Day 4

The Doctor didn't hear anything when he woke up. That was a problem. He shot up, looking around the room, River was nowhere to be found. Was it all a dream? A sick dream that was meant to taunt him? No, it was too real. And he could smell her, she'd been here.

It was real, so where was she? He followed her scent. Traced it from the faintest to the most apparent parts of the hotel room. It led him to the dresser, where a scribbled note in her handwriting laid.

Went out to pick you up a surprise. Be back in a few.-Your wife

How long was a few? He couldn't tell when she'd wrote it, you'd think an archeologist would like to date things. Either way he still couldn't hear anything. He couldn't even hear the towers that were so close to them, probably the building material. He knocked on a wall, the sound went as fast as it came.

He paced the hotel room, the tapping of his feet provided at least some kind of noise for him to concentrate on. Normally he'd have the Tardis presence in the back of his head, the humming. But now his head was empty, everything but his thoughts. Which wasn't doing the best to calm his racing heartbeat.

Shouldn't he be able to hear his heartbeat, especially with how fast they are beating. He placed his hands over his chest, yes they were still beating, he could feel them. So why couldn't he hear anything? Finally the pacing got too much so he sat down underneath the desk.

He dialed the front desk and then told them to hang up on him. Just so he could hear the static. It wasn't the Tardis, but it was better than complete and utter silence. He pulled his knees up to his chest, wrapping his arms around them, and he rocked back and forth.

The slight sting he got from knocking his head against the wall provided minimal relief. He tried to hum an old Gallifreyan tune, the song of the Towers, even an old pop song he'd heard one of his companions listening to, but it was like his brain couldn't remember sound. He needed sound.

He was too caught up in his maniac rocking back and forth underneath the table, discombobulated humming, and concentration on the static of the phone to hear the actual sound of the hotel room door opening. River came in with a breakfast tray in her hands, she had wanted to surprise the Doctor with breakfast in bed.

The two bedroom suite had probably one of the best walls made for keeping sound in and out. Probably best in their situation, as River was quite expressive during their best times. But as she set the hotel key down in a bowl on the living room table she called out across the suite. "Sweetie, you up yet?"

The Doctor looked up from the floor, even though she couldn't tell. His voice was broken, he managed a strangled gasp from the roof of his mouth. "River!"

River immediately set the tray down and followed the sound of her Doctor's pained voice. A million thoughts ran through her head as she discovered him underneath the bedroom table, rocking back and forth. He looked like he was in tears, and she was instantly at his side.

"Sweetie, what happened?" She asked, running her hands over his face before pulling his head close to her chest.

"I couldn't hear anything. You weren't here, and the Tardis wasn't in my head. And I just- over reacted that's all. I overreacted." He said shaking his head back and forth trying to get himself back to normal. Or whatever he was.

"Doctor, do you need a visit to the Tardis. You haven't seen her for almost three days, I think you need to just check up on her. Or she needs to check up on you for that matter." River said. She lifted him up, onto her shoulder. She carried him through the lobby, as he banged his hands against his head.

When they reached the Tardis, right outside the restaurant-hotel where they'd left it. He pushed his hands up against the door, and as if sensing she had the full intent to follow him he spun around quickly. "I'm good."

"Honey, no, you need this." River said, pushing open the door a little more, but he quickly grabbed her hand stopping her.

She was shocked, taking a step back. Something about this wasn't right. He looked inside, there was just a glimpse at the inside of the Tardis, she still marveled in it's new interior. He looked back at her, shook his head and closed the door once more. "Let's go back to the hotel room."

"Hello, Doctor, Wife speaking. What's going on in that big ole head of yours?" She said, tapping the side of his face, he nearly smiled at it too, if not been for the serious concern he had for the moment he would have.

"I don't want to get separated from you. If you and I go inside the Tardis, I'm afraid-" He began to say something but then she placed her finger over his lips and whispered.

"Spoilers." She smiled in the way that she used to.

"Right." He nodded, pretending to bite at the finger near his lips. Her hand moved to his shoulder, as she leaned on her toes pressing a kiss to his cheek.

"I'll wait in the room for you." She said. Turning around she headed back towards the hotel, and he turned towards his Tardis. Pushing the door open, he stepped inside quickly, closing it before anyone could see.

The familiar hum spread from his head to his feet, and he immediately felt better. He almost had half a mind to just walk back out, only pop in for occasional power ups and then leave. Not have to be reminded that there was something he'd have to do after River. But he knew Old Girl deserved more than that.

He walked around the center of the control room once, his hand ghosting over levers and buttons that he would eventually press again. And then as he reached back where he started the Tardis tried to send something to him, but quickly realizing it was the end of his time of Darillium, he shut his eyes and blocked her out.

Light blue. Whatever that meant. He wasn't sure. It could of just been the color of the Tardis when he reopened his eyes, but he somehow felt it had to do with what she was trying to show him. After a small goodbye and promise to visit, almost like one would give to their mother, he left again.

He looked around almost nervous as if someone was going to take it. That's also why he wanted to find a house so soon, so the Tardis had somewhere to rest while they lived out their little life here. When he got back to the hotel room River sitting on the bed looking through some kind of pamphlet.

"The desk clerk said this is a great neighborhood for houses. The prices don't seem too bad, plus I've managed quite a bit of money while you were off gallivanting the universe." She stopped as she didn't hear him reply. Setting her pamphlet down then looking up she didn't move, and she stayed silent.

She watched as he ghosted over to the bed, before sitting down next to her. He stared off into space for a while, just looking at the wall, and just as she went back to her pamphlet she felt him lean over and rest his head in her lap humming a small tune.