Ch 44

The next day, River went straight to the Doctor's office. The door was open, but no one was inside. "Professor Disco?" River called, stepping into the office. There was no response, the office empty. She frowned, deciding to wait for him.

As she waited, she went to investigate the books on the shelves. She didn't take any down, just read the titles. There were books of all kinds one could imagine: books that looked impossibly old, books that looked like a bunch of drawing pretending to be books, and spots on the shelf where books should have been bits weren't. River frowned at the missing holes, the sight only deepening her feeling that the Doctor was hiding something.

It was a while before the man came back to his office. A girl was with him, the chip server in the canteen, and they sounded like they were talking about schedules.

River cleared her throat to make them aware of her presence. The Doctor looked up, "Oh. Professor Song," he said, the girl with him giving a wave.

River gave her a half-hearted smile, "Can I talk to you about something in private? Or should I come back later?"

"Now is fine, we were just finishing up." He turned to the girl. "I'll see you at 6 pm every weekday. I don't care who's dying, never, ever be late. I'm very particular about time."

The chip server nodded, looking a bit stunned. She turned to leave, then paused, "Oh, em... people just call you the Doctor. What do I call you?"

"The Doctor." He replied like it was obvious.

"But that's not a name. Doctor What?"

He glared for a moment like she'd just said something offensive, "If you like. I'll see you later."

She nodded once more, quickly running out of the room with a big grin.

He turned his attention back to River. "So, is breaking and entering your new hobby?"

She shrugged, "It's one of my many talents. I have it listed on my resume under special skills, among other things..." Her tone was sweet, but there was unmistakable poison weaved in.

"Remind me not to get on your bad side," he said, though quickly frowned at his words. "...Or perhaps that's why you're here."

"Yes, it is." Her expression hardened a bit, "I wanted to know why you lied to me yesterday."

"You'll have to be a little more specific." He moved to sit at his desk.

She raised her eyebrow, "Are you saying you lied to me multiple times yesterday?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, every word that comes out of my mouth is a lie." He said dryly.

"Does the sarcasm help?" She huffed.

"Wouldn't it be a great universe if it did?"

There was silence for a moment.

"When I asked you what those circles mean at first you said they meant nothing. Why?" River pressed.

"Short answer: because it didn't mean anything in the language it was meant to be in." The Doctor reached for a pen, held it for a moment then put it back. "I was using the symbols phonetically so it sounded like English words if read allowed, but in its own language it was nonsense."

"What's the long answer?" She crossed her arms.

He looked at the wall, taking a moment before speaking. "That it was my personal business and I didn't feel like explaining it to you, yet you insisted I did."

"Your personal business became my personal business when you chose to involve my daughter!" She snapped at him.

He didn't seem at all phased by her tone, putting his feet up on his desk. "She asked me. She saw me drawing and wanted to know how to do it. What did you expect me to do? Say, "Well actually these circle things here are only for adults to draw and you can't do it because I said so,"?"

"I don't understand why you'd want to do draw in front of her the first place if it's so personal! She's a child, children ask questions, you should know that." River was getting angrier, "So don't you dare blame her, you were the adult in the situation. If you wanted to keep it private then you should have known better."

"Fine. I should have known better and written something like "sunshine and rainbows"." The words were in the shape of an apology, but his tone very much wasn't. "I expected the questions. What I wasn't expecting was you to get so worked up about a bunch of circles. Want to share with the class about that one, Professor?"

"That's my personal business." She mimicked his earlier answer with a growl.

"Not when you chose to involve me in it." He mimicked right back.

Her gaze seemed to lose all form of kindness, immediately jumping to defense. "You know, Professor Disco, now that I think about it, it's not the circles that's the problem. It's you. There is something off about you. You know things about me that you shouldn't. Sometimes you act like you've known me forever and you hide things from me. You lie to me. I won't tolerate that. I want you to stay away from me and my children from now on. They have been through enough as it is and they don't need you making thing more complicated."

This was the first thing she said that seemed to make any impact on him. His face fell and he took his feet off the desk, jaw clenched. "What's so complicated about me?"

"It doesn't matter. This conversation is over." She turned to leave.

"River, wait," he said urgently. She paused, turning back.

He swallowed. He had no idea how seriously she felt about this, and if it was what he thought, then watching over the Songs was about to get a lot more difficult. "If someone in red robes tries to approach you, you might want to channel those things you have listed under special skills."

She just stared at him like he was insane, "Stay away from me."

He tensed, saying nothing more.

-x-

River spent much of the next few weeks trying to forget about the man across the hall. She managed to distract Terra enough so that she asked to see him less frequently.

