The Doctor had divided his team into three groups; Amy and Rory, River and Evie, Canton and himself. Each group had been given their instructions and the plan had been gone over and over until the Time Lord was happy that they all knew what they were doing and what needed to happen.

Hugging the Ponds, he dropped them off in a small town in the American State of Arizona called Rock Point. They were charged with trying to find out anything they could about the creatures in the desert. Although nervous, the young couple were eager to get involved in the Time Lord's plan. As Amy said goodbye to Evie, she had a determined glint in her eye and the younger girl guessed that she was desperate to prove she was just as tough and capable as either of the other women. Evie was amused and just wished that Amy knew what she did.

Then the Doctor dropped River and Evie in New York. He wanted them to follow the same instructions as the Ponds, but in the city environment instead so that they could compare any findings. Evie was convinced that Amy and Rory would encounter more of the creatures; after all surely a load of strange, giant… things… running around in the city would attract attention? Then Evie had remembered the time she'd spent with Captain Jack Harkness at Torchwood in Cardiff. The population had known nothing about the Weevils that roamed the sewers and yet they were hardly inconspicuous when they ventured to the surface.

Thinking about Jack made her feel incredibly homesick. She'd spent a lot of time with him when she was growing up but, since the collapse of the Cardiff Torchwood a while ago, he'd seemingly vanished. Her mother had once told her that Jack would turn out to be one of the most important people in her life, but at the time the girl had dismissed it; rolling her eyes and returning her attention to helping Gwen Cooper catalogue artefacts. Now, Evie wondered what her mother had meant. Could there possibly be… have been… something between her mother and Jack? The girl doubted it but then, with River, you could never be sure.

Noticing Evie daydreaming, the Doctor decided to give them both a strict lecture about making sure they stayed focused and didn't get distracted by anything shiny or exciting – something that he himself was more likely to be guilty of – he waved goodbye and he, Canton and the TARDIS vanished. The two women glanced around to see where they were. The Doctor appeared to have dropped them off in an area that was mainly made up of shops. River beamed.

"Right…" River said, turning to her daughter. "We're here a while, yes?"

"Yes?" Evie agreed, slightly bemused.

"So we need to get ourselves settled. And," She said smiling and wrapping an arm around Evie's shoulders, "that means shopping!"

The young woman laughed, wrapping her arm around her mother's waist and allowed herself to be pulled along the street. They went into the first shop they saw. River was adamant that to be able to carry out the task effectively they needed to blend in to the background of New York Society. Evie wasn't quite so convinced, especially as it involved her mother forcing her into various dresses and high-heeled shoes.

"See…" River said, putting her hands on Evie's hips and smiling at her in the mirror. "You look gorgeous!"

Pulling a face that clearly said she disagreed, the young woman looked at her reflection. River had forced her into a hot pink and orange floral mini-dress with long, flared sleeves. In fact the sleeves were longer than the dress. She had matched it with knee-length, white PVC high heeled boots and big, white hooped earrings.

"I look like I'm wearing a curtain." She replied, raising an eyebrow. "And I clash."

"That's 60's fashion, sweetie."

"What are you getting?"

River stepped from behind her daughter and waved her hands dramatically, revealing her own outfit. "Ta DA!"

She was wearing a long sleeved dress with a white bodice and a hot pink skirt with a black and white floral print. On her feet were hot pink high heels that made Evie's eyes water just looking at the height of them. And, as much as she hated to say it, her mother could easily have passed as her sister.

"Wow!" She breathed, turning to look at her properly. River laughed, realising how much her daughter hated admiring her at the moment. "That suits you."

"Thank you, darling. Now… get changed into… she screwed up her face, looking at the clothes strewn around the changing room. "Those."

"Oh… I'm going to look like a cheerleader!" Evie complained eyeing the hot pink, flared mini-skirt and the paler, sleeveless striped top that went with it. "Why is EVERYTHING pink?"

"Because you're a pretty, girly, perky teenager!" River teased in a falsely bright voice handing her the outfit along with a matching jacket and closed-toe heeled shoes.

"I'm not a teenager." Evie snapped, grabbing them off her and unzipping the boots that she was still wearing.

Her mother sighed. "I know, but I don't look old enough to have a twenty-year-old daughter so, for the purposes of blending in, you are sixteen and I was VERY young when I had you." Evie looked scandalised at the age that her mother had slapped on her and showed her annoyance by throwing the boot she had just prised off across the changing room. "Stop it, baby! Right, when you're changed, gather up everything else and we'll go and pay."

