A/N: 2 quick notes, 'Melody Malone,' to tie into TAOSAT's 1st and 8th chapter, will be 'Harmony Brooks' :) And Older LJ is, obviously, his older self, LJ is just the baby :) Enjoy!
~8~
The Angels Take Manhattan (Part 1)
"'New York growled at my window," the Doctor spoke, reading from a book as he sat with his back to Amy, who was working on a crossword puzzle. LJ was in his lap, eating a piece of bread while Evy laid on her stomach across from him, playing with LJ as he read to them, Rory lying on his back, dozing in the sun as they picnicked on a rock near a duck pond in modern day Central Park, New York. He smiled down at LJ making a growling noise to go with his narration, making the boy giggle, "But I was ready for it. My stocking seams were straight, my lipstick was combat ready, and I…" Evy put her hands over LJ's ears, "Was packing cleavage that could fell an ox at twenty feet…'" before letting go as LJ grumbled about how he was missing the story.
"Doctor, you're doing it again," Amy cut in.
"I'm reading!" he defended.
"Aloud. Please could you not?"
The Doctor glanced back at her, "There's something different about you, isn't there?"
"What's the book?" Rory asked, cracking an eye open to look over at them.
"'Harmony Brooks,'" Evy answered, taking the bread from LJ as he started to play with it, tearing it to little pieces instead of eating it, "It's about a woman who's a private detective in old New York who solves crimes with her partner, Ian Smith."
"He's a playful man with an intimidating stature who can talk anyone into a confession," Amy recited, "While she's got ice in her heart and a kiss on her lips, and a vulnerable side she keeps well hidden."
The Doctor glanced back at her, "Oh, you've read it?"
Evy laughed, "She has, because YOU read it out loud dear."
Amy nodded, "And then LJ went 'wow!'"
Evy had to smile at that, taking her son's hands in her own as he waved them excitedly, grumbling about wanting his daddy to finish he story. He'd been speaking more, usually one syllable words, for some reason only ones that started with 'w' or 'r'…which ended up sounding like 'w' and right now it was...
"Weed!" LJ called.
Rory chuckled as he looked over, sitting up, "Only your kid could fancy someone in a book."
Ewww…LJ's face scrunched at the thought of fancying someone, She's…cool!
'Yes she is,' Evy projected to him.
He'd gotten much better at keeping his potty mouth under control. That last outfit she'd put him in had seemed to get through to him, they'd gone to a planet the Doctor had mentioned to Amy before he'd disappeared for 200 years, the 'volatile circus' and she'd dressed LJ as a clown, complete with rainbow hair and big red nose.
He'd gotten surprisingly better at watching his language after that.
Like you! LJ squealed, shaking his hands so Evy would focus on him again.
'Thanks dear,' she leaned forward to kiss his hands.
"LJ wanted me to read it to him," the Doctor defended, pulling Evy's attention back, "He liked the cover."
"Ooh, can we see the cover?" Amy turned, trying to snatch the book.
But the Doctor leaned away, "No, no, I'm busy. It's your hair! Is it your hair?"
"Oh, shut up," Amy shook her head.
"She's wearing glasses," Evy told him, taking pity on him.
Amy nodded, pointing at the round spectacles on her nose, "I wear reading glasses now…"
"Glasses are cool eh?" Evy nudged the Doctor's knee as she moved to sit up, moving LJ to her lap to face his daddy.
The Doctor winked at her before he turned back to Amy, eyeing the glasses, "I don't like them. They make your eyes look all liney…" and then Evy smacked him on the head, "No, actually," he winced, realizing it wasn't the glasses making her eyes look liney, "Sorry. They're fine. Carry on."
"Ok," Rory began, "I'm going to go and get us some more coffee. Who wants more coffee? Me too. I'll go!"
Evy laughed and got up, shifting LJ back to the Doctor, "I'll go with you Rory," she gave the Doctor a peck and headed off with Rory.
"Rory," Amy eyed him, making him pause, "Do I have noticeable lines on my eyes now?"
"Yes," the Doctor said promptly.
"LJ," Evy called and the boy bit the Doctor's hand with his two little teeth that had started to break through.
"Ow!"
"Be nice!" Evy laughed.
"Rory?" Amy asked.