As the Song children immersed themselves in various after-school activities, River dove into work. She tried to socialize more, even having Nardole babysit for her (much to the twins' dismay) a few times so she could get coffee with one of the other professors in her department, Ramone.

Ramone was a handsome man but a pushover. He cringed at any talk of violence or gossip, and when it came to River's children, none of them could say they liked him very much- especially Terra, though she might have been biased because he didn't know any sign.

He brought River tea in the mornings, but he never could but the right amount of milk and sugar in it. The children liked to play pranks on him whenever he was in the house, partially because it was so easy and partially because they wanted to get rid of him.

Despite River's efforts, Terra started asking more frequently about 'Mr. Doctor' and by spring she was tricking to nurse to let her go home again.

River was with Ramone in her office on one of the mornings that Terra wanted to be picked up. She didn't bring him around the house much, and when she did their relationship was as friendly as she could manage. Of course, things were a bit different when they were alone, but River knew it was only a fling, a way to release pent up energy and have some adult time.

The nurse on the phone said Terra seemed to have a head cold, and Ramone looked none too happy about being interrupted. River sighed, agreeing to pick the girl up.

"We can finish up later tonight at your place." River purred, as she gathered her clothes, "Sound good?"

"It's a long wait." He muttered. "But I think I can make it."

"Do you need something to hold you over?" She teased.

"I wouldn't turn it down." He looked hopeful.

She gave him a long, deep kiss, fingers tangling in his hair. An eager participant, he put the same energy in. She sucked on his lower lip, humming into the kiss before pulling away, "Better?"

He looked utterly smitten and almost hypnotized as he nodded.

"Walk me to my car." She smiled, pulling on her top.

He nodded obediently again, taking her hand. She let him lead her out of the office, fixing her hair as they walked through the door.

Students and faculty gave them stares as they walked. Ramone had recently been referring to River as his girlfriend, an indication that he was much more serious about them than River was. River didn't really care what everyone else thought.

No one really knew anything about her, the only person that knew about her past, her husband, her real life, was Doctor Disco, and River hardly ever saw him anymore. The Doctor was exceptionally good at avoiding River and keeping out of her way. He never seemed to be in his office when River was in hers. The only hint that he was still using it was Bill, who went in there every day at 6:00.

Ramone and River never talked much about the Doctor, except Ramone's occasional complaints that all their other co-workers wouldn't shut up about how interesting the man was.

Once they were at River's car, she gave Ramone another not so chaste kiss, promising to see him later that night.

At the primary school, it seemed Terra wasn't faking her illness.

"[Oh, sweetheart.]" River murmured, immediately collecting the girl in her arms, "[Are you alright?]"

"[Don't feel good.]" Terra signed lethargically.

"[Okay, Mummy will take you home.]" She murmured, kissing her temple.

"[Can we go to your work?]"

"[Why? Let's go home so you can rest.]"

"[I want to see Mr. Doctor. He'll give me a sweetie.]"

"[But you're sick, darling. Home is better.]"

Terra looked disappointed, putting her head down on River's shoulder. River hummed softly, bringing the girl home.

Terra complained all afternoon about her symptoms, not giving River much of a break. River did her best to soothe the girl's complaints, finally getting a break to call Ramone while Terra napped. He sounded very eager about tonight on the phone.

"I'm sorry, love, but I can't come tonight. Terra's sick."

Ramone's tone immediately fell. "Are you sure you can't get a sitter?"

"I'm sure." She murmured, "She's pretty ill, I can't leave her."

He sighed. "Well... Raincheck then?"

"Yeah. Could you stop by my office early tomorrow?" She asked.

"I'd love that." he agreed.

"Okay. I have to go, but I'll see you tomorrow."

They ended their conversation as Terra started waking up from her nap.

"[How are you feeling?]" River asked softly.

"[My head hurts.]" She pouted.

"[Do you want some medicine?]"

She nodded. "[Can I watch telly, too?]"

"[Of course, darling.]" River got up to turn the TV on, then got the medicine. Terra stuck her thumb in her mouth, Toby coming over to cuddle with her as she settled by the TV.

When it was time to pick up the other children, Terra asked if she could stay home. River wouldn't let her, Terra was much too young for that. Grumpily and reluctantly, Terra got into the car with River.

River drove to get the other kids, keeping an eye on Terra in the back seat. Terra stared out the window for the most part, until something caught her eye a few blocks from the school.

The car passed too quickly for River to get a good look, but Terra turned to her. "[That man was wearing funny clothes.]"

"[What kind of funny clothes, dear?]" River asked.

["Big red robes.]" She answered.

River frowned, remembering the Doctor mentioning something about red robes that last time they spoke.

