thoughts, when a woman came up, ordered a drink, and sat down at the bar beside her. Rose took a look at the woman. The thing that stuck out the most about her was her hair. It was big and curly, taking up her entire head. Rose stared down at her own blond, straight, and boring hair and frowned. She could never stack up to that woman.
"Are you alright, Sweetie?" said the woman suddenly. Rose blinked at her a few times before realizing that the woman was talking to her.
"Oh…uh…I'm fine. Sorry. I just had a fight with my boyfriend. I had to get away for a bit," replied Rose looking away from the woman and down into her drink.
"Men," she said while rolling her eyes and taking a sip. "They are absolutely ridiculous sometimes. Well, most of the time," she corrected.
"I agree with you there," replied Rose, turning more towards the woman. She didn't know what it was about her, but Rose really liked her right of the bat. "I'm Rose by the way," she said and extended her hand.
"River," said the woman who now had a name. "It's nice to meet you, Rose," she continued with a smile. The two women sat there for a few minutes not saying anything. River smiled to herself, thinking that she really like Rose and she was glad that she bumped into her. She wasn't expecting this when she walked into the bar, but she immediately recognized Rose and saw that she was upset. Realizing that it was February and that Rose had not yet met the Doctor made River even more excited about meeting her. She couldn't wait to see what Rose's life was like before the Doctor. Most people would have been jealous of an ex of the man they were in love with, but not River. She knew that Rose was part of the reason the Doctor was who he was, and she wouldn't have him any other way. "So tell me about this boyfriend of yours. Why are you so upset?" she asked Rose.
"It's not even Mickey really," she mumbled. "It's just that…" She could feel tears coming on and tried to stop them, but was unable to mask her emotions. Ever since she was a little girl she had been one for crying. A lot of people thought that that was a bad thing. But Rose didn't like to bottle up her feelings. Letting it all hang out there suited her just fine. "It's just life, you know?" she continued while River listened intently, trying to gain as much information about this girl as she could. "I'm stuck. I can't go anywhere, I can't do anything new, and I'm always on the same cycle, day in and day out. I sometimes feel as if I'll go mad if I stay here for too long. I get the urge to scream out that I'm not okay and I'm not happy and I desperately want something more than this but you can't scream out because people will think you're crazy. There comes a point when you realize that the whole world isn't at your fingertips and it's time to grow up and move one. But moving on isn't moving at all. It's staying in exactly the same place for the rest of your life. It's like when you're little and you're parents tell you that you can be anything in the whole world. So you get all of these big dreams of all the things you hope to do one day and then all of the sudden you're eighteen years old and you're stuck with the life that you've been given and it's always been like that, it just took this long to realize it. You're dreams are just dust sitting along the side of your street, long forgotten and not long remembered by the little four year old you who dreamt them up." She stopped for air and tried to get a hold on the tears that were now dripping down her face.
"I wouldn't know. My parents weren't around when I was little. I've never had a home, really," said River, now the one to look a bit sad.
"I'm sorry. I probably sound so selfish to you."
"Not at all," replied River. "In fact I think you sound perfectly reasonable."
"Can I tell you something?" River nodded. "Sometimes, well more than sometimes, I just stare up into the sky, into the stars, and wonder if there's somebody out there for me. Not even in a romantic way, really. Just someone who can come along and grab my hand and break my cycle. It feels like I'm shouting into the void, like that type of thing is impossible." Rose looked down again, trying to stop the tears. For River's entire life, she had had to keep secrets from people she cared about. It was always hard, but she managed to do it. However, while sitting in that small pub in London at midnight in February of 2005 with a stranger who wasn't so strange to her after all, she struggled more with keeping a secret than any other time she had to do it. All River wanted to do was comfort this girl and tell her that there was a man on the way who would change her life forever. He would make it so much better and she wouldn't have to feel so alone anymore. They would experience so many good times together, and she would end up with a life bigger than that four year old little girl could ever imagine, bigger than the eighteen year old who stared up at the stars every night could even comprehend. It was coming and it would be like a big bang to her very own life: fast and heartbreaking and fantastic and lonely and comforting and breathtaking and woeful and magnificent and the most beautiful story that Rose would ever tell. But River couldn't say any of that. She had to stay quiet, only giving the girl enough to hold her over and comfort her until the mad man in the blue box could come in and tell the story for her.
"I have a friend that thinks that anything is possible," she said instead. "He does impossible on a daily basis. I wouldn't knock it so soon." Rose just nodded, clearly not convinced by the ramblings of a stranger. "You know, Rose, I think you and I are more alike than you think."
All around the pair of women, people walked in and out of the bar, their lives moving on. But for the Child of the TARDIS and the Bad Wolf, the world stood still. They're lives were interconnected on so many levels, even though one of them was completely unaware. But for some reason, they each craved what the other one had. Rose longed for the adventure that was hidden in plain sight in River's big eyes. River wondered what it would be like to lead a normal life, even if was just for eighteen years.
"So do you have one? A man I mean," asked Rose, trying to redirect the conversation to River.
"Yes, as a matter of fact I do. I have a husband," replied River, smiling mischievously at Rose as her thoughts wondered to the man that would soon play an enormous role in the young girl's life. Maybe she couldn't give Rose the whole story, but hints could certainly be allowed.
"Where is he tonight?" she asked and River just had to smirk at the question. Oh, if she only knew.
"Oh, who knows? Took off on another adventure, that one. He sure does love his adventures," River replied.
"What's he like?"
"Well he's daring. He gets himself into all sorts of trouble. He doesn't like to show when he's upset, but I can always tell. He loves people so deeply, even though he'll never come outright and say it. He's a little bit lonely sometimes and a little bit sad at all times, but he also has the most fun of anybody I know. He can't sit still for more than five minutes unless he's reading a book and he hardly ever sleeps. Most of our adventures happen at night. And oh do we have some good ones," continued River as she gave Rose a wink. Rose blushed a bit and laughed.
"Is he handsome?" asked Rose.
"Oh, extremely good looking. And that hair. He has the best hair." River smirked while thinking about what her husband could possibly be getting himself into. She hadn't seen him for a few days now, and missed him dearly. She got a little taste of what Rose was going to go through in about two years, and she felt a little bit sorry for the young girl, even though she knew that her story had a happy ending.
"He sounds really great," she said now.
"I think you'd really love him," replied River, giving off that mischievous smile again and then finishing her drink. "Rose, I know you're feeling down right now but I think your life is really going to pick up from here on out," said River as Rose got a huge smile on her face.
"Really?" she asked, excited that this woman had faith in her life, even if Rose didn't.
"Yes. Just hang in there, okay?" She placed her hand over Rose's and continued. "There might be some rough times ahead but I bet you that you're going to have some really great times, too. Adventure will hit you when you least expect it. And I know your mad at this boyfriend of yours right now, but don't worry. You'll get a happy ending." River stood up now and made her way toward the door before she gave out any more information.
"Wait!" called Rose. "What makes you think that?"
River just smiled at Rose and took a look at the girl who would soon help fix her husband's broken hearts. "Spoilers," she replied as she turned around and walked out.