On the screen, in black and white once more, the Doctor, a short man, with a mop of (mostly) dark hair stood solemnly at his TARDIS console, alone.

"Goodbye Jamie." He sighed sadly. "Poor poor Jamie." He watched as the Time Rotor fired in to life, the TARDIS ready to take him to whichever destination the Time Lords had decided for him. He'd lost track of how long he had lived like this now, performing whichever errands were demanded of him. There were many times he'd regretted trying to fight the forced regeneration that the Time Lords had sentenced him to, even though it meant spending more time with Zoe and Jamie.

Over time, however, the Time Lords came back to take away certain privileges they had allowed him, first forcing Zoe back to her rightful place in time, and now Jamie. He'd known it was coming; the Time Lords had made it clear from the start who was under control. It had started with the simple act of forcibly increasing the physical age of his body, the aching in his muscles and greying of his hair serving as a reminder of the power they held over him. It had been arrogant, the Doctor knew, to assume the Time Lords would allow his stay of execution to go on indefinitely, but he'd put it out of his mind, making the most of what he had.

However, as he watched the screen, seeing Jamie, memories removed, running across the highlands back in to battle, he couldn't help but feel it was all over. The Doctor knew what his fate would soon be, once the Time Lords had decided he had outlived his usefullness. He had felt his body close to regenerating just after the trial, before the CIA stepped in, offering him the chance to work for them; albeit temporarily. It had been a gamble giving them an ultimatum, considering the position the Doctor was in, but it was worth a try. Therefore he was rather suprised when they agreed to return both Jamie and Zoe to him so soon after returning them to their own timelines. Now that they had been taken away, the Doctor only had one thing, other than his freedom, left to lose.

It wasn't the change of face that scared him though, it was the permanent exile on Earth that he was dreading. It was true that the planet had found its way in to his affections, but he didn't want to live there. He didn't want to live anywhere. He just wanted to travel, to wander with no rules but his own.

The Doctor slammed his fist angrily on to the console, shattering various buttons, prompting the TARDIS to jolt violently. That was it. The thought hadn't occurred to him before, but now it seemed to be the only option, the only way out. The Doctor swung round angrily, hitting the Time Rotor, almost knocking the column from the console.
"You can't control me if there's nothing to control." He shouted, the words echoing around the TARDIS as he pulled at controls like a child throwing a tantrum, ripping levers from their housing and throwing them to the floor. The cloister bell rung in response, as if crying out in pain. "I'm sorry." The Doctor raged, "But this is the only way."

"Ooh, angry." The Doctor span round at the sound of the unfamiliar voice.

XXXX

"That didn't happen!" The Doctor exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at River. "What are you doing back then?"
"I told you," River shrugged, "memory vapour. Couldn't have you remembering me, could I?"
"But in the library, you said."
"Ssh!" River interrupted. "The spoiler thing works both ways you know."
"But I thought, you said it was the youngest you'd seen me."
"Rule one." Amy added, with a smile, seeing the Doctor get a taste of his own medicine.
"Doesn't just apply to you, you know sweetie." River smirked, turning back to the screen. "And you know," she said with a sly smile, "I'll probably just say that now because you told me I will. Doesn't mean it's true."

XXXX

The Doctor span round as he heard the female voice behind him. Standing in his TARDIS was a woman, with curled hair, wearing a tight fitting white jacket, with matching trousers. A gun sat at her waist.
"Who are you?" The Doctor demanded. "They sent you, didn't they?"
"Don't be silly dear." The woman dismissed him. "You know no one sends me anywhere." She paused. "Well, almost no one."
"Don't you 'dear' me young lady." The Doctor snapped. "You can't fool me you know. I should have guessed the Time Lords would be monitoring the TARDIS."
"Oh, I'm certainly not one of them." The woman replied calmly. "But you're right, I knew what you were doing to the TARDIS." She walked to the console, stroking it gently. "What's the mean old Doctor done to you?"
"Then who are you?" He roared again. "And how do you know who I am?"
"River Song." She extended a hand, which he scoffed at. "And as for how I know you, well, spoilers."
"And what's that supposed to mean?"
"You'll find out sweetie." She smiled teasingly.
"Doctor, please." He tuned away from her. "Not dear, not sweetie, just the Doctor."
"Very well, Doctor." She mocked. "So just what are you doing to the poor thing?"
"Not that it's any of your business, Ms. Song ."
"Professor." She corrected him, with a smirk. "But again, spoilers."
"Professor Song." He continued. "But this is my only escape from the Time Lords."
"Escape?"
"From my punishment." He looked sheepishly to the floor. "They were going to change me, you see. Change this face." He pointed to himself. "Although you may find that a bit hard to understand."
"Easier than you might think."
The Doctor gave her a puzzled look.
"Let me guess?" He pondered, "As you say 'spoilers'?"
"You're catching on Doctor. Quicker than other people I know." She looked sadly over the half wrecked TARDIS console.
"They'll still find you, you know." She said kindly. "No matter how far you run. They have to. I'm the proof of that."
"Part of my future then, I suppose?"
"You could say that. Probably why the TARDIS called out to me. Even now, she knows who I am."
"Well, isn't she the privileged one." The Doctor grumped, fiddling with a broken lever. "Now, if you don't mind, lesson learnt. I'll put her all back together and be on my way. Nice of you to drop by."
"Oh I don't think so." River raised her eyebrows at him. "I know you better than that, especially this you."
"I don't know what you mean." The Doctor looked away innocently.
"Making out your just this harmless little man." She looked him up and down. "But you're so much more than that, always at least seven steps ahead, seeing everything, picking out everything no one else sees."
The Doctor straightened his jacket proudly.
"Well my dear," he smiled "it does seem that you know me quite well indeed."

