"Rivvveerr, come back here!" John pouted as the curly haired girl ran off squealing. She turned around quickly, dust swirling up around her as she dropped to her knee. She pointed the Nerf gun she had in her hand at the space beside him.
He bounded over to her side and looked at her. "What are you doing?" He looked at her curiously as her light brows furrowed. She pursed her lips thinking and fired a shot at the empty air. "River..."
She stood up quickly and gave the boy a smile. "They're the Silents, John. You can only see them when you look at them." She shrugged knowingly. "You're very lucky I was here to kill them." She strutted off towards the sandbox and John stared at her dumbfounded.
"I'm the Doctor, River."
She rolled her eyes and ran off with her curls bouncing, quickly closing the distance between herself and the other children.
"Mummy, I killed a Silent!" She plopped down beside the 5 year old girl with flaming red hair. The girl looked between River and John.
"Why am I her mum again?" John threw his tiny hands up in the air, exasperated.
"Because you are Amy, now shut up." She glared at him and tossed a fist of sand in his direction.
"Oi. Watch it Raggedy Man."
He huffed and walked over to pick up his sand bucket. "I hate it when you call me that..." He said, even though he really didn't.
Amy stuck out her tongue and giggled. The young girl looked around curiously, searching for someone. "Hey, where's Rory gone?" "The Doctor" shrugged and rummaged around in his bucket.
"Maybe he's with Jack?"
There was the sound of a throat being cleared and a small brunette boy with a cheeky grin walked up behind them.
"That's Captain Jack... If you're the Doctor, then I'm a Captain." John shrugged, clearly not fazed and quite intent on finding whatever he was looking for. Amy stood up from the sandbox, wiping the sand, dirt, and dust off her black leggings. She stepped carefully out of the box and looked around. She cupped her small hands around her mouth and shouted.
"STUPID FACE! Where are you?" She walked off in search of her lost Rory and John let out an excited yelp as he pulled his plastic screwdriver from the box.
Jack who had been smiling and playing with River, looked up. "What's that?" John gave a little smirk and adjusted his clip on bow-tie, the present that he was given for Christmas.
"It's my sonic screwdriver."
River looked at him skeptically, scooting closer towards him. "Doesn't look very sonic." John sighed and pointed it at the swing set, making a buzzing noise with his lips.
"Well... it is." Jack walked over to him and pulled out the Nerf gun he had lent to River, holding it out for John's approval.
"Why would you make a sonic screwdriver? Look at this, it's a sonic blaster. It's so much better for getting the bad guys." He nodded and pointed the gun at some invisible foe, firing shots and making all the necessary sound effects.
John held onto his screwdriver defensively. "Screwdrivers are cool. Just like bow-ties."
"No they aren't!" Amy sang, pulling a short young boy along with her. "I found Rory. He was playing dead near the firemen's pole. He said he "fell"." River tutted and continued playing with the sand around her.
"Honestly, Dad. You can't just go jumping off buildings." Rory looked over at Amy and she nodded in agreement.
"If you jump, we do it together. Together, or not at all." Rory looked at the girl curiously. She had a fierce look on her face and was gripping his arm rather tightly.
"That's a bit dramatic, Amy..." Rory said, eyeing her hand on his arm. John who still hadn't gotten over the jib at his bow-tie approached the two other children.
"Very dramatic even for you, ya big ginge." Amy opened her mouth to reply when John felt a tap on his shoulder.
"Who you calling a ginge, eh?" John's face lit up and he threw his arms around his friend.
"Donna! I thought you had forgotten me!" Donna hugged him back loosely and then pushed him away.
"Nah, my mum wanted me to go to church." She drew out the last word with a look of disdain on her face and rolled her eyes. John scoffed and jumped on top of the bench.
"Well, you're here now! And we have so many places to go and planets to visit. Maybe we'll find the lost moon of Poosh!" John straightened his bow-tie and pointed excitedly at River.
"Anywhere, all of time and space and you get to pick."
River flopped back down into the sand. "I'd love to go somewhere ancient. Love a tomb." John hopped down from his spot on the bench and gestured everyone towards the merry-go-round.
"EVERYONE INTO THE TARDIS!"
The children followed behind him and hopped on top of it, taking their assigned places. John stood in the centre and clapped his hands together. "Alright, head count." He did a check for all of his pals and stopped, realizing he was two short. "WHERE ARE ROSE AND MARTHA?"
As if on cue, two little girls stumbled towards the group giggling. "Sorry!" The little blonde girl with pigtails and overalls said hooking arms with her darker skinned friend. "We got lost. Thought we were in an alternate universe or somethin'."