"No," Rory said quickly.
Amy pursed her lips, his back was still to her, "You didn't look."
"I noticed them earlier," he corrected, before wincing when he realized what he'd said, "Didn't notice them," he backtracked, "I specifically remember not noticing them."
"You walk among fire pits, Centurion."
Rory turned to look at her, "Do I have to come over there?"
Amy smirked, "You can if you like."
He grinned and made his way over, "Well, we have company."
"I'll get a babysitter," Amy whispered, leaning in to kiss Rory.
Cooties! LJ covered his eyes and groaned, a sound mimicked by his father.
"Oh, do you know, it is so humiliating when you do that," the Doctor told them.
"Come on Rory," Evy laughed, "Coffee everyone?"
"Coffee," Amy nodded as the duo headed off.
"Can I have a go?" the Doctor turned back to Amy once he lost sight of Evy and Rory around a turn in the path, she handed over her glasses and he slipped them on, "Oh, actually, that is much better. That is exciting," he tickled LJ's stomach as he giggled.
"Weed!" LJ called, clapping.
Amy laughed, "Oh go on, read to us," she shifted, taking the baby from him to set in her lap, playing with him.
"I thought you didn't like my reading aloud," he remarked.
"Yes well your son clearly wants you to continue…"
"Weed!" LJ shouted again, "Weed!"
She laughed, "Might as well enjoy it too. Just…don't go 'yowzah' or I'll have to smack you for Evy."
The Doctor chuckled, "Harmony's not Evy, no danger of that there," he told her before ripping out the last page of the book.
"Why did you do that?" Amy frowned at that.
"I always rip out the last page of a book. Then it doesn't have to end. I hate endings," he put the page in the picnic basket and returned to reading, "'As Ian and I crossed the street, we saw the thin guy and the blonde girl, but they didn't see us. I guess that's how it began…'"
~8~
Rory and Evy walked back down the paths of the park with their coffees, Rory had a cup holder of four coffees while Evy had a small cup of her own with some juice for LJ. Both just chatting about whether Amy was smacking the Doctor by then and how hard LJ might be laughing at it. They passed a fountain with small cherubs carved into the side…one of them snarling as they passed…before it disappeared.
Evy frowned, hearing a giggling behind them and looked back. Rory paused and turned with her, before Evy shook her head and they continued on. They'd just stepped under a small overpass…when Rory heard the giggling this time and paused, looking back…
~8~
The Doctor was sitting on the ledge of a bridge, LJ in Amy's arms as she threw pieces of the bread he'd torn up earlier over the sides, watching the ducks come to eat it.
"'We followed the blonde girl and the skinny guy for two more blocks before they turned," the Doctor read to them, "And I could ask exactly what they were doing here. Well, I would have to ask, Ian wouldn't shut up if he got started. The blonde girl looked rather peeved while the skinny guy looked a little scared, so I gave him my best smile and my bluest eyes…'"
Amy glanced back, "Beware the yowzah," she muttered before pointing a tiny, mock-warning finger at LJ, "And don't you 'wow' either mister," but then she noticed the Doctor had stopped reading entirely and turned around, "Doctor? What did the skinny guy say? Or the blonde girl?"
The Doctor blinked, staring down at the book as though his world had fallen apart, "He said, 'We just went to get coffees for the Doctor and Amy and juice for LJ. Hello, River.'"
~8~
"Hello, dad," River greeted, looking up at him from under her fedora, dressed much like Harmony Brooks had been on the cover of the book.
There was a man standing beside her, his head bowed, a black fedora on his head as well to compliment his black suit, hands in his pant pockets, wearing a long coat of the period's fashion.
"Hello son," Evy greeted, recognizing and sensing her son.
The man grinned and lifted his head, revealing a man with the same blue eyes as LJ, "Hiya mum," he spoke, a false American accent on that had Evy rubbing her head at how similar he sounded to Jack.
"Where are we?" Rory shook his head, looking around before turning to the man who was apparently an older version of LJ, "How the hell did we get here?"
"I haven't the faintest idea," River said calmly, though Older LJ kept quiet, smirking secretively. She knew, he already knew, of course, whatever happened in the past of his parents, he knew from a baby's point of view, but he was very particular and careful about keeping those things to himself. Being there from two points in a timeline, he knew that one wrong word could completely change everything, and he had learned the dangers of that from his parents.
