Older eleven/Young River
"Agh!" Melody groaned and slammed her head into her laptops' keyboard. She realised and sat bolt upright in her chair, wincing as pain shot through her neck and aching shoulders. "How do I do this?" She moaned to herself. In front of her was a set of problems set by a certain professor Gulm who revelled in giving his classes difficult sums and computer programs to complete. This piece of coursework was the later.
Professor Gulm organised the module entitled 'An Advanced course in computational programming and engineering' that Melody had decided to take as she always loved mending things, though when they were children, her mother always said Melody 'broke' things more often than she fixed them. This of course in Melody's eyes was false. She didn't brake them, she just made them better. There was always one piece left over, but that's alright because that always happens. Melody was getting her PhD next week in archeology and, as a postgraduate with a masters in archeology, she felt it only right to understand wider aspects of the universe. As her tutor, Doctor Pheming, in her first year had said,
"Archeology is a tool to pick the lock to the universe!" Melody had at the time replied that "Other tools were also necessary to unlock the universe." This hadn't gone down to well with the other students but her tutor took a different view, and started a discussion that had ended with them becoming firm friends.
The years went on and everything was good until her final piece of coursework that currently sat before her. It concerned a programme that must be written in order to achieve time travel, something humans were only just beginning to utilize in the 51st century. The time agency had all of the legal time travel devices and used them to their hearts content ,while everyone else went about without a clue. Melody had discovered this using hacking skills and a few well placed, and slightly hallucinogenic enhanced kisses, when bored one evening in her second year. Unfortunately she never got her hands on the programing used to build such a device and so, on the eve of the day before her coursework was due in, Melody sat with a half finished programme at her fingertips.
"He only asked to build a basic design, why is this so difficult? Stupid professor Gulm!" She growled under her breath.
Suddenly a cool breeze ruffled the curls on the back of her head, sending a shiver down her spine and goose pimples to come up on her arms and neck. Melody looked toward the window but it was firmly shut, as was the door to her apartment.
The phone rang on her desk and she pressed ignore. She got enough bother from those immature students who constantly flirted with her in the day time. She had other things on her mind, namely him.
River paused from her current problem and leaned back into her chair to think on her main reason for becoming an archeologist in the first place, being yet again reminded of her sore muscles from hours of leaning over a computer screen.
Him, the Doctor. Her parent's friend. The man she's falling in love with. Since Berlin he had visited her quite a few times, sometimes her parents were with him, sometimes they weren't. Parents aside, he was the only person she allowed to call her by her real name. Melody had gone by the name River Song ever since she woke at the hospital after giving her future lives to the Doctor. She reasoned it would give her a new start after the years of confusion and pain. The problem was, inside, she was still little Melody Pond, eaten by a spaceman. Memories blurred and muddled, always alone and always running away. And now when she thought she had her parents and the Doctor to run to, they only showed on their own terms and left just as freely. In fact, she hadn't even seen any of them for the past six months. "They must be having a great time without me! Who would want to spend time with broken goods like me anyway?" She said, biting back a sob. Melody had learned from when she was a baby that no one calmed her tears or screams when she was upset so she kept her emotions in check. Always hiding the damage. Becoming an archeologist means she could track down her family and the mad man in the blue box. The blue box, no, that was wrong. She wasn't an object. She was...family. The child of the TARDIS. "Well, I'm hardly the child of a time machine if I can't work out how to time travel!" She berated herself. Melody looked back to the screen in front of her and sighed, tears pricking at her eyes.
"Good going so far but you're missing something key." A familiar voice spoke begin her. Melody's neck snapped up and her chair and body turned to the direction of the voice.
"Hello Sweetie." She retorted smoothly, but inside her nerves were fraying and butterflies flew about her stomach.
Across the room was Melody's bed, but it was currently shrouded in darkness.
"Hi, honey, I'm home!" The voice retorted happily, but something in the edge of the voice resembled concern rather than the easy tone commonly associated with the voice.
"Why are you here? It's been over six months! Why visit me now?" Melody fired questions at the far corner of her flat.
A green light shot out of the darkness, causing the lamp on the bedside table to turn on, and Melody to jump in surprise.
Reclining on her bed, the Doctor put his sonic screwdriver back in his jacket pocket and cocked his head to one side.
"You need me." He answered, as if that was the obvious answer to give.
Melody was confused. "I need you?" She said standing from her chair.
"I need you?" Her voice rose in anger. The Doctor's face remained calm.
"I never needed you!" She roared. This made the man opposite her squirm.
"I was abducted and learned, by myself, how to survive. I got out of the spacesuit, I fought for my life on the streets of New York, I trained myself in every weapon of war known, I decided how to kill you," the Doctor's shoulders heaved up and down at those words "And I was the one who saved you...You, Doctor, are the one who needs me." Melody finished in a whisper. For the past few months she had felt more alone than ever. "How could he think I'd just go along with his jolly demeanour after he left me for six months?" She thought sadly.
The Doctor suddenly looked straight into her eyes, it was as if he sensed what she was thinking.
"I just wanted to put a smile back on your face. That professor of yours seems like a right terror. I want to help you with your coursework, if you'd let me?" He gazed deeply into eyes with sincerity Melody considered his request.
