Rory and the Doctor looked on in wonder as Amy and River talked nineteen to the dozen, it was the third day of Amy's plan to make up all her lost time with her daughter and somehow they were still talking and still finding new things to say. Rory glanced over at the Doctor and they exchanged a perplexed look before continuing to stare blankly into space .
"so when I was 19 …" Amy continued as Rory considered pulling his own arm off just for something to do and the Doctor began to wonder if there was any way he could use the sonic to make him temporarily deaf , at least until Amy had finished. Gradually however it became obvious that Amy had something else on her mind and her flood of words slowed to a trickle . Rory noticed that she kept checking her watch as she talked and as it grew closer and closer to 11 o'clock in the morning these checks became more and more frequent . "You okay Amy ?" said River noticing her mum's jittery behaviour . Amy looked confused but partially relieved , at least now she didn't have to interrupt the conversation, River had done it for her. "I , erm , I need to go" "where ?" said Rory suddenly interested in the conversation , Amy's pale cheeks looked flushed with success but was a little shy as she said "I have a meeting, I emailed the story to a publisher a few days ago . They want to see me at one today"
Rory smiled and shook his head in disbelief , all Amy's tales that she had told River may not have been new to him but they had at least made Rory reminisce about his past , or more specifically about Amy's part in his past how could he , an unpopular boy who once pretended to be in a band just to impress people ever have ended up with her ? Amy pond , the amazing, beautiful , impossible girl of his dreams . But he didn't share these thoughts , he merely walked wordlessly over to her and hugged her before asking "so can I give you a lift to your , er , meeting ?" "thanks," she said quietly as she smiled up at Rory and then kissed him softly on the lips before she headed upstairs to get changed and Rory made his way to the conservatory to look over the map and work out how to get to the publisher's offices.
River looked around at the Doctor with a smile on her face but soon her face fell as she saw that, like Amy, he had somewhere to be too. "What ?" he said as he noticed they way she looked at him . " Fine !" she sighed rolling her eyes "where next ?" The Doctor smiled , of course if anyone knew what he was thinking it was River . They quickly packed up their belongings but River was silent as they did this, all she could think about was how the hell she was going to tell Amy that she was leaving again.
Soon River heard the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs and with a glance over at the Doctor who sat with their suitcases at his feet she turned towards the doorway where Amy was stood . Amy was wearing a smart black suit and high heels , her hair was lightly curled, her hazel eyes were framed with thick sweeping lines of eyeliner and her lips were coated with pale peach lipstick . She looked every bit the professional but to her daughter she looked intimidating and River became ever less sure as to how she could ever tell her she was going away again . Amy didn't need telling though , even with her mind on the meeting she was about to face her quick mind added together the clues that surrounded her , the suitcases on the floor , the nervous look on the Doctor's face ,the way River chewed her lip . Amy looked from River to the Doctor to the suitcases at his feet. Her eyes closed and tears seeped form under her eyelids , perfect make-up began to run down her face as she sat gingerly on the arm of the sofa "I know ..." she sighed cutting across River who was just opening her mouth to speak and explain . "you can go,"... ("Again" she added under her breath). "how could I stop you going ?" River ran to her mother and threw her arms round her neck "Thank you mother" river sobbed into Amy's shoulder.
Their goodbyes were easier than last time , and though letting River go was never ok , at least now River knew what Amy felt she should know , about her parents , her family, about her.
