Author's note- Ok, this starts with season 6, but jumps around quite a bit, hopefully coming together cohesively. :) This story is ultimately Doctor/Rose, but it has River's place secure as well. Lots of timey-wimeyness. I am most likely going to prove to be a somewhat erratic poster, but it should move pretty quickly.

I don't own Doctor Who. Obviously.

Enjoy.


Rory looked at his wife with no small amount of skepticism. She ignored him and kept on with the story she was reading. Where she had even found a history book that contained vague references to the Doctor was beyond him. He turned his attention back to the telly and smiled slightly at her indignant huff. She did hate these old slap stick comedies. Honestly he had to admit to himself that part of his enjoyment of them came from how much it annoyed her.

She flounced off to the door to accept the mail from the postman and came back flipping through it, neither of them noticing the man they had been discussing waving to them from the screen, wearing a ridiculous fez. He noticed a strangely stamped envelope that seemed to have drawn her interest and quirked an eyebrow at her excited expression. "What is it?"

"Date, time, coordinates. I think it's an invitation." She answered, her smile widening.

"Who from?" Rory had to ask; even though he was pretty sure he knew the answer.

She tossed it to him, "It isn't signed. But look, TARDIS blue." Rory held in a slight sigh. Looked like they were going on a trip.


When River opened the blue envelope she felt a shiver run through her, that familiar thrill that the promise of adventure always gave her. She tapped it against her palm for a moment before she moved into action, smiling with no small amount of sadistic pleasure as the guards started scurrying around when they realized she was packing.

America… She hadn't been there in quite some time.


Amy and Rory gratefully stepped off the school bus that had driven them out to the middle of nowhere. Apparently Rory and the man driving it striking up a friendship while discussing Roman history had made him willing to break some rules to give them a ride. They waved goodbye, promising to get in contact again sometime and stood for a moment taking in the desolate scene around them.

Amy chose to state the obvious. "So we're here then."

"Yup." Rory answered. "Middle of nowhere."

From behind them, they heard a voice say "Howdy." And turned to see the Doctor reclined on a car that Rory could swear hadn't been there a moment ago. That thought was lost as they were all reunited rather noisily and the Doctor didn't even make a crack about River's gun as she shot his hat off. Just rolled his eyes and made a comment about the safety of his headgear around her. They hugged as well, and he seemed very relaxed and at ease, slightly at odds to his usual behavior around her.

As the Doctor and River compared notes in their journals and Amy and Rory ordered drinks for everyone from the counter of the café they had found, Rory couldn't help but wonder what exactly was going on. A trip to America and odd invitations seemed a little extreme for what seemed to be amounting to a social visit.

Amy and Rory settled into the booth with them and the Doctor smiled widely at Rory, seeming to guess something of what he was thinking. "So. We are here for a bit of an adventure. A picnic, then…" He paused for a moment. "A trip."

Amy smiled widely at him, the childlike wonder of a trip in the TARDIS with her Raggedy Doctor not lost even after all of this time. "Where are we going?"

The Doctor's lips twisted in what Rory would describe as a slightly odd smile. "Somewhere different. Somewhere… brand new."

River spoke up from Rory's side and as he turned to look at her, he thought that she might be feeling the same sense of oddness that he was. "So what have you been up to exactly? We know you've been up to something."

He smiled at River and the expression was a bit tired. "I've been running. Faster than I have ever run. And as you know, I've been running my whole life." He took a breath and seemed to brighten slightly. "It's time to stop. And tonight I am going to need you all with me."

River looked to be about to question him farther when the bell over the door chimed and the Doctor looked towards it as his face broke out in a wide grin. "Wondered if you would show up."

They all turned as one and Rory would swear he heard a slight gasp from River as she saw who was standing in the doorway with a picnic basket. The woman looked to be in her mid twenties and had long light brown hair. Rory had a feeling he had seen her somewhere before, but he couldn't quite place where. She smiled at the Doctor, but the warmth of the expression seemed to include all four of them as she spoke, "Well, of course Doctor. I said I would come."

She made her way to the table and tossed her invitation on it. Rory noticed that the Doctor made no move to introduce her to the rest of them as he ushered them all from the restaurant and to the car he had parked outside.

Rory held out a hand to the mystery woman, "Hello. I'm Rory."

She smiled slightly as she took his hand and shook it, "Yes. Good to meet you finally. Sort of." He had a moment of deja-vu, again, it was like maybe he had seen her somewhere before but it passed and he shook his head.

He did not fail to notice as she piled in to the car that she hadn't given him her own name. He looked over at River as she waited for him to get in and noticed that she was still looking at the woman with a strange expression on her face and couldn't resist catching her eye with raised brows. River's expression returned to her usual one of knowing amusement as she shrugged and mouthed the word, 'Spoilers'.

Rory rolled his eyes and got in, followed closely by River.