"Weeping Angels," Evy sighed, it was the only explanation for a random transport in time.
"Either way," River shrugged, "You'll probably want to put your hands up."
Because just then a group of men stepped out of the shadows, one pointing a gun at Rory and Evy, who put their hands up slowly, while another turned to River and Older LJ, both of whom didn't seem scared in the slightest, which couldn't be said for Rory.
"Harmony Brooks?" the man behind River called, "Ian Smith?"
Rory's eyes widened, "You're...Harmony?"
"Mhmm," River nodded, thinking at least it wasn't the most ridiculous name LJ had come up with for her. When she'd first met the boy in Luna University, he'd thought her name was a code name, that River Song was a cover for quite laughable names like Harmony Brooks or Jingle Mist before he'd pegged her with Melody Pond. She hadn't known it then that he really had known who she was, and laughed it off. But ever since then he always tried to get her to use those 'code names' again.
Evy just nodded, it made sense, Older LJ would know not to let River call him John Smith in the book, and his middle name was Ianto, but for such a name in old New York…that would be too obvious again, so he'd clearly taken the first three letters of his middle name to throw them off.
Well done.
Her little boy was a genius!
"Get in," the man demanded, pulling her attention back to see a limo had pulled up.
~8~
The Doctor rushed into the TARDIS as Amy followed with LJ in her arms, the boy frantic about what happened to his mother.
"What're River and LJ doing in a book?" Amy asked, shutting the doors behind her and following him to the console, "What're Rory and Evy doing in a book?"
"They went to get coffee!" he snapped, his hearts racing. He didn't like the idea of Evy being anywhere alone, because of a Weeping Angel, never mind the fact she was in fact there with Rory, and River, and their son grown up, but HE wasn't there, and that worried him, "Pay attention."
"They went to get coffee and turned up in a book. How does that work?"
"I'm not sure," he huffed, rushing to the monitor, "We're in New York!"
"Where did you get this book?"
"It was in my jacket!"
Amy shook her head, "How did it get there?"
"How does anything get there Amy!?" he turned to her, glaring, "I've given up asking. Now if you could ask helpful questions that would be fantastic!"
Daddy…LJ started to cry, getting more upset as his father shouted at Amy than anything. Because when his father got upset, it meant something really bad had happened, Has something bad happened to mummy? Where is she?
The Doctor's expression softened completely, taking LJ from Amy, "Shh," he hushed, rocking the baby, trying to slow his hearts, trying to keep himself from lashing out at Amy much like he had when Evy had taken the Weeping Angel from her mind, this time it wasn't Amy's fault, "Shh, it'll be alright," he kissed LJ's head, "Mummy will be fine, you know her eh?" he got LJ to look up at him, "You'll look out for her too, won't you boyo?"
~8~
Older LJ smiled as he looked over at his mother, sitting across from him and River, beside Rory, "Don't worry mum," he said, seeing she was actually a little tense about it all. He knew his parents, face anything together they could, but to separate them…that's when they started to worry, not about themselves but about what the other would do in the process of trying to get back to them, "Everything'll be alright, I'll keep you safe," he grinned and lazily put an arm around River's shoulder, squeezing her, "I've kept her plenty safe, haven't I?"
Evy smiled, "That's my job," she told him, "I'm supposed to look out for you. I'm your mum."
"Feeling's mutual though," he winked, making her laugh.
~8~
"Date," the Doctor realized, quickly handing LJ back to Amy and taking the book, "Date. Did she mention a date? When is this happening?" he quickly flipped through it, Amy looking over his shoulder beside him.
"Wait, there!" she pointed, "Oh, April 3rd, 1938."
~8~
"What's going on?" Rory asked, looking between the three.
River glanced at him, "You didn't come here in the TARDIS, obviously."
"How can you tell?" Evy asked.
"You couldn't have," River shrugged.
~8~
The Doctor looked over at Amy, who had moved to sit on the jump seat with LJ in her lap, the boy 'helping' her find information in the book, reading it aloud to the Doctor.
"Couldn't have?" he frowned, "What does she mean? Couldn't have?"
