A/N: Thanks so much to everyone who has reviewed! It really means a lot to me. I get updates from to my phone, so I'll get a review in the middle of class and just sit there smiling like an idiot. So, thank you!

Chapter 4

Despite the sleep from earlier when she had been hurt, River eventually fell into a peaceful sleep next to the Doctor. Hours must have passed before she was abruptly woken by the Doctor's thrashing. She sat up and saw his face was contorted with pain. His hands gripped and the sheets and sweat was dripping from his brow. She placed her hands in his hair, stroking it gently and leaned down to kiss his forehead. His movements stilled slightly, but his face still expressed pain.

"Wake up, sweetie. You're just having a nightmare," she whispered into his ear. He bolted upright, panic in his motions. River instantly reached for his hand, taking it within her own. "You're alright," she whispered. "Just a nightmare."

His tension stilled and he turned to meet River's eyes. "Of course," he said. "Just a nightmare." His expression softened slightly as he saw the worried look on River's face. "I'm fine. It happens all the time."

River wrapped him into her arms, stroking his hair. "All the time?" she asked gently.

"River, I am very old and I have seen more things than you could imagine. It's bound to happen. But anyway! We have things to do, people to see, and a mystery to solve. Let's get up and get going. It should be daylight out on the planet." He squeezed her hand before bolting up out of the bed. She heard the pattering of his feet down the corridors of the Tardis, resonating almost as if he were skipping. She shook her head, laughing to herself, knowing he was not wearing anything, before stretching and getting up herself.

She heard the water of a shower running so she quickly gathered fresh clothes from a wardrobe against the wall, as well as a towel. Remembering the bandage that remained on her arm from yesterday, she quickly removed it. Her arm had healed, leaving nothing but a bruise and rather unpleasant scar. Following the sound of the water, she walked down the hallways to discover where the Tardis had placed the bathroom today. She found the door, opening it quietly. For a second she watched the Doctor standing there, letting the water run over his body. His eyes were closed and he was standing completely still. She sighed, knowing that kind of solemnity meant he was thinking about whatever his nightmare had been about. She walked towards him, opening the shower door and joining him. He smiled, but his eyes look sad. Standing behind him, she wrapped her arms around him and kissed his shoulder blade. They stayed like that for a few minutes, the Doctor having placed his hands over hers. He turned to face her, and despite the water she could tell that there were tears in his eyes. He kissed her forehead before leaning over to rest his head on her shoulder.

They stayed like that for a few minutes before the Doctor decided it was time for them to get going, though he took his time washing River's hair. He stepped out of the shower first, wrapping himself in a towel while River turned off the water. He grabbed another towel, placing it over her shoulders as she exited the shower. They walked to their room in companionable silence, getting changed for the day ahead. The Doctor kept shooting glances at River, and if she didn't know him better she would claim he was nervous.

She sat on the edge of the bed, tying the laces of her boots. He sat down next to her. "River, I don't even want to ask, because I know you are going to say no, but just this once, will you please wait for me in the Tardis? Who knows what they did with your blood or what else they want from you. I think you'd be a lot safer if you would stay here."

"Well I'm glad you know that I was going to say no. At least you didn't set yourself upset for disappointment." She smiled, but she could tell he was honestly worried for her. "I'll be fine, sweetie. I know how to handle myself."

He put his hand on her cheek and smiled before getting up and walking to the console room. He knew her too well to know that there was no way she was going unarmed, but he'd rather be ignorant to the fact. River wandered down the corridors of the Tardis until she found a room that she knew the Doctor was unaware of. It seemed the Tardis had created it especially for her. Within were her guns; not too many, but enough so that she was prepared for days like this. She strapped a gun alongside her leg, as well as tucking one into a holster belt. Now prepared, she joined the Doctor in the console room.

River walked up and stood next to the Doctor. They both faced the Tardis doors and clasped their hands together. Together they proceeded out into the deceptively beautiful weather. Similar to the previous day, it was silent and deserted. The Doctor squeezed her hand, providing the comfort he knew she needed, though she would never admit to it. They began to walk towards the graveyard, knowing that was the most likely way to discover what was going on. They walked in silence up the hill, the Doctor's normal excited disposition somewhat dulled now that this adventure held a potential risk for River.

They both knew they had to go back into the catacombs to follow where they had last seen the icemen go. They walked again through the village and up the hill. Easily finding the crypt, they carried on, opening the doors and walking down the stairs much more willingly than they had yesterday. This time the Doctor was prepared with a torch. He took it out, lighting their way forward. The catacombs remained extremely cold, but not completely intolerable. The catacombs seemed endless, but they in the direction that the Doctor remembered coming out from yesterday. Eventually they stumbled into the room which that had yesterday been captive in.

They met each other's' eyes, knowing they had no choice but to follow the path that the icemen had taken yesterday. The catacombs grew colder, but they carried on. Eventually they came to a dead end. They had seen all of the catacombs, but there was no sign that the icemen were present anywhere. The Doctor shined the torch around the room. It was circular in shape and fairly large. He looked above them noticing that the ceiling seemed to go up for at least a kilometer, if not more.

At the same time, River and the Doctor noticed that the higher up they looked, it seemed as though the walls were lined with doors. A staircase connected each level, and it seemed to wind on forever. The Doctor and River found the stairs and began their ascent. The first level wrapped around the room. Each door had a number, starting with one hundred and counting down. The Doctor approached the door and through the window at the top, he saw an iceman sleeping inside. He rushed past each door, seeing the same in each one. Something told the Doctor he needed to climb higher. He felt that the answers would be found on the top of this mysterious catacomb. He dragged River up the stairs, running as quickly as he could. Out of breath, they reached the top of the stairs. On this floor there was only one door, the number one plastered on the top of it. The Doctor looked through the door, seeing a room extraordinarily larger than any of the others. He opened the door, stepping inside with River. An iceman was strewn out on a bed, but unlike the others who remained in small, solitary rooms, he was surrounded by vast amounts of extraordinary technology, clearly the newest that this race had developed before their premature death. The iceman lay on what appeared to be a hospital bed, surrounded by monitors. Each monitor lay silent, seeing as there was no pulse or heartbeat to be found in someone who was dead and frozen. Suddenly, one of the monitors emitted a loud, shrill beep.

The Doctor watched in horror as the drip of an intravenous began. What could easily be assumed to be River's blood was dripping into the iceman. With sudden realization, the Doctor noticed this room was significantly warmer than the rest of the catacombs. The microbots were in here, controlling their body temperature. As the blood dripped into the iceman, the microbots swarmed around it, melting the ice away from its body. River gasped as the monitors began to come to life. They registered a heartbeat, a pulse, blood pressure.

The Doctor looked at River. "They used their blood to reanimate. They just brought back one of the frozen dead using your blood." He looked shocked, almost appalled at the situation. River grasped his hand harder as the now thawed iceman began to come to life.