"River! It's just Riley.. She's fine." Amy called out, trying to calm the pair of us down. "We can trust her." She added, which was something the River song found laughable.
"How do you know Amy?" River cocked an eyebrow, "I bet she hasn't told you half of the stuff I know about her."
"Hang on a minute.. you shot me!" I frowned. "Don't go acting all innocent."
"I wasn't shooting you, You just got in the way." She demanded, forcing her other gun back into it's holder, then placed her hands on her hips.
"Oh yeah, sorry. Let me get it right." I started sarcastically, "You tried to shoot someone but I jumped in the way to save him and I'm the monester?"
"I apologised for that." River's finger pointed furiously at me as she spoke. "Plus I don't know what you're complaining about, you shot me back."
"I wouldn't say that makes us equal though."
"Wait.. if you've just regenerated how can she recognise you?" Amy asked, her voice full of confusion. She looked from me to River for an answer and so did Rory and the Doctor.
"We've ran into each other a couple of times before the whole shooting thing.. never in the right order. This is what she looked like the first time I met her" River cut in and explained before I'd even had chance to open my mouth. "Plus her reputation never fails to proceed her." She shot me a knowing glance, half of the things she knows about me I don't.
"So what are you actually doing here if you haven't just come to tell me how I mess up in the future? Cause you know you're not supposed to do that." I scolded her, recalling a time when she let slip about my shooting her before it had happened within my time line.
"What do you mean what am I doing here?" She frowned. "The Doctor called me here."
"Did I?" The Doctor looked at River in shock. River's head whipped around to his and she looked at him in silence for a moment.
"You didn't send me a message?" She spoke eventually.
"No.. Not that I know of.." He shook his head cautiously. The Doctor lifted himself from part of the console that he was resting on and pushed his hands into his pockets, "What did this message say?" River pulled a small metal tablet from her pocket and pressed several buttons until a blue light shone into the air above it, forming a hologram. The Doctor frowned as he saw himself projected into the air. River pressed another button and the image began to move. 'River, we need your help. We're on a space station in near Jupiter. Come quickly.' the Doctor voice played, the sound crackling. And that was it, the image disappeared and the light shot back into the box.
"I.. Didn't send that." He whispered, staring her in the eyes with a look of concentration on his face.
"Well if you didn't who did?" River questioned, sliding the box back into her coat pocket.
"Maybe it was you from the future?" Amy suggested. Despite our differences River and I both had a keen interest for a mystery.
"The Doctor knows better than to interfere in his own timeline.." River replied. The five of us were stood in a loose circle, looking at each other whilst thinking.
"Although there are exceptions." I pointed out, much to Rivers distaste. "There are certain circumstances where it would be the best thing.."
"But we're not in any danger.." Rory spoke, making us all think. He was right, there was no instant threat around us, nothing that stood out as dangerous. Which made the whole thing more odd.
"No, you're right. We're not." The Doctor replied, his voice picking up to a slightly cheerier tone.
"Where are we going?" River asked quickly.
"Rio, where else." He was rushing around, hitting buttons, tapping the screen and flipping switches. "I promised Pond a holiday and she'll get one." He grinned at her. I heard Amy squeal in joy but the Doctors sudden change in interest was baffling to me.
"THANKYOUUU." Amy rushed over and hugged the Doctor around the waist, frightening him from the suddeness.
"It's fine." He replied once she'd let go. His hand rested on the large handle and there was a mischevious smile on his face. He threw the handle down and the TARDIS was sent rocking from side to side. River instantly ran around the console and fumbled with one of the mechanisms. The TARDIS stopped rocking, the loud noise it usually made when it disintergrated stopped and was replaced by a gentle hum. "What did you do?" The Doctor frowned.
"I just took the breaks off, Hunny." She smiled at him sweetly. Hunny? Are these two an item or something? The Doctor looked annoyed that River had interfered with his driving but instead of arguing with her, he walked down the ramp towards the door. The TARDIS was completely still and the humming had dissappeared leaving only the faint noises of the engine. "Are you ready for Rio, Miss Amelia Pond?" The Doctor stood with his back to the door, grinning up at Amy.
