Originally I was going to update this with the last part on Thursday, but my brain has convinced me that I should make this three parts instead of two, so here, take part two.
Thank you all for all of the kind comments. You guys are way too nice to me.
"Didn't think you could get rid of me that easily, did you Song?" The Doctor asks as River opens her door. Surprised, she stares at him for a moment before asking, "What are you doing here, Doctor?"
Instead of answering, he sweeps past her and inside before she has the mind the close the door on him. Looking around, he notices that her house seems almost completely empty in comparison to how he saw it just last Friday, when he, Amy and Rory had come over for dinner. Boxes are stacked in the entry hall, shelves are bare and the furniture is covered in plastic sheets.
"Going somewhere, then?" he asks quietly as he turns to face her, not missing the flicker of sadness that crosses her face before she looks away.
"You promised, River."
"I know."
"Well?"
She hesitates before looking at him, "I lied."
"You can't take an entire organization down by yourself, River. It's, it's, it's insane. Worse, it's stupid." She visibly flinches at his words, but he continues, stepping towards her until she's backed up against her door, "You could- no, you will die, River. And the worst part is that you don't even care. You have this thirst for revenge, that I admit I haven't quite figured out, that's driving you, and you haven't taken one second to look around and see what's right in front of you. You're blinded by it. To the point you haven't even taken in to account how this self-ordained mission of yours will hurt those of us that lo-," he stops, "…those of us that care about you."
By now he's so close to her that if either of them were to move an inch, they would be touching. River curls her fingers loosely around his braces, tugging lightly as she looks up at him before whispering, "Care about me, do you?"
"More than you can imagine," he admits quietly, running the back of his finger along her jaw before pushing his hand into her curls. The Doctor smiles as he watches her eyes flutter close for just second, her hands tightening around his braces, and he's pulling her closer when suddenly she sidesteps him and is walking into the kitchen.
"You don't understand, Doctor," River calls back to him, "It's so much more complicated than you realize."
His heart sinking from a second rejection, he turns and follows her, grabbing her by the arm and forcing her to look at him. "Then help me. Help me understand."
The plastic sheet covering the sofa crinkles as she sits and she takes a steadying breath before beginning, "Four years ago, when I was working down at the 10th, my partner and I were out chasing down a lead on a missing persons case when suddenly there's gunfire. All of the bullets lodged themselves into the building behind us- except one. The next thing I know, I'm on the ground, his head lying in my lap as I offer false words of comfort with his blood on my hands. There was so much blood, and I tried so hard to stop it, but I couldn't, and he was gone in less than a minute." River pauses, smiling slightly before musing, "You two would've gotten along. He had a ridiculous taste in fashion, just like you. Spiky hair, square glasses, blue suits and converses. Have to admit I liked him much better in pinstripes. But anyway," she waves her hand as if brushing away the thought before continuing, "I got taken off the case because my captain decided I was too close to it. Emotionally, you know? But the detectives who took over never found any new leads and the case went cold while the shooting was written off as a random act of violence."
"Can you believe that?" River asks softly before repeating, "A random act of violence."
The Doctor sits, sensing she's not done, and takes her hand in his as she continues, "After he died, I chose to work alone and threw myself into trying to prove that the shooting wasn't random. I started with the case we had been working on, figuring if I could solve the case, find the missing person, find the one behind it all, then I could solve his murder. Every second that I wasn't spending at work, I was spending tracking down leads and questioning everything I thought I knew. I spent an entire year trying to find something, anything, and when I finally found a strong lead and was so close to finding an answer, the entire precinct burned to the ground."
River looks at him and his heart constricts at the raw emotions of pain and guilt that cross her face, "Everyone in that building died that day, Doctor. Except me. I somehow escaped with minor injuries. Most would consider it a miracle, but I live every second knowing that they didn't live to see another day because of me."
She pauses, looking away again, "Rose, Martha, Donna, Jack, Sarah-Jane. They were my only family, and they were always, always, there for me. And then, just like that, they were all gone. And it was my fault. My fault Rose was taken from her husband, who actually happens to be the captain at the 9 th Precinct, maybe you know him? Tall guy, always wears a leather jacket, has kinda funny ears," she smiles sadly, completely lost in thought, "Martha taken from her fiancé, Mickey, Donna from her husband Lee and their two children, Jack from his five-year partner, and Sarah-Jane from her son, Luke."
