Guest: Thanks for the review! There will be more River as the title suggests... And there will be alot of River next chapter too. :)

sd: Exactly. I'm terrible like that. I find holes in the self harming/eating disordered fanfiction in fandoms and exploit them. Haha. But, yeah, that's why I wrote this-to fill the lack of self harming Doctor fanfics. ^_^ Thanks for your rview!

A/N: Guys, it's an update! It's probably awful. I can barely bring myself to write an author note or a chapter title. Writer's block is killing me; I can't even fandom hop to abate it anymore. I hope it's alright.

Chapter 4: Return of River Song

Amy and Rory shoot worried looks at each other; the Doctor scowls as the sky dims to a normal blue. Once the crackling ends, he finds himself face to face with River Song, dressed to the nines in light blue, mouth quirked upwards in a feral grin.

"Er, hello, River." He smiles, hoping this River is one he hasn't argued with this afternoon.

She doesn't smile. She doesn't greet him with her catch phrase: hello, sweetie. One hand is pressed to her hip so tightly her knuckles turn white with strain. The other arm extends to his face, and for a moment he thinks she is going to slap him, when she thrusts a tiny, well-worn, chunk of plastic at him.

"What is that?" Rory steps closer to River. The Doctor squints at the piece of plastic smaller than his pinky nail, and, if he focuses really hard, he can see a faint swirl of red in the warped material.

"You found my missing button, I take it." He chuckles and swivels his head round to face Rory and Amy. "How's that for lost and found?"

"I intended to find it, sweetie." Her tone is clipped, and her eyes glare at him.

"Intended to find it?" Amy steps up behind Rory. River swings a small set of cuticle scissors around her index finger. She hands them to Amy, who rapid-fires another question at River "When did you even get those?"

"She grabbed them off of you earlier." The Doctor sees it in instant replay in the back of his mind. Click: Amy and Rory rushed down the stairs to see what the commotion was about. Click: in her hands, Amy held various nail care tools.

Presently, Amy glances down at her half finished manicure. She had forgotten about that. "Why?"

At the question, the Doctor remains silent. River pats the side of the TARDIS. "You didn't think you would run off, did you?" He crosses his arms and mumbles something Amy can't quite comprehend. "Yes, I know you meant to, but like it or not, we're going to talk." In a fluid motion, she reaches the Doctor and has her hand tightly curled around his wrist. She stands on the balls of her feet and points a finger level with the Doctor's nose. As she stares into her eyes, she ignores Amy and Rory off to the side.

"I already know, sweetie."

"Know?" Rory asks, as Amy questions, "Knows what?"

He coughs, turning his head away. He attempts to disarm her with a smile. "Isn't that a spoiler?"

River leans into him intimately, which reminds him of the debacle that got them into this situation in the first place. "You're so much more than this." Her kind words, the utter faith she has in him, churns in his gut.

"No, I'm not," the words escape before he realizes what he said. He falters under a flood of guilt as River's face falls. His chest swells as years of history, numerous companions he selfishly dragged along on his adventure in a desperate bid, a farce of renewal, various wars, natural disasters, apocalypses he could've, should've prevented. "Excuse me." He extricates himself from River and escapes into the confines of the TARDIS.

The remaining three follow him inside, but once they enter the console room, they realize it is devoid of the Doctor. River's expression reveals nothing as she directs the controls. "Did you two want to go anywhere specific?"

"But, the Doctor," Amy protests.

Rory slips a hand around her waist, and looks at her as he speaks. "Why don't we pop out to modern Japan, Amy."

Her face hardens in protest. Upon seeing his features resolute, she lightly punches him in the side. "Thought you wanted to see the Golden Kingdom of Elysion?"

Rory shakes his head, a parody of embarrassment that feels incomplete without a blush rising in his cheeks. "There's no such thing as the Moon Kingdom." He sighs, melodramatically. "I'll suffer with normal Japan."

River looks up from her typing. "Actually, there is a Moon Kingdom, but it's not in this galaxy, nor is it affiliated with Earth." Her voice is even as she explains, but Rory senses the undercurrent of anxiety laced beneath forced calm.

He interrupts with a wave of his hands. "Japan 2013 is fine."

Amy joins in the faux pleading, and stage whispers, "He hopes to meet Naoko Takeuchi."

River smiles and pushes the lever upwards. In a matter of minutes, River is reading off the checks to them, as the doors of the TARDIS opens, revealing an urban sprawl lit up in neon with hiragana, kanji and the occasional romaji. "Thirty-one degrees, ten percent chance rain, and high humidity. And absolutely no danger."

Non-human danger, that is. Amy sheds her light jacket as Rory shoves his wallet and mobile in his jeans pocket. "We'll be back later, yeah?" He says as the two disembark into the sunny afternoon in Shibuya.

"We won't move," River says. She closes the door behind them, expression crumpling from neutrality as worry lines winkle her face. She marches through the control room, leaving the time manipulator in the safety of the TARDIS and away from a Doctor intent to delay an important conservation.