Recently I realized that it's been a while since I've written a pretty angsty chapter. Just a heads-up. Thanks as always to everyone who's reviewed/favorited/followed!

Disclaimer: Show isn't mine, songs aren't mine.

Song: Make You Feel My Love (Bob Dylan) Suggested by: buggirl76

The Doctor trudged through the dense forest as rain continued to pour down in icy drops. Night had fallen long ago, and the lack of sunlight only worsened the cold bite of the rain. The TARDIS was long gone by this point, at least a mile behind him, yet he kept pushing forward. He had to find her.

As he made his way slowly through the trees, eyes peeled, he couldn't help but let his mind wander back to why he was there in the first place. It was a stupid argument, something about a mission that he considered to be too dangerous to risk her involvement. He should've know that that never worked. After all, there was nothing too dangerous for River Song. But he'd let his emotions get the best of him, and she'd gotten angry. That's when everything fell apart. What happened next was more or less a blur. He remembered that there was a lot of yelling; then he had yelled one last remark, and she was silent. Now all he could see was the look of absolute brokenness on her face, the hurt that filled her eyes, as she pulled the lever to land wherever they were and ran outside before he could stop to think about what had just happened.

For a minute or two he had just stood there in a daze. But soon he came to his senses, and then all he could think about was finding her. He didn't care how long it took or how hard it was; he would find her, and he would apologize for everything. The worst part of all of this was that he'd hurt her so deeply, and yet, he couldn't even remember what he had said. All he knew was that it had been a low blow. He never wanted to hurt her.

All of a sudden, a faint noise made him stop in his tracks. From somewhere far in front of him, he could hear footsteps squishing over the floor of wet leaves. "River!" he yelled, hoping to draw her attention. The footsteps stopped. However, after a moment of silence, they suddenly became short, quick steps. She was running.

"River!" the Doctor called again, desperation and sadness tinging his voice. Now, he found himself running after her. He knew she was faster and stronger than he was, but he'd had a lot of experience with running. That had to count for something. Every so often, he would come to a short stop in order to gauge how far away she was. Surprisingly, he seemed to be gaining. However, River must have realized that too, as the footsteps suddenly stopped.

The Doctor ran to the point where the steps seemed to have ended. But there was nothing. He had expected to see her shadowy form standing in the underbrush, but she wasn't there. The only sounds were the persistent rain and his own jagged breaths.

He turned in circles, hoping to see her somewhere, but again there was nothing. But he couldn't give up. He started searching the surrounding area, looking for any sign that might point him to where she was hidden. Then, just as he was about to search farther into the jungle, he heard a slight crinkle of leaves. It was a very subtle yet unmistakable sound that told him she was here. He turned in the direction of the sound and saw a fairly large tree. At its base sat the huddled form of River Song.

"River," the Doctor sighed, half with relief and half with the guilt of knowing that he had done this to her.

Her breaths came in short pants. "Go… away…."

Instead, he kneeled down on the wet ground next to her. "River, I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I didn't mean it, I promise."

Until this point, River had kept her eyes firmly trained on the ground. Now, however, she looked directly at him. Her face was a mixture of pain and confusion. "Didn't mean it?" she nearly whispered. "Do you even remember what you said?"

The Doctor looked away, ashamed. "No," he mumbled in embarrassment.

"You said that you'd rather watch me forget who you are than see me die."

He was taken aback. He vaguely remembered saying something along these lines, but he hadn't realized the connotations until she said them herself. "River… I promise, I didn't mean-"

"I know you didn't," she cut in. "But don't you realize that you were describing my entire life?" The Doctor didn't answer, so she continued. "The first time I met you, you knew all about who I was and what our future held. Every time we meet, you know me less and less. I keep meeting younger versions of you, and it kills me. I know that eventually there will come a day when you'll have no idea who I am, and I don't know what I'll do then. Do you even know how terrifying that notion is?"

The Doctor understood now. River had spent so long avoiding these facts, and he had flaunted them in an argument as though they were nothing. He didn't blame her for running. Now he cupped one hand to her cheek and gently tilted her head so that she was looking into his eyes. "River, I am so sorry. I'm sorry for saying that, and I'm sorry you have to live like this. It isn't fair to you. The last thing I would ever want to do is hurt you. I love you—I will always love you—and I need you to know that. Please."

She thought about this for a moment before saying, "Don't be sorry that I live like this. I'm not. I never have been. Sure, it's hard, but it would be worth it to spend even one minute with you, my love."

The Doctor placed a gentle kiss on her lips. The fight was over. When he noticed that River was shivering from the chill of the wind and rain, he pulled her into his arms, holding her to him as the night drew on and on. There was no use walking back now. It would be nearly impossible to find the TARDIS in these conditions, so they stayed where they were until morning. At some point, River fell asleep, but the Doctor remained conscious, all the while gazing down at her in complete and utter admiration.

Reviews and song suggestions are always welcome!