Ch 70
It was about twenty minutes later after River had settled alone in the tent for a long nap, when her mobile rang. The sound woke her up and she grabbed the phone with slight irritation. "Hello?"
"Oh," came the voice of a Scottish woman. "I wasn't expecting you to answer."
River huffed, mood immediately turning sour, "What do you want, Missy?"
"Quite a lot of things, actually." She said nonchalantly. "But I'm presuming you really mean why is it that I've called. Besides that I'm bored, of course."
"I'm not going to stay on the phone to entertain you." She snapped, "Tell me why you called or I'm going to hang up."
Missy sighed. "It's your grudge-holding ship if you must know. She's running low on Antron energy but some Timelord bio-locked me out of the controls." Her annoyance was obvious. "It's one thing to make a girl do TARDIS maintenance as punishment and another to make that job impossible to do. Honestly, a little respect wouldn't hurt."
"Fine. I'll tell the Doctor about it, but he's out right now so you're going to have to wait until he gets back." Unless this was an emergency, River wasn't going to go up to see Missy by herself.
"How long will that be, exactly? Because the fuel is only getting lower as we speak and there isn't a tow truck for interdimensional spaceships the last time I checked. I'd rather avoid the life support systems shutting down in me, thank you. This stupid ship already likes playing enough tricks on me as it is."
"It's not going to be for another few hours. If it was really that low then why didn't you call sooner?"
"Oh, yes, clearly I should've done a faster job in checking a virtually infinite—and for the record very sassy—ship for problems." She said dryly. "Oppsies."
"Well, Antron energy is one of the key parts of getting the TARDIS to work so perhaps it would have been smart to check that first." River growled, going to the car to get her vortex manipulator.
"Great, lesson learned, I'm so enlightened," Missy said quickly and in monotone. "Are you coming to help or not?"
"Yes, I'm coming to help." She sighed, inputting the coordinates. She and Missy hadn't seen one another in person in over a month now. "I'll be there in a minute. Don't even think about trying anything."
River hung up the phone, not waiting for a response, then tried to ring the Doctor. He picked up quickly. "Is everything alright?"
"There's a problem on the TARDIS." River sighed, not going into too much detail in case the kids were somehow listening. "And now I have to go fix it."
"Do you think you'll be back before us?"
"I'm not sure. Hopefully, I will be, but it wanted to call in case I wasn't. I didn't want you to worry."
"I appreciate it." He murmured, knowing he very well would have panicked if he returned and she was missing. "If things get... overwhelming, call me."
"Okay, I will." She took a deep breath.
"Love you." He murmured, a slight worry in his tone. He knew the stress and anxiety River got from being around Missy and wasn't sure about her going on her own. "Good luck."
"I'll be fine." She tried to smile, "Love you too."
She put her phone away, putting in the last of the coordinates before leaving the campsite.
Missy was sitting in a big chair on the upper deck of the console room, her feet propped up against the rail. River immediately got to work, not wanting to be alone with Missy for any longer than needed.
Standing, Missy brushed off her skirts. "Are you going to say anything?"
"I have nothing to say to you."
"Feeling dark and broody today, then." She said as she descended the stairs. "I forgot how hormonal you could be."
"Unfortunately I didn't have the pleasure of forgetting how irritating you can be." She turned, giving Missy a patronizing look.
"Oh, the lady is talking. How exciting." Missy was at the console now, resting her elbows on the panels like she was about to hear some thrilling gossip. "Where's that husband of yours?"
"His whereabouts are none of your concern. He's occupied at the moment, so I'm here instead."
She crossed her arms. "Why shouldn't it be my concern? He's my friend."
"Friends don't hurt each other's families. They don't kill each other's children." River growled.
"Still on about that, are you?" She inspected her nails.
She laughed bitterly, "Obviously you still don't get it. You still haven't gotten it through your thick head that losing a child isn't something you ever get over."
Missy was silent for a long moment. "I rather think I do understand that."
"If you did then you wouldn't be mocking me for still holding it against you." She turned, slamming on the controls.
Missy didn't flinch, and though her words still taunted, there was something in her tone a bit more serious than before. "I'm bananas, remember? Care to bet on how that happened?" It wasn't a real question, but she didn't wait for any reply nonetheless. "Of course you don't, you want nothing to do with me. I'm afraid, dear, that at this point, you have everything to do with me. You could kill me now, tell him indoors that there was an accident. Why don't you?" She sat in the jump seat. "Go ahead and indulge yourself. Get "even" with me. I thought we were even long before this whole oath thing was put into place. Or has the Doctor not told you that story yet?"
River's jaw tightened, but she kept her back to Missy, "What story?"
"Oh, it's a classic!" Missy enthused. "You know: boy meets girl, boy falls in love with, boy and girl get married. Let's start there shall we? A wedding. Always loved a wedding, me. The Doctor was best man at mine. He got so drunk that he tried to kiss my wife."