"River. No. It wasn't your fault," the Doctor squeezes her hand and she looks at him, "Of course it is. All of my leads that didn't fall through pointed directly at the Silence, and once I was finally so close to having definitive evidence, they decided to get rid of me. For three years I pretended to be dead so they wouldn't try again, and I've spent every moment learning everything about them that I can."
The Doctor frowns, "Then why did you come back?"
River smiles bitterly, "My partner and my friends are gone, Doctor. My family is gone. So when I go after the Silence, I want them to know that I'm the one coming for them."
"Not all of your family is gone, River," he says quietly, and when he can tell she doesn't understand, he continues, "Me. I'm still here. And Amy and Rory. We're your family now."
"If you're still trying to convince me to stop, it's not going to work, sweetie."
The Doctor sighs in defeat, dragging his hands over his face, "But none of this makes any sense, River. The Silence heads the mafia. They're not…shooting in broad day light and destroying buildings just isn't their style."
"Like I said, Doctor, this is so much more complicated than you know," she pauses and stands, "Let me show you something." Leading him down the hall, she pulls open the very last door to reveal a walk-in closet. When she flips on the light switch, he gasps. Every inch of the closet is covered in papers, pictures and news articles.
As he steps into the closet to look around, River leans against the doorframe and continues, "Following various leads through the mafia, I found that the Silence are the suppliers of a drug they like to call Amnesia."
"Amnesia?"
River nods, "After you're injected with just one dose, your entire memory is erased."
"But why?"
"Do you realize how simple brainwashing would be if the brain was completely blank? There's nothing to write over, no morals to contend with or sense of right and wrong to warp. Nothing. It's a clean slate, free to be written on how anyone, in this case the Silence, pleases."
The Doctor stares at her as she steps into the closet, trying to wrap his mind around everything she's telling him. River taps her finger against a photo labeled Graystark Hall Orphanage , "Mostly they take those who will be missed the least. Children from orphanages, prisoners, mental patients. The Silence erase everything these people know and basically recreate them to fit their needs, teaching and training them in accordance to their beliefs before reintegrating them into society with a new identity. Lately they've begun to take people who head major benefit charities, political leaders and those who serve in military intelligence. Targeting these people insures them money as well as an inside look at the government. After the Silence take from them what they need, they stage their deaths, so no one will think of coming to look for them, and wipe their memories just like they do to everyone else." River turns to face him, "They're building an army, Doctor. An army that does whatever the Silence wishes them too. An army of children, prisoners, mental patients, political leaders and military intelligence agents, who, when it comes right down to it, are just civilians until given that one dose of Amnesia."
"Then they become the perfect weapon," the Doctor breathes in understanding.
River nods, "Exactly. So you were right, Doctor. The Silence does have control over the mafia. Today. But tomorrow? It could be the entire country."
Paling slightly, he scans the papers tacked to the wall, "So what are we going to do?"
"We?"
The Doctor looks back at her, a sudden determination settling within him, "I'm your partner, Song. We're in this together."
XxX
"Sweetie, why are the boxes not in the car?" River calls exasperatedly as she walks back inside, pressing herself against the wall as he walks past her and out the door with the last box.
"They are in the car. My car."
She laughs disbelievingly as she follows him back out, "We are not taking your car. It's rubbish."
"No," he argues, "My work car is rubbish. This car is different, River." She scoffs and the Doctor shoots her a glare before placing the box in the back of his car. When he turns to face her, she's staring past him with her mouth slightly open.
"Wow," she breathes as she steps closer to his car and he smiles smugly.
"Told you."
"Shut up."
"Make me."
River looks at him, smirking, before all put purring, "Maybe I will."
Thankful when she turns her attention back to his car, he swallows hard, imagining all the ways she could as he runs his eyes up and down her body. He can all but feel the way her nails would rake down his bare back, or how cool her lips would feel against the overheated skin of his chest, or how her breathy moans of sweetie would be right in his ear as he-
"Doctor?"
He snaps his eyes back to her face, feeling the back of his neck flush as he squeaks out, "What?"
"I said it's very sexy," she repeats, arching her eyebrow as his eyes widen.
"What…what is?" He asks, tugging at the lapels of his jacket.
Her lips purse as she represses a smile, "Your car, you daft man."
"Oh. Right. Her name is Idris."
Smiling, River turns back to the car and repeats him, "Idris." She pauses, her smile widening, "I think I'll stick with Sexy."