"What with?"

"The Doctor's private stack of cash, obviously." River said, waving her purse at Evie and laughing. The curtain barely moved as the woman slipped next door to her own changing room, leaving the young woman to sulkily do as she was told.

x-x

"Thank you, Mrs Van Song." The dazed looking bell boy said, taking the twenty dollar bill and carrying the last of their shopping bags into the fancy suite River had persuaded him was theirs. He had the faint smudge of a lipstick mark on his mouth. "Good evening, Miss Van Song."

As soon as the door was closed both women squealed loudly. Evie kicked off her high heels and ran through the rooms while River made straight for the bar. The girl threw open the door to one of the bedrooms that led off the living space and screamed before running to the next door, opening it to reveal an ornate bathroom. The third door she opened revealed an identical bedroom to the first.

"Mum!" She screamed. "This is amazing!"

"Isn't it just?" River asked, beaming and taking a large gulp from the over-sized glass of gin and tonic in her hand.

"How can we afford this?"

"As I told you, sweetie, the Doctor has a secret stash of money! He wouldn't ever tell you about it, but it's there."

Evie grinned and shook her head. "I can't believe it."

"Well don't get too used to it, kid. We've got things to do; important things." Her mother said seriously. She put down the glass and walked across the room to the large window. It was beginning to get dark and one or two raindrops were forming streams down the glass. As she stood looking out at the view, more and more raindrops joined them.

"Why Van Song?" Evie asked at last, much more calmly than she'd been moments before.

"Hmm? Oh… everyone who's anyone from an old family around here has a 'Van' in their name. Lots of rich Dutch people in the past; I read it in a book. My husband was from a very old and distinguished New York family, before he died and left me a fortune, I'll have you know." River said, smirking. "It'll help us get in with the important people around here. Right then, we've got work to do."

"Already? We've literally only just got here." Evie was disappointed that she didn't get to enjoy the lavish lifestyle that had been opened up to her for even one night before they got down to following the Doctor's instructions. "And are you sure? Van Song sounds kinda stupid."

"Go and get changed, honey."

Sighing, the girl headed to where the bell boy had left the shopping bags and picked up the ones containing her things. Then she carried them to the second bedroom and closed the door. River waited, watching the door with her head on one side and smile on her face. After a moment or two, the door opened again and Evie sheepishly poked her head around the frame.

"What do I need to change into?"

She'd been waiting for that question and River laughed, making Evie clench her jaw in annoyance. She hated people getting the better of her. "We're going to a dinner party and we're going to do a bit of schmoozing."

"So? That doesn't really answer my question. What do I need to wear?" She repeated.

With a loud, sharp exhalation of breath, River pushed past her into the bedroom and started rooting through the shopping bags on the bed. She muttered under her breath, unpacking them and hurriedly smoothing out creases before hanging the clothes away in the wardrobe. Shrugging, Evie lay on the huge double bed watching her. River hadn't changed at all; if it had been the older version here, she would almost definitely be doing exactly the same thing.

Finally River selected a pink satin skirt with a dropped waist and 3 pink ruffles and the matching top, which was lime green and sleeveless. Together, her mother assured her, it would look like Evie was wearing a dress.

"Oh, goody!" She exclaimed sarcastically.

River glared. "And… ah! Here's the coat and shoes that go with it." She held up a sheer pink coat, with a satin collar and cuffs, and a pair of high, glittery pink sandals.

Evie felt as though she was about to be sick. "You are kidding me?"

"No. Put them on." River stalked out of the bedroom, closing the door firmly. Frustrated, her daughter launched one of the shoes at it, feeling satisfied as she heard a loud crack. Until her mother's voice came floating through to her. "You break it, you pay for it."

OK… so this part had a LOT of descriptions of clothes in it. It won't happen again. I promise. I just wanted to make you understand the HORROR of Evie's situation. Imagine all those dresses. So much pink!

Actually, although I am probably one of the least girly girls on the planet, I do quite like 60's fashion… strange, I know.

So, anyway back to the point, the next part will have far less, if any, mention of clothes. :)

Also, I'm not gonna be able to update again until at least Friday, 'cos I'm going to stay at my friend's til then... unless I have time to update in the morning before I leave!