~8~
"This city's full of time distortions," River explained, "It'd be impossible to land the TARDIS here. Like trying to land a plane in a blizzard," she glanced at Evy, "I doubt even you could do it, it's that impossible."
~8~
The Doctor pouted, "Even who couldn't do it?"
Evy was the Impossible Girl! Anything and everything impossible was just...her thing. She did it all the time!
"Don't you two fall out," Amy huffed, "She's only in a book."
~8~
Evy smirked, "Don't let the Doctor hear you say that, he'll just pout about it."
~8~
Amy laughed at that, looking up to see the Doctor was still pouting without Evy there to kiss it away.
He pointed at Amy warningly and she held up a hand in surrender, so he spun around, back to the monitor, "1938. Easy one," he put some commands in and pulled a lever…only for the TARDIS to twist, lights to flash, the console to go up in sparks, jolting so terribly it nearly sent Amy flying off the jump seat with LJ.
'Temporal Distortions Detected,' blinked on the monitor before it blacked out.
"What was that?" Amy shouted, rushing over with LJ as the jolting calmed.
"1938. We just bounced off it."
~8~
"So how did you get here?" Rory asked River.
"Vortex Manipulator," River smirked at Older LJ, holding up her wrist as the man rolled his eyes, "Less bulky than a TARDIS. Then he," she nodded at Older LJ, "Commandeered a motorbike to get us through traffic."
"Much less jarring than travel by Weeping Angel," Evy muttered.
~8~
The Doctor rushed out of the TARDIS, putting some of the lingering fires out while Amy stood outside, bobbing LJ in her arms, the boy unnaturally silent, wanting his mummy back, but trying not to show how scared he was for his mother, a combination of wanting to be brave like his daddy and not wanting his daddy to see how scared he was because that would upset the man even more.
"The Weeping Angels?" Amy shook her head.
"It makes sense," the Doctor replied, trusting Evy's assessment.
"It makes what?"
"That's what happened to Rory and Evy. That's what the Angels do. It's their preferred form of attack. They zap you back in time, let you live to death."
"Well, we've got a time machine. We can just go and get them."
"Well, tried that, if you've noticed, and we are back where we started in 2012."
Amy looked around at the graveyard they'd found themselves in overlooking the New York skyline, "We didn't start in a graveyard. What are we doing here?"
"Don't know," he replied as Amy went back to the book, flipping through it, "Probably causally linked somehow. Doesn't matter. Extractor fans on!"
"Well, we're going to get there somehow," she remarked, "We're in the rest of the book."
"Doing what?" he asked absently.
"Page 43, you're going to break something."
"I'm what?" he blinked, frowning. Did he break something in the TARDIS?
Amy opened the book, reading, "'Why do you have to break mine,' I asked the Doctor. He frowned and said, 'Because Amy read it in a book and now I have no choice.'"
The Doctor's eyes widened as he looked over to see her reading ahead, "Stop!" he ran over to her, "No! No! Stop! You can't read ahead," he snatched the book from her, "You mustn't. And you can't do that."
"But we've already been reading it," she countered.
Not all of it, LJ tried to tell her, forgetting she couldn't understand him.
"Just the stuff that's happening now," the Doctor agreed, "In parallel with us. That's as far as we go."
"But it could help us find Rory," she shook her head, "Find Evy…"
He swallowed hard, "And if you read ahead and find that Rory dies? That…" he spoke quietly so LJ wouldn't hear, "That Evy got hurt…" he shook his head, not even wanting to think of it, refusing to even utter the words 'Evy dies' with his son right there, "This isn't any old future, Amy, it's ours. Once we know what's coming, it's fixed. I'm going to break something, because you told me that I'm going to do it. No choice now."
"Time can be rewritten."
Not always, LJ tried again, feeling like he had to help her understand since his father wasn't doing a very good job and his mother wasn't there to explain it.
"Not once you've read it," the Doctor nodded, "Once we know what's coming, it's written in stone."
~8~
The quartet were led into a very lavish home, decorated with artifacts from every Earth time period and country. River and Older LJ were in the lead, Rory and Evy following behind, "Ah," River remarked, spotting a Chinese vase, "Early Qin dynasty, I'd say."
Older LJ smirked, "Think the emperor still has it out for you?" he nudged her.