"Can I have your keys?" River asks as she spins back to face him, her smile lighting up her face. Digging his keys from his pocket, he tosses them to her, and one second too late he realizes what he's done. Again.
Dangling his keys, she smiles smugly, "Every time."
"River," the Doctor growls, and just misses her as he lunges at her in an attempt to take his keys back. The next things he knows, he's sprinting after her as she runs back inside. He catches up to her in the middle of the hall, locking his arms around her middle and earning a laugh as she struggles against him. Forcing her against the wall, he pins the hand holding his keys above her head and presses his chest into her back.
The Doctor brushes his lips against the shell of her ear before whispering, "You are a very bad girl, River Song."
"Only for you, sweetie," she breathes as he plucks the keys from her hand and steps back, smiling smugly at her.
River rolls her eyes, "I hate you."
"You don't," he tosses back confidently as he walks back outside, River following and locking the door behind her.
"So where do we start, Song?"
The map she unfolds and spreads on the nose of the car seems very old, the creases so worn that holes are beginning to form, and he imagines the reason being that River can't help but open it every day, hoping she can find something new just by looking at it, only to close it an hour later to no avail. Three red X's are marked seemingly at random across the map and he looks at her with his brow raised in question.
"The X's mark the location of the Silence's three bases. This one," she points to the north most one, "is the main base. This one," she points to one marked in the southwest, "is the second one. It's smaller than the main one, but just as heavily guarded, I'm sure. And then there's this one," she points to the last X in the east, "It isn't used at all. It's a backup base that doubles as storage space and could potentially be used as their safe house."
"So what's the plan?"
River bites her lip before looking hesitantly at him, "I don't really have a plan."
The Doctor gapes at her as she hops into the driver's seat of the car. "What do you mean you don't really have a plan?! You have to have a plan, River!" He exclaims as he slides into the passenger's seat. Frowning, he looks at himself, then at River, then back at himself, "Wait… River!"
With a smirk on her face, she holds her hands out for the keys, wiggling her fingers. Grudgingly, he hands her the keys and she smiles as she starts up the car, "Relax, sweetie. I do at least have an idea."
XxX
"Come on, River. We're going to be late," the Doctor says impatiently as he knocks on the door to the bathroom of the two bedroom hotel room they've been staying in for the past few days.
"Be patient, Doctor. We don't have to leave for another five minutes," River calls to him and he huffs, glaring at the door.
"Sweetie, I can feel your glare through the door. Go wait outside. I'll be there in a minute, I promise."
Grumbling under his breath, he leaves the room and leans against the wall, fiddling with the cufflinks of his shirt as he waits.
Their newly formed plan is a thin one, but he's riding on the hope that it will work. They need to get into one of the bases, and to do that, they need an access card. River knows that members of the Silence never fail to make appearances at charity benefits, always on the hunt for more victims, and have their cards on them at all times. So what was their plan? To crash a benefit and steal an access card for themselves.
It's risky and there's a high danger of getting caught, but if he's honest, that's half the fun.
Just as he's glancing at his watch, the door opens and she steps out, a vision in red satin. His breath catches and the aching need to just touch her grows stronger as his eyes sweep over her frame. The floor length dress hugs her body in all the right ways and is complete with a split that goes far enough up her leg to surely keep him distracted all night.
"What do you think?" River asks, turning around for him once. And oh, the back of the dress is cut so very, very low.
Yes, he is going to definitely be very distracted. Distracted with thoughts of standing behind her and lightly kissing the back of her neck as he slowly slides the thin straps off her shoulders to let her dress pool around her feet, or tracing the angles of her shoulder blades with his fingertips as he brushes his lips down the column of her spine, or feeling the sharp, but delicious pain of her heels digging into him as she lies beneath him, her head thrown back and panting his name as she-
"I'll take it that I look okay, then?" She asks, snapping him from his thoughts. The Doctor flushes, realizing he's been staring this entire time. "You look beautiful, River," he breathes. And there it is- that soft smile she gives him that fills his heart with warmth and tells him he's done something right.
"Thank you, sweetie. You look very nice yourself," she says as she smoothes the black bow tie of his suit.
Grinning, he tugs the lapels of his suit jacket, "Why thank you, Miss Song. Shall we go?" He asks, offering her his arm.
River loops her arm through his with a smile, "We shall."