"[Maybe he's part of a play.]" Terra guessed.

"[Maybe.]" She smiled weakly, continuing the drive.

Freya and Amelia were chatty when they were picked up. Their birthday was in a week and they wanted a slumber party. River was happy to let them chatter away as they went to pick up Arthur.

Arthur was interested in the man Terra described to him, helping theorize about his costume. River smiled softly, not thinking much of this red robed man. She drove the children home, half listening to their chatter.

Terra started complaining again, this time about a sore throat. River tried to calm her, trying a different medicine to make her feel better. For the most part, it seemed to work, though it was looking like she'd need to stay home from school tomorrow.

River was sitting on the couch with Terra's head in her lap, humming softly. The other children were doing homework and the television was playing Terra's favorite movie. River texted Ramone to let him know she probably wouldn't be in tomorrow either.

"[Mummy, when are we going to go back to London to visit Uncle Jack?]" Tera asked.

"[Maybe when you're all on summer holiday we can spend some time with him.]"She smiled softly, "[That'd be nice, yeah?]"

"[Can't it be sooner? We haven't seen him in forever!]"

"[We can try but I can't promise anything.]"

"[And Auntie Clara, too?]" Terra looked hopeful.

"[Of course.]" River nodded.

She smiled then looked a bit sad. "[I miss them.]"

"[I miss them too, but we also got to make lots of new friends here. Like Nardole and Mr. Ramone.]" She tried to cheer the girl up.

"[I don't like Mr. Ramone.]" Terra wrinkled her nose.

River frowned slightly, "[Why not?]"

"[He's boring and he doesn't play and he can't sign.]"

"And I don't think he likes kids that much," Freya added, having been watching the conversation.

"[Well, maybe we can teach him sign. And he's just not used to being around kids. Some people feel a bit strange when they're put in a situation they're not used to.]" She tried to defend the man.

"He's a teacher. He should be used to kids by now." Freya said.

"He's a Uni teacher, it's different."

Freya shrugged. "You two don't have very much in common."

River sighed, "Well, the next time he comes over can you be a bit nicer to him?"

Freya didn't answer, turning back to her homework. River closed her eyes, a bit frustrated.

Terra tapped her arm. "[Will you bring Mr. Doctor over?]"

"[Terra, Mr. Doctor and I aren't friends anymore.]"

"[Why not?]" She frowned.

"[Because we had an argument and I think it would be best for our family if we stayed away from him.]"

"[But what did he do? He's not bad, he's nice!]"

"[I'm not discussing this now. I said we're not seeing him anymore.]" She was firm on this.

Terra looked much more upset than her indifferent older siblings. "[It's not fair! You said you'd make it up with him.]"

"[I said I'd try. I didn't promise anything.]"

"[You hafta try harder then.]"

"[No, Terra. This is not up for discussion.]"

"[He wasn't even that great.]" Amelia added, trying to help out her mum.

River nodded, "[I promise there will be other people in the world that know how to sign. And we can teach the friends we make that don't know. Like Nardole, he's getting very good at sign, yeah?]"

"[It's not the same. They're not the same! We didn't have to teach Mr. Doctor, he just knew! He knew everything and he was funny and kind.]"

"[Terra, stop!]" River's mobile began to ring, "[I'm not discussing this anymore.]"

Crossing her arms and sitting up and away from her mother, Terra scowled.

River turned away, going to answer her phone. It was Nardole on the line. River had missed a meeting today to care for Terra, and he was to fill her in on what she missed. She thanked him, starting on dinner after getting off the phone.

Terra was put to bed early that night, and Arthur not long after. River let the twins stay up and watch their favorite show, though they had to go to bed not long after that was over.

River had talked to Ramone before dinner, inviting him over for wine after the kids had gone to bed. She had made sure all they were sleeping, going down to let him in. "Hello, there." She purred.

He was wearing an indigo leather jacket, trying to look alluring by leaning against the door frame but couldn't help a huge grin at the sight of her. "Changed your mind about tonight, then?"

"Careful, tiger, the kids are upstairs." She smiled, tugging him into the house.

Ramone may not have been terribly intellectually stimulating, but he was certainly easy on the eyes. "Suppose we'd better be quiet then."

The distance between them was suddenly close to nothing and he dropped a kiss to her mouth. She giggled, pressing her body up against his. He wrapped his arms around her, going to a longer kiss.

"Don't you want a glass of wine?" She gasped, once they finally broke apart.

"There are a number of things a want," he hummed suggestively. "I think wine is second on the list."

"Bedroom. Now." She tugged him quietly up the stairs and into her room, locking the door behind them.