Martha laughed. "We must of walked the whole Earth to get back here." John sighed and waved them on.
"Well, come on. We don't have all day." He paused, raising his hand to his chin and pondering the thought. "Well, suppose we do. We have a time machine." He clapped his hands together once more. "Anyway. Geronimo!" He turned around with a flourish and spun the imaginary wheels and knobs on the "console". After a minute, River sighed.
"You're flying her wrong."
John looked at her irritated. "What do you mean wrong? It's my TARDIS. I know how to fly her!" River shuffled over towards him and turned some imaginary dials of her own.
"No, you don't. You're leaving the brakes on." She looked at the rest of the group for approval and the general consensus seemed to be River was the better flyer.
John grunted and sat down. "Fine. You fly her since you're so smart." River grinned down at him.
"I will. Thank you, sweetie."
Several turns later, they "landed". "Alright, everyone! It's safe to board the planet now!" River smiled sweetly at the Doctor who sat glaring at a nearby tree. They jumped "out of the TARDIS" and onto their "new planet".
Rose walked over to where John sat. "You okay, Doctor?" He huffed and stood up.
"River always thinks she knows best." Rose laughed and held out her hand.
"It's okay... But I think she was right. Your flying gave me a headache." He pouted jokingly and grabbed her hand. She giggled at his quivering lip and he smiled, glad he had made her laugh.
"Doooccctoorrr!" River's high melodic voice drifted over to them from where she was standing on the opposite side of the playground. John sighed and looked at Rose.
She bounced on her heels and shot him an excited glance. "You know there's only one thing to do now, yeah?" They exchanged knowing looks with large grins on their faces.
The Doctor squeezed her hand and smiled. "Run!"
They took off, dashing through the playground. They giggled as they tripped over branches and ducked under slides. They made their way to the rest of the group, but by that time they were out of breath.
"Yes...River...?" John panted, placing his hands on his knees and bending over to catch his breath. She looked at him, bemused.
"We found a space cabinet. Thought you might want to put it together with your sonic screwdriver." John stood up and pulled it out, clutching his screwdriver tightly.
"Hey, that's rude."
River shrugged and bounced off. The group went on their adventure, deciding this time they would deal with angels that looked like they were crying but were actually evil and would take you to another time period.
When they finally stopped the angels from stealing their TARDIS, they sat down tiredly and giggled, waiting for their parents to come and find them. They lay on the ground in a circle, with all of their heads in the centre.
"Uhm... Hello?" A very soft yet confident voice came from the bottom of the Doctor's feet. He sat up quickly and looked at the adorable little brunette who stood above him.
"Yeah?" She held out her hand with a smile on her face.
"I'm Clara. Clara Oswin Oswald." John took her hand and shook it.
"I'm the Doctor." She nodded along, clearly having watched them play for a while. She looked at the other kids who had slowly started to sit up at the sound of a new voice.
"I want to join you. Is that all right?"
Jack smiled at her and stood up. He walked over and threw his arm around her shoulder. "Well, I say the more the merrier. Hello."
Rory groaned. "Jack, she's a girl. She might have cooties." Martha laughed.
"Girl's don't have cooties anymore than boys do. And anyway, cooties aren't actually real. They're just germs..." The Doctor stood up and pushed Jack away from Clara.
"Oi, stop it you." Jack held up his hands defensively and went to help Rose up from where she was lying on the ground.
"Can't I say "hello" anymore?"
The Doctor studied him for a moment and frowned. "No." He turned to face Clara who had a smile on her face. "Welcome to the team. Team TARDIS. You're my newest companion."
Clara nodded professionally. "Brilliant." John grinned and bopped her on the nose.
"I like you."
"But you like me the most, Doctor... I'm your wife!" River shouted from the ground and John rolled his eyes.
"Yes, River." Martha looked questioningly at Donna.
"Does that count?"
Donna looked between the Doctor and River and shrugged. "I don't know. They act like they're married. They argue a lot over silly things and then hug." Martha nodded in agreement.
The group of children sat together and planned their next big adventure, a journey to see the end of time. Slowly, parents came to pick up their children and the group dwindled down.
When only River and John remained, he looked at her studiously. "Come with me, River." She giggled and shook her head. "Another time, "Doctor"." He gave her a small smile and watched as she ran off to her mum and dad.
And then John realized that even though at times he may be alone, he would never be lonely. He had friend's all over who would be there for him if he needed them.
He was the Doctor after all.