"The question is.. Is Rio ready for Me?" Amy winked, rushing past him to the door. A beam of light slipped through the opening, brightening up the door way. Amy smiled to herself, pulling her jacket off once she realised it was much too warm for one. "You have NO IDEA how long I've been waiting for this." She announced and stepped out into the big bold world.
"Hang on a sec." Rory called after her as we both sped down towards the door. I noticed that River and the Doctor weren't following us, so I lingered in the doorway for a moment.
"Go with Rory and Amy. Keep an eye on them." The Doctor ordered, "We'll catch up with you.."
"OK.. cya soon." I replied, catching a frosty glance from River before I bounced out of the door and in the direction that Amy and Rory had gone off in. Now I could see why Amy wanted to come here so badly. It was warm, even in the shade, and the blue skies made everything look brighter. After a minute of walking quickly I found the pair.
"Guys, wait up." I yelled whilst sprinting up to them.
"Where's the Doctor and River?" Amy frowned, looking over my shoulder for the pair.
"They said they'd catch up." I shrugged. It was curious. The Doctor suddenly decided to actually go to Rio then he and River hide away in the TARDIS after finding that River recieved a message from the Doctor, that he doesn't remember sending. I was blindly following Rory and Amy, hoping they wouldn't just disappear from sight, as I was deep in thought about the message.
"Riley?" Amy stopped me. I looked up and found her and Rory both looking at me with concern. "I said we're here but you're just sort of.. zoned out."
"Sorry." I widened my eyes to snap myself back to reality. "Where are we?" I looked around frowning.
"The beach." Rory replied. I glanced over to my left and found a mass of sea and water.
"Oh right." I nodded, "Great." Amy and I fit perfectly into our surroundings in our skirts and shorts, but Rory in his jeans and jacket looked completely out of place.
"Do you want an ice cream?" Rory laughed, noticing a small ice cream stand at the side of the beach.
"I'd love one." Amy grinned, pulling him towards the stand. "Y'see, the thing about travelling with the Doctor is there's never time to stop and get ice cream." She spoke wisely as we crossed the road.
"Actually.." Rory frowned, dipping his hand into his back pocket and retrieving his black leather wallet. "I only have pounds.." He told us, flicking a couple of ten pound notes her had. The pair paused, sighing inwardly as they realised being in Rio wasn't as great as they thought.
"Wait here." I told them and whipped my head around, scoping out my surroundings.
"Where are you going?" Amy called to me as I crossed the road.
"Just.. Stay there.." I waved over to them, then disappeared around a corner.
When I returned, my back pocket bustling with money Reais's (The Brazillian unit of currency) I bought three ice creams and distributed them amongst Rory, Amy and Myself. Rory had somehow been roped into helping a little boy build a sand castle and Amy was lying down on the sand.
"Where'd you get the money for these?" She cocked an eyebrow at me, licking the ice cream regardless of how I got it. With a mouthful of ice cream, I pulled my sonic screwdriver from my back pocket and waved it at her. "Did you steal it?" Her face dropped.
"No, no no.." I rushed, swallowing down the ice cream causing tremendous brain freeze. "It's just like having a credit card.. But I don't put any money into an account." Now that I think about it, it kind of is stealing but in a nice way. "Well..." I frowned to myself.
"Thankyou" She laughed, gesturing the ice cream at me and brushing off my criminal act. It took me five minutes to finish my Ice cream which I rushed out of fear of it melting. Once I'd eaten it, I rose to my feet, pulled my shorts and shirt off and threw them into a pile along with my shoes. I felt the heat hit my skin instantly as I lay down on the warm sand beside Amy.
"Riley?" Amy started after a long silence. "How exactly do you know River?"