"Correct," an older man said, stepping into the room, he was slightly plump, graying hair, "Are you an archaeologist as well as a detective?"
River smirked, "Among other things."
~8~
"Ok," the Doctor nodded, rushing around the console, "Landing a plane in a timey wimey blizzard. I could push through, but if I'm out by a nanosecond, the engines will phase and I'll shatter the planet. I need landing lights…"
"Landing lights?" Amy frowned.
"Yes, I need a signal to lock on to."
"Why not just have the TARDIS focus on Evy?" she suggested, "Isn't there some sort of psychic thing? A tracker?"
"Yes, but we can't access that, not with all the time distortions, it's like static. Can't get a proper lock on her…" he shook his head, not about to lose hope, "What did she say? Early what dynasty?"
~8~
"Early Qin, exactly," Evy commented, eyeing the vase.
"You're very well informed," the man, Mr. Grayle, replied eyeing the group.
"And you're very afraid," River remarked.
"That is an awful lot of locks on just one door," Older LJ added, glancing at the front door where there were a number of locks lining it, "Trying to keep us in, or them out?"
"Evy," Rory nodded her over, showing her the vase before him, "I'm translating."
She smiled, seeing the Chinese saying shift into English, "It's a lingering ability of the TARDIS," she told him quietly, not wanting to give Grayle any information about the box.
"This one," Grayle called, pointing at Rory, the only one who hadn't contributed anything, "Put him somewhere uncomfortable."
"With the babies, sir?" one of the men who had taken them asked.
Grayle smiled, "Yes, why not? Give him to the babies."
Evy stepped forward to try and stop one of the other men from grabbing Rory but she was held back. She frowned, about to use her powers to get the man off her, when Rory looked over, as though sensing what she was thinking, and shook his head, trying to assure her that he'd be fine...wherever he was being taken.
She swallowed hard but nodded as he was taken away.
Older LJ watching him go, solemn.
~8~
The Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS, in China, circa 221 BC, right into a decorating workshop, where men and women were working on painting vases, "Ah, hello, yes," he flashed his psychic paper, "Special commission from the Emperor…"
~8~
Older LJ stood behind River, helping her take her mackintosh off, as Evy looked around at the room, smirking when one of the vases shifted to 'yowzah.'
"Hello dear," she smirked, glancing back at River to see the woman nod, her and Older LJ having seen it as well.
"Hello, sweetie," River added, "Let's see, crime boss with a collecting fetish. Whatever you don't let anyone else see has got to be your favorite…" she wandered around the room to a curtain that was closed.
"Or possibly his girlfriend," Older LJ quipped.
River pulled the curtain cord, dropping them to reveal a snarling Angel, worse for the wear, with manacles and chains holding it back. Evy let out a little whistle at that.
"So, girlfriend, then," both she and River said at once, laughing a little with each other.
River grinned and tossed Older LJ her Vortex Manipulator. He rolled his eyes at her but started typing things in, she knew he preferred other means of time travel than the little rinky space hopper, so she always tried to use it as often as possible and force him to use it as well. Her revenge for him constantly calling her 'Riv.'
"What are you doing?" Grayle eyed him.
"Oh, you know," he shrugged, "Just texting…"
~8~
The Doctor grinned as 'yowzah' came up on the scanner, "Landing lights. We have a signal. Locking on!"
He pulled a lever as LJ cheered, eager to get back to his mummy.
~8~
"These things are all over," Grayle said, watching as Evy, Older LJ, and River stood by the Angel, eyeing it, "But people don't seem to notice. It never moves while you're looking."
"Oh, we know how they work," River muttered.
"So I understand," Grayle eyed her closely, well, her and Mr. Smith, both of whom, he'd been told by various sources, would be the best to talk to about this…the other woman, well, he didn't know who she was but she was sharp, "Harmony Brooks and Ian Smith, the detectives who investigate Angels."
"She's rather badly damaged, isn't she?" Older LJ remarked, glancing back at Grayle, crossing his arms and smirking, "What have you been up too? Getting a little too rough with her?"
"LJ!" Evy shouted, whacking him on the arm.
"Ow!" he pouted, absently rubbing his arm, "You hit me!"
"I hit your father all the time," she reminded him, "No one's safe from the smack," before adding, "Except baby you."