XXXX

"That's you!" Amy exclaimed suddenly.
"You only just got that?" The Doctor scolded.
"No!" Amy objected. "I mean that's you. That uncomfortable smugness, adjusting the jacket. The bow tie!"
"Well," the Doctor blushed slightly. "I suppose we're a bit alike."
"Both stubborn too." River added quietly.

XXXX

"I'm not going back though." The Doctor's tone changed suddenly. "I won't submit to their will. I ran away once, I can do so again."
"You could." River shrugged. "If that's what you want to do. If that's your choice. Everyone else will just have to live with the consequences." She held her wrist up, ready to activate her Vortex Manipulator.
"Stop!" The Doctor shouted. "What do you mean?"
"They might be an insufferable lot, your people, but they normally have their reasons." She explained. "Do you not think they have their reasons for sending you to Earth during a particular time period?"
"Just to make me suffer, I'd imagine." He huffed. "To teach me a lesson. If I go back to them now, it will make no difference in the long run."
"Don't say that." River snapped, finding it hard to control herself. "If you don't go back, none of my time with you happens. And I'm not letting you re-write that. Not one line."
"Well then, Professor Song," The Doctor said smugly, feeling back in control. "Convince me."
"Okay." River said bluntly, typing at her Manipulator and grabbing the Doctor's arm. "If we jump out of time right now, you never go back to the Time Lords, and never get exiled on Earth. Let's see what happens, shall we?"
"You can't do that!" The Doctor shouted, flustered. "You can't!"
"Too late." River smiled, as she tapped a final tutor on the wrist mounted device.

XXXX

"Really, River?" The Doctor rolled his eyes. "It's a wonderful life? Really?"
"You can talk." Rory jumped to his daughters defence. "Remember your Christmas Carol stunt?"
"But that worked." The Doctor sulked. "This," he jabbed a finger at the screen "is ridiculous."
"Well, Rivers plan worked too." Amy shrugged. "It must have, or we wouldn't be here."
"Ssh, Mother." River said softly.
"I know, I know." Amy relented. "Spoilers."

XXXX

"What is this place?" The Doctor was stunned by the street they had materialised in. Buildings stood derelict, windows and doors removed, metal poles lined the streets, stripped of their plastic signs. He looked to River, who checked her Vortex Manipulator.
"Earth." She confirmed. "Indeterminate time period."
"They've redecorated." The Doctor said disapprovingly. "I don't like it."
"I don't think they had much choice." River continued. "Look around, Doctor, no plastic."
"So there isn't." He shrugged. "Strange. They always had such a soft spot for it."
"Until it turned on them."
"The plastic? Don't be so ridiculous." The Time Lord huffed as he took another look around the street. It was deserted, void of any sign of life.
"You've not met the Nestene Consciousness yet, have you?" She questioned.
"Never heard of them."
"It'll be all too familiar one day." River replied solemnly. "We've arrived shortly after their first invasion, just after your exile would have started."
"Not 'my' exile, Professor Song." The Doctor barked. "That new me, whoever he may be."
"Semantics dear." She said, ignoring the scathing look he gave her. "Anyway," River continued, "without you here to stop them, the only option UNIT had was to destroy all of the plastic in the country. The plastic purges." She checked back on the Manipulator. "The invasion was foiled, eventually, but with no plastic, and everyone too afraid to create any more, the economy started to collapse."
"And," the Doctor glared at her "just how do you know all this? If we're in some kind of alternate timeline?"
"This device." She answered. "It can look up the history of any timeline it lands in."
"Something doesn't feel quite right." The Doctor mused. "I can't imagine the web of time would cope too well with this kind of irresponsible hopping around?"
"You're right." River smiled cheekily. "I'm breaking all the rules, the Time Lords', yours, my own. But you know me."
"Oh, do I?"
"Of course, Doctor. And I'm a bad girl."
"It strikes me that if that were true, I wouldn't be too fond of you."
"Oh," she teased. "You will be."