"Umm.. We met about two years ago in my time line.." I started, brushing the hair out of my face, "We were both professors on a dig that went wrong.. there were living skeletons.. it was all a bit weird" I was struggling to remember. Times when River and I weren't at each others throats were sparse, but there ARE a couple. "We helped each other out a couple of times and she told me what she knew about that Doctor. I read most of her Diary. Except the parts where I was present obviously."
"So why'd you fall out?" She frowned, "Cause it sounds like you were friends."
"Y'know how I told you that I died because someone tried to shoot my friend Lucas, but I pushed him out of the way?" I asked and she nodded. Which was a good sign, I hadn't lost her yet. "Well it was her who tried to shoot him."
"River?" Her face fell in disbelief, "I know she can be a bit crazy with a gun sometimes but that's only on the bad guys.."
"Well that's just it." I sighed, sitting up to look down at Amy as she listened to me intently. "He was ..possessed in a way.. being made to do things he didn't want to do. Some sort of bug in his brain. River and I were in a disagreement about what to do.. I thought that there was a way we could get it out of him but she thought it would be more affective to get rid of the host aswel.. But I stood in the way, shot her back and saved Lucas before I regenerated.. So we parted ways, I took Lucas home.. visited a few people then woke up in the TARDIS." Amy didn't speak, but lifted her sunglasses off her head and settled her eyes on me. "She'd bumped into me a couple of times when I was younger and I didn't know about any of that.."
"Is that what you were talking about when I met you?" Amy sat up, propping herself up on her elbows. "Saying that you'd just saved twelve thousand people?"
"Yeh." I laughed, scratching the back of my neck noncholantly, "I did."
"Can I just ask though.." She started, "Professor?"
"That's what I had people call me, it makes me seem more intelligent." I shrugged. "Riley was just a name I picked at random.. I think it was on the shirt that I was wearing when I met you." I laughed, remembering the time I was running around the TARDIS followed by Amy.
"So which do you prefer? Riley or Professor?" She asked.
".. Riley." I nodded. "Definately. It's more.. human."
"OK." Amy nodded, laying back down on the sand. I sat beside her, staring out across the beach, thinking quietly to myself. "Where's The Doctor? And River?" She eventually mumbled, draping her hand casually over her face so that she blocked the sunlight from her eyes.
"I don't know." I breathed and threw a casual glance over my shoulder in the direction we'd come from. "But I don't think he trusts me.." I confided in Amy.
"Why not?" She frowned.
"Because I tried to leave without telling him the truth." I sighed, remembering everything. "Because River told him that I shot her.. By the way, Are they a couple or something?" I cocked an eyebrow at her.
"No.. I don't think so. He's never said anything." She shrugged. "He does trust you though.. It just takes time."
"Yehh, I guess so." I mumbled.
"AMY! RILEY!" Rory called from a few feet down the beach, "Come look!" He added. Amy and I exchanged curious glances and clambered to our feet. We walked towards him and the little blond boy he'd been helping and found them both stood in the trench they'd dug out.
"Wow Rory." I grinned, "This is pretty.. How long did this take you?" I tried to hide my laughter, but Amy didn't seem to have the same issue. She burst out laughing at the pride on Rory's face.
"What?" Rory's smile disappeared leaving a look of confusion.
"Nothing.. It's just you look like such a kid." She giggled.
"It's really great." I told the little boy, "Good job." I added, holding my hand up for a high-five. The kid instantly recipricated the gesture. No matter what I looked like, or where I was children loved me.
"I bet he was no help." Amy mumbled to the boy once she'd finally stopped giggling.
"NAH." The boy shook his head in response with a mischevious grin.
"That's the last time I help you make a bouncy castle!" Rory called, climbing out of the moat. The little boy laughed and sped off towards his parents, ready to show them the sand castle he'd spend half an hour building with a strange man.
"RACE YOU TO THE SEA!" Amy yelled in a childlike manner, before launching herself along the sand in the direction of the crystal blue water. I smiled as Rory chased after her and they affectionately splashed water at each other. But I knew there was something going on.. so did River and the Doctor. I just had no idea what.