"No." She announced confidently. The Doctor was taken by shock, his mouth flopped open and shut, resembling a goldfish and his arms flew about his head.
"But, but, I just poured my hearts out to you, I was honest! Why no? You wouldn't have to think about it any more!" He said in a rush.
Melody waited for him to stop throwing a tantrum and took a step toward the bed, but not to close.
"I want to work this out for myself. If I am the child of the TARDIS as you say I am, then I wish to find things out for myself, my mind has the capacity, it is similar to yours. Let me do this." She whispered and he continued to stare at her.
"At least let me sort out those muscles of yours, I can tell that you're hurting." He mumbled, defeated.
"Only if you promise not to use any regeneration energy on me." She replied sternly.
"I promise! Scouts honour! It's just a massage I swear!" He shouted with glee and bounced of the bed to her. Melody laughed as he took her hands in his own and lead her to her bed.
He returned to his original position. Melody stood at the side of her bed.
"Um do you want me to sit down?" She said, twirling one of her curls between her fingers nervously.
The Doctor twisted his head toward her and considered her face. "Have you not been with me before, in this bed?" He smirked. Melody felt her neck and cheeks turn crimson.
"Of course not! I..I...we...we haven't even kissed since I gave you my lives in Berlin!" She stammered. The Doctor smiled kindly.
"Hey, it's quite alright. I'm not going to hurt you." He put a hand out to her but she backed off slightly. "You should hate me. You shouldn't even want to be near me! I'm broken...I'm a monster..." She said, hanging her head in shame. Melody looked up suddenly when she felt a pair of strong arms embrace her and pull her toward her bed. The Doctor looked at her with more determination in his eyes than she had ever seen in anyone's eyes before.
"I don't understand." Melody whimpered.
"You won't, not yet, but you will. Come here my dearest Melody...let me help you." The Doctor pushed her gently onto her bed and looked at her sadly for a second before laying down next to her.
"On your front if you want a massage, front of your shoulders and temples last. I learnt this from monks who lived on a mountainous planet, completely isolated from the rest of the universe. Only pilgrims were allowed there and those under enormous stress were prescribed the treatment to lessen their pain. I have never before needed to use this on anyone. But then the people I meet haven't suffered the trauma you have." Melody turned slowly onto her front and felt two hands dig with strength in her shoulders, immediately undoing the knots in her back. She sighed and let her eyelids shut. "Just listen to my breathing, and then breath with me." He murmured into her ear, Melody didn't realise he was so close to her apart from his hands. She breathed with him and let him turn her over. She hadn't realised just how easily he could manipulate her until she felt his lips touch hers. Melody sat bolt upright, sending the Doctor flying off the bed, where he had managed to sneak himself from the side of her, to right on top of her. He rubbed his head with resignation but looked equally as hurt that she had denied him.
"A massage! That's all you said! Not kissing!" She huffed, though to quite honest she didn't really mind all that much. He was a good kisser, and she did really like him.
"I just missed you that's all..." He said, looking embarrassed.
Melody reached out a hand to him and pulled him back onto the bed so he was sat in front of her.
"But you're my parents friend, why would you miss me?" Melody wanted answers, she knew one day she would be River Song, someone the Doctor held dear, but right now, she didn't feel anything like the woman he would want.
The Doctor took her hands and kissed them firmly before replying.
"Because, to me, you are always my River. No matter what you wish to be known as. And I know these past few years have been hard, but I promise you, you'll see a lot more of me soon." He looked at her with guilty eyes.
"Spoilers, right?" Melody said happily, trying to gain a smile from her love. The Doctor nodded, a smile appearing but not fully reaching his eyes.
Melody sat up suddenly and ran off her bed to her keyboard.
The Doctor followed her slowly, the small smile now a humungous grin.
"That's it, I forgot to account for error in my measurement in time...if I just add that here..." Melody beamed as she finished and saved her final piece of coursework.
"I did it! Sweetie I did it!" She squealed and he laughed with her. Melody practically threw herself at him but he responded without any awkwardness and embraced her tightly, his face inches from hers when they finally stopped jumping and spinning around the room.
"So Child of TARDIS, do you think you make your parents proud, Melody?" He whispered, his lips inches from hers.
"I think so...and It's River now." She smirked flirtatiously. The Doctor pulled her even closer, if that were physically possible.
"Oh, I see, River, well then, I guess we should celebrate." He retorted with equal flirtation in his voice. River could barely respond as he kissed her again but this time with much more passion and ferocity than the soft kiss he tried earlier. She soon leaned into him and deeper their embrace. The Doctor backed them toward her bed which from his perspective must become theirs in the future and toppled with her.
"Sweetie," River moaned as he trailed kisses down her neck. The Doctor mumbled a response. "Would you and parents come see me receive my PhD next Friday?" The Doctor stopped mid kiss and froze. He lifted his head slowly and met her nose to nose. "I'll see what we can do, eh. Don't want to miss you becoming a doctor like me!" He smiled but something behind his eyes gave way to a dark look, that nearly froze River to her core. The Doctor's eyes returned to the same lustful look as before and began to slowly kiss her again, but River couldn't help feeling, even in the comfort of her lover's arms, that everything was about to change, and it wasn't just her name.