The Doctor looked away sheepishly, avoiding her gaze.

"You don't change too much, do you." She mocked. "So very coy."
"Hmph." He grunted, shifting his weigh uncomfortably.
"Anyway, whilst we're here, why don't we look up an old friend?"

XXXX

The Brigadier sat in the same spot in the same cell that he had sat in for the last few months, although he was now losing track of exactly how long that was. All he knew was that it wasn't long enough for his senses to become used to the stench around him. He knew all too well that their own prisoners were not always kept in the best of conditions, but this underground facility was something completely different. Alistair wasn't sure what was smelling worst now though, his cell or the uniform they had left in him since his capture. It appeared that his captors weren't particularly fussed by personal hygiene. Although, he thought to himself, he isn't imagine lizard creatures had much need for it.

He was about to start his daily ritual of working on his escape plan, one that had never quite come to fruition, when his attention was drawn away by a crackle of energy from the other side of the bars. Moments later, two figures appeared before his eyes.

"Doctor!" The Brigadier gasped, his voice not used to trying to shout.
"Brigadier?" The Doctor exclaimed, shocked to see the man at all, let alone in this state. "What's happened to you?"
"You never came, did you Doctor?" The soldier accused. "We waited as long as we could you know."
River remained silent, letting the Doctor explain on his own.
"Ah, yes, the Nestene and the plastic." He looked around uncomfortably. "Well, there's a very good reason for that."
"Oh we dealt with that the only way we could. We could have recovered."
"Then what are you doing here? Who's holding you here?"
"The Silurians of course." The Brigadier snapped. "Blighters captured me when I came down here to wipe them out."
"Silurians?" The Doctor looked to River for an explanation.
"Prehistoric race of lizard creatures." She reeled off, as if fed up with having to explain everything. "Migrated beneath the Earth when they mistook the moon for an incoming meteor. Then they came back, after their planet."
"And let me guess, I should have been here to stop them? To smooth things out?"
"You're catching on." She grinned. "Although it might not look like it, you and Alistair here were supposed to stop all of these things together. You and UNIT, one big family." She turned to the Brigadier. "Very nice to meet you, by the way." She ignored his rock hard stare. "I've heard so much about you."
"And from who?" He demanded. "Security breach, is it?"
"Not really. I just have the privilege of some advanced information." She turned to the Doctor. "From a close friend of yours." She looked to them both, unable to hide her sadness. Both men gave her a blank stare in return, but she ignored it. She'd become used to having to lie to the Doctor and her parents, but this was the one time she didn't have to. She knew that as soon as she took this Doctor back to where she found him the timelines wold re-establish themselves, and the memory vapour would take care of the Time Lords memory. It was liberating, being able to be honest, but River knew she couldn't get used to it. "You meant an awful lot to him, you know."
"Oh really." The Brigadier dismissed her. "Well, as nice as this is, Ms, Doctor, could you please kindly get me out of here? I may have been locked in here for far too long, but I can still put up quite a fight."
"I'm afraid we can't do that." River said apologetically. "Although I'm usually all up for breaking out of prisons and uniforms, that's not why we're here. Besides, it's probably safer for you in here." She was reading from the Manipulator. "There's an angry alien race out there after revenge after your government lured them here and then destroyed their ship."
The Doctor tutted loudly, rolling his eyes.
"No wonder you needed my help. Can't leave you alone for a decade, can I?"
"So is that why you're here Doctor?" The Brigadier shouted. "To gloat at the mess we've made? To tell me how much better you could have done?" He lowered his voice, but the resentment was still there. "I meant it when I said we waited for you, you know. We all waited for you to appear, just like with the Cybermen. But you didn't. We had to make do. And now you dare criticise us for doing all we could?." He paused. "At least we did something."
"The Doctor looked to the ground, ashamed.
"I'm sorry Alistair." He shook his head. "As the young lady says, we can't get you out of here. Well," he thought about it, "we could, but that wouldn't make a difference, not in the long run."
"Then just what are you here for?"
"I just needed to show him something." River said, clasping the Doctor's arm. "And I think he's seen enough."
"I'm sorry, Alistair." The Doctor apologised again. "But I will see you soon. In the past. Your past. My future. It's complicated."
"That's the Doctor I know." The Brigadier replied, turning away. "I can't pretend to understand, but I trust you." He continued as the Doctor turned away. "But know this, if I don't see you again, I'll never forgive you."