He rolled his eyes, "Oh gee thanks. That makes ME feel so loved right now."
She smiled, "It should. The smacking means I care."
He scoffed, "So that's why dad gets so many of them?"
"I wanted to know if it could feel pain," Grayle cut in.
"You realize it's screaming?" River leaned closer to eye the Angel, "The others can hear."
"Which explains the locks," Evy added.
Grayle just smirked and flipped off the lights for a moment, Evy quickly sonicing them back on with a glare at the man, only to see that the Angel had grabbed River's wrist.
"You're going to tell me all about these creatures," Grayle threatened, "And you're going to do it quickly," he moved to turn the lights off again, but it didn't work.
Evy smirked and wiggled her sonic, putting it in her holster, she'd isolated the power so he couldn't turn the lights off, "Predators," she stated, "Deadly. Fast. That's an Angel, and you're trying to collect one?" she shook her head, disgusted.
"I'm only human," he shrugged.
"That's exactly what they're thinking," River assured him as Older LJ moved to her side, examining the grip the Angel had on her…when the lights began to flicker, not quite going out but dimming and brightening.
"What's that?" Grayle gasped as the room started to shake, "What's happening? Is it an earthquake?" and a wheezing started, a wind blowing papers around, "What is it?"
"Idiot," Evy laughed, shaking her head fondly as she realized what was happening.
"You could burn New York!" River called out.
"What does that mean?" Grayle glared.
This time it was Older LJ who spoke, grinning darkly at the man, "It means, Grayle, wait till my father gets in..."
There was a thud from the main room where the TARDIS landed, shaking the room so badly that Grayle fell, knocking himself out as the china broke all around them.
~8~
"Come on!" Amy shouted, running for the doors.
"Just a moment," the Doctor called, taking LJ from her, "Final checks."
"Since when?" Amy scoffed.
But the Doctor just checked himself in a brass plate of the TARDIS, before reaching out to lick his thumb and wipe a smudge off LJ's cheek as the boy fussed.
Go find mummy! LJ grumbled, making his father laugh.
"Let's go then," he rushed over to Amy, the ginger rolling her eyes before rushing out, the boys behind her.
"Rory?" Amy ran up the first set of stairs she saw, looking around for her husband, "Rory? Rory!"
Mummy! LJ squealed, seeing Evy standing through the doorway.
Evy smiled as her gaze locked onto him, "Oh, there's my little boy," she reached out as the Doctor came closer, taking LJ from him.
"Oi!" Older LJ shouted behind her, dropping his American accent so as not to confuse baby-him, "I'm right here!"
She laughed, glancing over her shoulder, "You're my big boy."
Older LJ beamed at that.
"Sorry I'm late, honey," the Doctor smiled, giving her a kiss, "Traffic was hell," he pulled her to him as tightly as he could with LJ between them, hugging her, just holding her a moment, before pulling away and looking around the room, "What happened to him?" he nodded at the man on the floor.
"Shock," she shrugged, "He'll wake up eventually. And I can't really bring myself to care."
He frowned, "Why not?"
She just turned, giving him and LJ full view of River, in the grip of the Angel.
"Wiv!" LJ waved his little arms, making River smile, "Wiv! Wiv! Wiv!" he started reaching out to her so Evy walked over with him, the Doctor behind her.
"Hello LJ," River greeted, reaching out her free hand to tickle the baby's stomach.
"Oh so it's ok when HE calls you Riv," Older LJ grumbled, crossing his arms mock-playfully, "You know, I'm starting to get the distinct impression that you all love the baby more than me."
The Doctor just laughed, "Hello boyo," he greeted, pulling the older version of his son into a hug.
Older LJ laughed, hugging him back, "Hello dad."
"So where are we now, Dr. Song?" the Doctor looked at River as he pulled out of the hug, "How's prison?"
"She's a professor now," Evy cut in, they'd talked a little about it in the limo on the way over, "And apparently, she was pardoned," she smirked.
"Pardoned?" he raised an eyebrow.
River smiled, "Turns out the person I killed never existed in the first place. Apparently, there's no record of him. It's almost as if someone's gone around deleting himself from every database in the Universe."
"Took us 97 years," Evy sighed, clutching the baby closer.