They enter the benefit as the Mr. and Mrs. of a false name and waste no time looking for their target.
"How can we tell a member of the Silence apart from everyone else here?" The Doctor asks, suddenly feeling discouraged as he looks at everyone dancing, mingling and drinking flutes of champagne.
They wander through the crowd until the Doctor spots a tall man in an all black suit, leaning against the wall and seemingly paying special attention to one specific person within the crowd. The Doctor nudges River and nods towards the man, "Why come to this sort of event if you're not going to drink or dance?"
River smiles, "Because that's not why you're here," she pauses, "Could it really be that simple?"
"Not simple. We still have to get the card. How do you propose we do that?"
Fluffing her curls, she smirks at him before walking over to the man. The Doctor can't help but narrow his eyes as River introduces herself and the man stands a little straighter, his attention suddenly focused on only her. He introduces himself to her in turn, taking her hand and kissing the top of it before sweeping her to the dance floor.
A possessive growl begins to build in the back of the Doctor's throat as the man pulls River close, his hands travelling lower on her back than the Doctor deems proper. He clenches his teeth together as he watches River run her hands up the man's chest in a far more intimate way than he thinks should be necessary, her hands sliding under his suit jacket before she drapes her arms over his shoulders, and that's when the Doctor sees it- a card held in between her fingers.
His jaw drops slightly, she had been able to pick the card right out of the inside pocket of the man's jacket without him even realizing it. Probably because he was too busy staring down the neckline of her dress, the Doctor thinks bitterly as he makes his way over to them, slipping behind the man and discreetly taking the card from River's fingers before moving away again.
Once the dance is over, River thanks the man for the dance and walks back over to the Doctor, smiling smugly. He rolls his eyes, "Don't look so bloody proud, Song. Let's go."
"Go?" she asks, looking disappointed, "I thought you loved to dance…not that you can," she adds, smiling cheekily.
"Oi! Rude! I'll have you know that I'm a fantastic dancer."
"Prove it," River challenges, holding out her hand.
Narrowing his eyes, he takes her hand in his and walks with her to the dance floor, her small palm fitting perfectly against his as their fingers intertwine, thinking that he'd be perfectly fine with holding her hand forever. When they find an unoccupied spot on the floor, he pulls her flush against him, taking her right hand in his left and settling his other on her waist, his fingers curling into the cool satin of her dress. Without a word, River rests her head on his shoulder as they begin to sway, and he can feel her smile against his neck.
He knows he must have the most ridiculous grin on his face, but he finds he doesn't care as he turns his face into her curls. She's all soft curves against his sharp angles and she smells wonderful, like vanilla and honey and something that is just so uniquely River.
"I should take my wife dancing more often," he comments quietly and she chuckles.
"I'm not your wife."
"Tell that to the man at the entrance door," the Doctor retorts.
"Only for tonight, then, sweetie," River says softly and he smiles triumphantly, the hand on her waist slipping around to rest on the small of her back as he pulls her even closer, neither of them realizing that the song has changed to something a little more upbeat and giving no attention to anything except each other.
Once the auction for the benefit begins, they slip out and go back to their hotel room. After they unlock the door and step inside, River turns to him, smiling that smile he claims as his, "I had fun tonight, Doctor. Turns out you can dance after all," replacing her smile with a taunting smirk.
The Doctor smiles, "I had fun, too."
Placing a hand against the side of his face, she presses a lingering kiss to his cheek that leaves his skin buzzing as she slips into her bedroom, giving him one more smile as she shuts the door behind her.
XxX
"What exactly are we looking for?" The Doctor asks as they enter the base used for storage. To his surprise, it was nothing but a large, black warehouse that sits way off the main road and is concealed by trees. No guards, only security cameras that were easy enough to hide from, and the door slides open with just a swipe of their recently acquired access card.
"C4," River answers simply as she sweeps the light of the torch around the dark room which is filled with crates ranging from the size of small box televisions to large train cars.
He gapes at her, "C4?! Why do we need C4?"
River turns to him, pointing her torch in his direction so she can see him, "They used C4 to take down the 10th, so I want to use it to take down their headquarters. The crates that have it in them should be labeled." She turns back, flashing her torch at the crates as she reads the labels, but his torch is still focused on her because honestly, who gave her permission to wear that.
"Sweetie, stop staring and help me."