Saying no more, the Doctor and River vanished as quickly as they had appeared.

XXXX

"Well played, Professor." The Doctor said reluctantly, as he pushed some buttons back on to the console. "Though I can't say I approve."
"I never thought you would." River corrected herself. "Well, I knew you wouldn't. But that's never stopped me before."
"I must say, my dear, I find you most fascinating."
"You always did." She winked. "Always will."
"But," he continued "I also find you incredibly infuriating."
"Again, as always." She handed him a broken lever from the floor. "I think we're almost done here."
"Indeed." He agreed. "Ready to take her back home, to face the music." He looked to the console, noticing his recorder laying on the console. "Speaking of which."
"No." River interrupted him, putting her hand firmly on the instrument. "I've already had the other little you 'entertain' me with his spoons, I'm not sure I could cope with a recorder recital too. I have to see my version of you and keep a straight face, you know."
"What's he like?" The Doctor inquired. "The version of me that you seem to think belongs to you? Is he like me? Ooh does he have a hat?"
"Sometimes." River reminisced. "But not if I have anything to say about it."
"Oh good." He ignored her comment. "I do like a good hat."
"Yes." She pondered, looking to the bow tie at his neck. "You do seem to share the same fashion sense."
"Of course, you do know that the reason for that may be because you've just told me?" He scolded. "You could be changing my future, you know."
"Oh Doctor." River said with a smile, reaching in to her jacket pocket. "You don't spend as much time with you as I have without learning something about causality. Now, i must be on my way."
"Yes, of course." The Doctor said with a sad smile. "And I'll be on my way. To face the consequences." He tapped at the console. "Goodbye, Professor Song. And thank you. I'll remember what you've done for me."
"I'm afraid you won't." River replied regretfully, approaching him quickly, and waving a small bottle underneath his nose. Almost instantly the Doctor stumbled backwards, River catching his weight and lowering him gently to the floor.

She looked to the console, checking that the course was set. She hadn't been through all of that for nothing. When he came around, she was hoping his mind would fill the gaps that the vapour left, telling him that he made the decision on his own.

"Goodbye Doctor." She whispered, inputting a course in to her Vortex Manipulator. Before dematerialising, she looked up to the rotor and gave a wave and a smile. "Oh, and hello Mother, Father." She paused, her grin widening. "And hello, sweetie."

XXXX

"You knew!" Rory said quietly, as the monochrome image of his waving daughter vanished from the screen. "You knew you were going to show us that?"
"Of course." She gestured to her own clothes, the same white outfit that she'd been wearing on the screen. "I've just been there, after all."
"I'll never get used to that." Amy shook her head. "Bouncing all over the place."
"Do you know how dangerous that was?" The Doctor said softly, firmly but kindly. "How wrong that could have gone?"
"Of course I do." River shrugged. "But I had to do it."
"I'd have gone back to them eventually, you know."
"No you wouldn't, sweetie." River replied kindly. "Because it was one of those very rare times that you'd truly given up." She looked around her at the silent TARDIS. "Just like now. Sometimes you need reminding of how brilliant you are." She paused. "Sometimes. Most of the time it's infuriating."

The Doctor pulled her in for a hug, whispering in to her ear.
"Thank you."
"Anytime."
"And you're right."
"Oh I know." She laughed, "But what about?"
"I am brilliant." He whispered. "And so are you."

Amy and Rory's faces lit up as the Doctor and River's embrace ended. They saw the look spread across his face. Although he'd been trying his best to smile before, there had been an absence of something, his usual spark. The look they had seen so often when he'd thought of something, when all thoughts of losing were eradicated by hope.

"You've got a plan, haven't you?" Amy beamed, holding Rory tightly. "There's something we can do?"
"There's always something we can do." The Doctor span on the spot, turning to River and grabbing the wrist her Manipulator was strapped to. "And now I've got everything I need."