She still hated thinking about that. She couldn't bear to be parted from her baby even an hour…she still had no idea how the Doctor had managed 200 years without both of them. But, if the 97 years taught her anything, it was when you really loved someone, you'd do anything to protect them.
"You said I got too big," the Doctor reminded her, it was the reason they'd erased him, and Evy, from databases all over the Universe, they didn't want anyone coming after them, they couldn't do that to LJ. Probably the only record of them that still existed was with UNIT and Torchwood given that some of their operatives had had personal experience with them, that wouldn't be easy to erase, so they'd left it alone.
"And now no one's ever heard of you," River added, "Didn't you used to be somebody?"
"Weren't you the woman who killed the Doctor?"
Older LJ laughed, "Doctor who?" he glanced at them before turning back to River, "Her grip's rather tight, isn't it?"
"At least she didn't send me back in time," River shrugged.
The Doctor moved to sonic the statue...only to see Older LJ had whipped out one of his own and flash the statue.
The older boy looked at the readings, "Nah, she's not strong enough to do that…" and then noticed the Doctor and Evy staring at him, "What…what are you staring at me like that for?"
Evy sighed and held up a hand to keep the Doctor from talking, "The only thing I need to know…is that he did NOT give you that before you were at least five years old."
Older LJ looked down at the sonic in his hand, "Would dad get smacked if he did?"
"Yes," she nodded, without hesitation, "Yes he would. He'd get a hell of a smack."
Older LJ looked at the Doctor, who was frantically shaking his head behind Evy's back, "Then no, he did not give me a sonic before I was five," Evy's eyes narrowed, "He didn't!"
She just shook her head.
"Yes well, if we could focus just a little," River cut in, "I need a hand back, so which is it going to be?" she looked at the three of them, "Are you going to break my wrist or hers?" the Doctor just gave her a frown, "Oh, no. Really? Why do you have to break mine?"
"Because Amy read it in a book," the Doctor said softly as Amy stepped into the room behind them, "And now I have no choice."
"Oh Amy," Evy looked at Amy who was very solemn.
"You see?" the Doctor looked back at her, Amy just nodding.
"What book?" River frowned.
"Your book," Evy eyed both her and Older LJ as she shifted the younger version in her arms, "You just haven't written it yet."
"So we can't read it," the Doctor sighed, pulling the book out to show them.
"I see," River nodded.
Older LJ grimaced, "I don't like that cover."
River rolled her eyes at that.
"But if River's going to write that book, she'd make it useful, yeah?" Amy asked, wanting to help.
"She definitely would," Older LJ nodded, "But I'd do a final proofread, make sure she doesn't let too much out…"
"Well that's a relief," Evy muttered as Older LJ looked at her curiously, "At least one John Smith is careful about timelines," she nudged the Doctor.
"Well I have to be don't I?" Older LJ grinned, "Especially with mini-me there," he nodded at his baby self, "What I know from him about what I do now…makes it complicated, doesn't it? Have to be even more careful than you and dad combined."
"Either way, whatever I write," River cut in, "We can't read ahead, it's too dangerous."
"I know," Amy nodded, "But there must be something we can look at."
"What," the Doctor scoffed, "A page of handy hints, previews, spoiler free?"
"Weed!" LJ shouted from Evy's arms.
Amy looked at the boy, her eyes widening, "Chapter titles!"
The Doctor looked at Evy a moment, grinning, before quickly scanning the chapter titles, 'Calling the Doctor,' 'The Roman in the Cellar,' 'Death at Winter Quay…'
"He's in the cellar!" he shouted.
"Gimme!" Amy called and Evy tossed her her sonic, the ginger rushing off with Evy and baby LJ behind her.
The Doctor moved to follow, when he caught sight of the last chapter title and froze.
'Amelia's Last Farewell.'
A/N: I hope you all liked Older LJ in this chapter :) There's MUCH more of him in the next one. I hope you also liked the little background of where Older LJ's nickname for River came from :) We'll also get River's nickname for Older LJ in the next chapter too AND! The theme songs for LJ and Older LJ :)
Next chapter...it seems Older LJ is as much a liar as his father, we learn how Older LJ gets River everywhere, and Brian gets a visitor.
And, poor LJ he'll definitely be getting the Claras confused with each other yup :)