The Impossible Wardrobe
Poetheather
A/N: Takes place after Nightmare in Silver but before The Name of the Doctor. Some slight spoilers for The Name of the Doctor.
Owned by the BBC and the really clever people who have created these characters both classic and modern. Like anyone pays me for this.
Romana was resting in the medical bay, still recovering from the apparently quite rough regeneration and the Doctor and Clara were standing in the control room talking. "Are you going to get any spare parts from the wrecked TARDIS?"
The Doctor nodded absently, lost in other thoughts. "That sounds like a good plan." He distractedly stroked the control panel, eyes distant.
"Do you have to do the work?" asked Clara, trying to engage him in conversation.
"We'll think of something. Ah… well… no… I think the storm might have put out the fire. If so then the ship can probably repair itself given time which means another working TARDIS. I'll just give it a scan first, take a quick look to see what's what and then lock her up. If she's dead then I will take parts but not before. Once that is done we can leave here and go someplace less… well less exciting." said the Doctor with a bit of a smile, starting to grow more animated.
After a few hours' work, they had locked up the recovering TARDIS and left the third moon of Althazar. The Doctor looked over at Clara who had helped him with the other ship, saying, "We should go somewhere fun and relaxing. I just thought that we should have a little vacation after all of this."
Clara grinned. It was clear she agreed on that point. "I think a vacation sounds like just the thing."
"So where do you think we should we go?" asked the Doctor, trying to figure out a nice distracting spot to travel to that would give them all time to relax. After all, he had just gotten over a shock, Clara had helped him tinker with a damaged TARDIS and Romana had escaped something that was supposed to be escape proof. Things had been a touch rough.
Clara looked thoughtful for a moment and then brightened, "Well, what does Romana like? She is the one who really needs the most recovery overall and so it should be more for her, right?"
"Clara Oswald you are brilliant!" He spun in place and began to get the TARDIS moving in a direction. The ship shook a bit and after a short while he shut things down, grinning wildly.
"You're going to make me ask?" queried Clara, raising an eyebrow pointedly.
"Prazoleon 4. While there are some worlds out there that focus on being theme parks, or resorts this world is known for housing the largest and most diverse collection of museums anywhere. Stuff from Earth is here as well as things from all over the known Universe. It is simply fabulous. Romana will love it. She adores museums." asserted the Doctor, recalling several pleasant trips to museums with her. "We should see if she is ready to go."
Rolling her eyes, Clara said, "It has been half a day Doctor. Do you really think she will be fine after all she has been through?"
"No. You're right. We should get her scones." He turned and headed for the door, plucking up his coat. "Coming Clara?"
She grinned, rolled her eyes, and followed after him into the streets of Prazoleon 4. It took them a little bit to find a place that sold scones and after a little bit of excitement with a lost child they made it back to the TARDIS with the bag of treats still in hand and none the worse for wear. The Doctor opened the door with a snap and waved Clara through with a flourish. Clara took a few steps in and froze making the Doctor almost crash into her. Looking up the stairs he saw the cause of the disturbance grinning down at him, all blond curly hair, sexy clothes and a grin that promised so much, "Hullo Sweetie."
"River, what are you doing here?" asked the Doctor, somewhat flustered to see her there. There was too much going on and while her assistance was usually a good thing, usually, was it such a good idea now? He wasn't sure.
"I was doing research on a project and then I heard such a familiar sound. You know she gets cross with you when you forget the brakes Sweetie. I arrived and no one was home so I made myself comfortable waiting for you. Shall we do books or do you have something else in mind?" Her grin grew and she winked at him there at the end, clearly having that in mind herself.
"I… uh… River now is not a good time." The Doctor made his way up the stairs, almost tripping as he misjudged the last step. Amazingly he retained hold of the bag in his hand.
Rolling her eyes and ignoring him completely, she walked past him and headed towards Clara, hand extended, "Professor River Song."
"Clara Oswald." Clara shook her hand happily, wondering how this woman knew the Doctor so well and was able to traipse into the TARDIS so easily.
"Wonderful, now she was telling me that there was somebody in the medbay but I did not want to pry," said River, an eyebrow quirked suggestively. "I figured that if it was your new companion it would be a terrible way to meet them."
"I… no uh… right, she needed scones," stated the Doctor, eyes searching for a way out of this conversation.
"She? Why Doctor, must I be jealous?" There was potential laughter in her voice as she spoke, eyes bright.
"No. Yes? No. Uh… I'm not sure how to answer that." He seemed more uncomfortable and awkward than usual. He fidgeted with his bowtie as if it had grown tight.
Now he had all of River's attention, her gaze a good bit sharper. "I believe that this is something that will require some clarification Sweetie. Now would be good."
The Pond glare was there in full force and he never did well against the Pond glare and now he was on the TARDIS with two women he never did particularly well against and one that he didn't quite understand. There really was no winning for him. He was vacillating between wanting to argue or giving in. He went with the usual choice. "I… come along Song."
River rolled her eyes at that and sighed, knowing he was thinking about her parents. He always got maudlin when he did and she couldn't blame him. She knew that he missed them. They walked through the halls and were soon at the Medbay. He stopped and said, "The person inside is a friend of mine from long ago. She's a former Companion and a Time Lady, someone I thought I lost. Be nice River."
She gave him that look and he sighed in resignation. He knew Pond women and there really was no arguing with them, the best you could do was distract them or keep from having the argument altogether. The door opened slid open and he walked in. As he noticed she was awake and sitting up a bit, he held the bag aloft, smiling a bit saying, "I got you scones, the kind you like."
Romana gave him a fond look. "You remembered?"
He smiled even more. He really had missed her when she had decided that she had needed to serve on the Panopticon.
River walked into the medbay and into the woman's sight. Romana's smile grew even broader and she exclaimed excitedly, "River!"
River looked at the Doctor and then back at the blond woman, a bit at a loss. "You know me?"
"Oh…" Her smile faltered a bit. "I see… we haven't met yet according to your perspective yet." She held out a hand, a delicate smile on her face that made her seem even younger than she appeared. "Romanadvoratrelundar, a pleasure to meet you."
River moved forward, extending a hand as well, saying, "Professor River Song."
When their hands touched, Romana tugged her forward and River was surprised as the Time Lady pulled her into a hug. This was not a welcoming hug, but a desperate hug, the hug of someone who had been reunited with someone they thought was lost. It was tight and Romana had her face pressed against River, shaking a little.
River gave the Doctor a confused look and got one in return. This was a situation neither was all that familiar with. "Well… I guess we do know each other."
Romana leaned back, giving her a disapproving look, her eyes a touch wet with unspent tears, "Prat."
The Doctor turned away from this, coughing, trying to cover a laugh. He had never seen anyone treat River the way River treated everyone else. Clara just looked between the other three at a loss as to what the actual interpersonal dynamic was between them. And River did look a touch chastised and confused since it was obvious that this woman knew her like she had known the Doctor. Romana… she just continued to hug River, clearly happy with the world.