He reached the end of the row houses with ease. His ancient eyes scanned the street behind him, all the way back down to the bottom to where his faithful Time Machine stood. Turning back away from the desolate buildings the Doctor found himself facing a less than impressive park area. The street ran straight into grassy back fields. Rusty climbing frames, wooden seated swings. He sighed in despair, what a depressing place to be drawn to. It was then he caught a glimpse of the first sign of life since his arrival. What appeared to be a group of children gathered under a large wooden climbing area. The Doctor squinted, taking slow and careful steps towards them.
He was able to get quite close without being noticed. Close enough to be able to hear their conversation.
"Why do you play with that? It's stupid"
"Yeh why don't you get a real toy?"
"What's the matter? Can't your mum buy you a real toy?"
The Doctor frowned, not liking a word of what he was hearing. He stepped firmly into view.
"Hey" he grumbled, "What's all this then?"
In a wild panic the group scattered. The Doctor's head spun this way and that watching the children dispersing and fleeing the scene. How terribly cruel children could be, and yet, he couldn't bare to see them cry.
Small sobs caught his attention. He took hold of the wooden frame as he crouched down to look inside the small hidey hole, "Hello," he said quietly spying the small figure huddled in the shadows, "What's your name then?" The figure turned away from him, "I hope those weren't your friends, not very nice are they?" he continued settling himself down on the grass just inside the small hidey hole.
"Ri... Riv... River," the voice sobbed.
The Doctor froze suddenly, "River?" he spluttered.
A small blonde curly haired head bobbed out of the shadows, "What's wrong with my name?" she asked.
The Doctor stared in amazement at her, the youngest he'd ever seen her. River Song. His River. If only she knew how brilliant she'd turn out to be.
"It's a brilliant name," he smiled, "Tell me River... What are you doing out here?"
"I was..." her voice trailed away, "... Nothing"
"Come on... You can tell me," he smiled.
"Digging," she murmured.
"Digging?"
"With this..." she brought out what appeared to be a very rusty broken handheld shovel.
The Doctor smiled warmly, same old River.
"Ah. Yes. Digging... So you... must want to be an archaeologist when you grow up," he beamed taking the small object from her, "But you're going to need a better shovel than this" He glanced down at her knowingly before casually throwing it over his shoulder. He rose a stern finger to put a stop to the hurt expression she produced as he delved into his pocket and rummaged around slightly, "How old are you River?" he asked thoughtfully as he continued to search his pocket.
"Nine and a half"
"Wow nine... and a half... well then you should definitely have one of these by now" He continued to tug and pull the overly large object from his jacket pocket. From what the curious little girl could see it was a highly polished wooden box, "Ah ha," he beamed as it came free.
"How did that fit in there?" she asked huddling up to him staring with interest at the box.
"It's bigger on the inside," he smiled knowingly, "Now; let's have a look in here shall we?" Lifting the lid slowly he watched her excited expression.
"Oh Mister..."
"Doctor... The Doctor... call me the Doctor"
"It's beautiful!"
Her eyes shone down on the array of brushes and small digging implements. The Doctor chuckled, taking a moment to look out to the deserted area.
Something wasn't right.
He felt a soft tapping on his arm.
"Are you married?" she asked. The Doctor stared at her for a moment.
"... Yes" he said finally.
"Is she pretty?"
He frowned at her slightly, before complying.
"Yes... She's beautiful"
"What's her name?"
"Where are your parents River?" he asked rapidly changing the subject.
"At work..."
"And where's everyone else? The people who live in this street, where are they?"
As she looked at him the Doctor could sense the fear in her eyes.
"Okay... So it's everywhere..." he whispered turning to look back out of the small hidey hole.
"How do you know...?"
"Nothing scares River Song... So it has to be everywhere... Come along Song" He scrambled to his feet before offering his hand to the little girl. At this moment in time he was sure his life could get no stranger. He looked down in amusement at her blonde curly hair and the eyes that twinkled in exactly the same manner as the River he knew. He shook his head with a smile, leading her back towards the deserted street.
He felt her grip tighten as they neared the end of the road.
"You know what I think?" the Doctor said calmly looking up at the second floor windows. River shook her head in reply, half hiding behind him; her archaeology kit tucked tightly under her arm, "I think... you must have really scary neighbours"