The Doctor sputters, "What- I- But…River. You can't expect me to not stare with you dressed all," he gestures wildly at her black, full body outfit that is so tight it looks like it could have been painted on.
Smirking, she looks back at him, "Dressed all how?"
"Dressed all," pauses, glancing around and lowering his voice to a whisper, "sexy."
River laughs, "Just think if I had worn the cat ears and tail and that goes with it," and she winks at him before going back to reading crates.
Huffing, he turns the light of his torch away from her, "You only wore that to distract me."
"Oh I distract you, do I?"
"Yes- I mean, no. I mean- I just… anyone would be distracted by that outfit, River."
"Well I didn't wear it for just anyone, sweetie. You're special."
His eyes widen as they snap back to her, his heart rate quickening, "What are you saying? How am I special?"
"Because," she starts, looking at him as if the answer is obvious as she walks over to him, invading his personal space as she leans up to whisper in his ear, her hand resting on his chest and the wonderful scent of her shampoo invading his nostrils, "You are just so easy to wind up."
The Doctor sputters as she chuckles and turns to a crate and begins to pry it open. "I am not easy to wind up, Song," he denies hotly as he helps her. River laughs, "Yes you are, Doctor. And you're so adorable when you blush."
He glares at her, about to retort when he glances down at the open crate and frowns, "This isn't C4."
River picks up one of the folded pieces of clothing that is in the crate, "Uniforms. This could make our job a lot simpler, actually." As she shoves a few uniforms into their large duffle bag, he moves the clothing to the side to reveal the white bricks of C4 underneath. Carefully, he hands them to her one by one as she packs them in the bag until it's full.
"This seems almost too easy," the Doctor says as they exit the base and River opens the boot of the car to put in their bag. "Well, they think they're safe, Doctor. They have no reason to come after us. Yet. So let's not-" She stops when she closes the boot and turns around to find him standing only an inch away.
Backing her against the car, he places his hands on the boot at either side of her, trapping her as their eyes lock. "You drive me bloody insane, you know that?" The Doctor asks quietly, and he swears he can see her eyes darken a shade as she swallows heavily. Her hands move up to clench around the fabric of his shirt as he presses himself against her from chest to hip. Lowering his head, he places a light, open-mouthed kiss at the crook of her neck, smiling inwardly as she gasps softly.
"And do you know what else, River?"
"What?" she asks breathily, and he feels her shiver as he brushes his lips up her neck to whisper in her ear, "Apparently I'm not the only one who's easy to wind up."
River shoves him away instantly and glares at him as he laughs, but he doesn't miss the way the corners of her mouth twitch upward as if she wants to smile.
"I hate you," she says as she walks around to the driver's side of the car.
"You don't."
XxX
It was far too late to turn back now even if he wanted to.
His heart is all but pounding out of his chest as he moves further into the base, dressed in a uniform to blend in and trying his hardest not to look suspicious. It had taken them a day to drive to the second base, and once they had their plan mapped out, they put it into action. After they were in, they split up, River taking the two upper floors of the base while he takes the two lower.
The base consists of endless corridors with iron doors that contain who knows what behind them. Everything is lit by eerie green light and guards march the halls on timed watches to insure that none of their victims escape.
The Doctor passes by the guards with a nod of his head and continues deeper within the base, strategically placing bricks of C4 where he thinks they'll be least noticed as he goes. Every brick has a set time to go off all at once, and he hopes to be long gone when that time comes.
When he's placing the last brick, the timer alerting him that he has five minutes until it goes off, a blaring alarm rings through the corridor, accompanied by an automated voice calling, "Intruder alert," over and over. A bolt of cold fear strikes through him as he looks frantically up and down the corridor, seeing no one and concluding that River must have been discovered.
The Doctor is running towards the stairs, determined to find River, when he hears a round of gunfire being shot within the stairwell. A second later, River is there and pushing him in the opposite direction, yelling at him to run. Her hand finds his and they sprint down the corridor as the guards give chase. By the time they reach the stairs leading to the ground floor, his lungs are on fire and his heart is ready to explode, but his legs keep going, powered by fear as the fired bullets just miss them.
The exit door is visible when a sudden searing pain shoots through him, pulling him to a stop and his hand lets go of River's. His vision turns blurry and he takes an unsteady step forward before falling to the ground.
The last thing he sees is River leaning over him, her hands on either side of his face as she yells his name, then everything goes black.
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