River frowned but said nothing.
"He promised to invite me to any wedding he had, you know. Funny what happens to promises..." Missy stared at a spot on the console for a moment. "Well, it's utterly predictable what happened. Boy and girl have a honeymoon, move into a house, have a kid." She tapped her chin pretending to think. "The Doctor is normally quite good at giving presents. He got me a broach when my at my daughter's baby shower. And for her naming ceremony he got... what was it?" She smiled bitterly. "Oh, that's right. He got an intergalactic war."
"That wasn't for you. That war didn't happen specifically to mess with you." She muttered.
"Not the Time War, River. This was before that." She snapped. Missy had hardly ever addressed River by name. "But, gee, that makes me feel much better."
"I don't need a history lesson. I already know." River whispered. She did, in fact, know most of the Gallifreyan wars by name, though how her husband was involved wasn't always clear-cut.
"I doubt your brain could hold much in it." She stopped. "I rather think I'm done with the storytelling for today. You're a terrible listener anyways. You missed the whole point."
"Luckily for me, I don't care." River went back to focusing on getting the TARDIS re-fueled, though she was still uncomfortably aware of Missy looming over her shoulder.
Missy seemed to be done with trying to get on River's nerves, now just silently staring at her. River was silent as well, making it a point not to look at Missy, however, she was starting to notice a quite painful ache in her abdomen that was getting increasingly worse.
The TARDIS was stubborn as it piloted to its usual spot in front of the Torchwood hub to recharge. Once they landed, River leaned against the console, putting a hand to her side and pinching the bridge of her nose.
Missy frowned, finally speaking. "Sick of me so soon?"
"I was sick of you before I even got here." She hissed.
"Now, now, don't let Baby control everything you say."
River was about to respond, then sucked in a breath, gripping the console. She quickly tried to hide the moment of weakness by turning her back to Missy.
"How long is this stop going to take?" Missy pressed.
"At least two hours." River answered, shooting her a look.
"Well, are you going to grit your teeth and bear my company or go to the- whatever's outside? I can't follow, the doors won't open for me."
"Fine. If you don't want me here then I won't stay." She turned to leave.
"It was you who despised my company if you recall," Missy mumbled.
Jack was outside, walking towards the TARDIS. She waved to Jack, going to meet him. He greeted her with a hug. "Where's everyone else?"
"They're on a camping trip, I brought the TARDIS over for refueling."
"That usually takes a while." He observed. "Why don't you come inside for coffee or something?"
"That'd be nice." River smiled weakly, nodding in agreement. He grinned and lead her inside.
She sat and talked with Jack for a while, trying to forget about the unsettling conversation with Missy. Jack was easy to chat with on almost any subject, whether it was a serious matter or not.
After about 2 hours, River went back to check on the TARDIS, feeling a bit more relaxed than before. Missy had gone from the console room. The readings on the screen showed a good analysis of the engines.
River decided now would be a good time to call her husband and let him know she was on her way home.
Again, the Doctor picked up relatively quickly. "Riv?"
"I'm fine." She murmured, knowing that would be his first question.
"Hi, mum!" Arthur said in the background.
"We're in the car." The Doctor said. "We'll be home is about two hours."
"Okay. Hi, Arthur." She smiled softly, "I'm finished so I'll meet you at home."
"If you overlap with Bill, tell her she's welcome for dinner." He reminded. "Did everything go alright?"
"It went as expected." She murmured, "I'll see you at home."
He had a feeling that 'expected' meant not all that well. "Right. See you at home."
She hung up, putting the ship back in the vortex. "Missy, I'm leaving. Any more requests before I go?" She shouted, not wanting to have to come back.
There was no response.
The silence made her uneasy. "Scan for Time Lord life forms." She told the TARDIS. The ship quickly brought up Missy's location a few rooms down the hall.
River walked down the hall to were the TARDIS was displaying her location, knocking on the door.
"What do you want, trollop?" Came the annoyed voice from inside.
"I was going to ask if you wanted anything else. But if that's how you're going to be then I'll just go." River scowled in annoyance.
The door suddenly swung open. Missy stood with a sickeningly sweet smile. "I'm sure you've figured out by now that I'm not subtle when I want something. And unless you're offering freedom from this stupid ship, you don't have my attention. In case you've forgotten: time is faster in this box for me. I've been here centuries now and neither you or daft Willy bother to check on me more than once a decade. How am I supposed to prove I deserve to re-enter the universe if you act like a scared rabbit every time I'm within thirty feet of you? Have I hurt your wee wittle feewings?" She batted her eyes. "Well, I don't care anymore. I said I'd be good, not nice. So yes, River Song, that's how I'm going to be."
"If you have a complaint about how much my husband visits you, then take it up with him. You're his responsibility, not mine." She snapped at her, turning on her heels to go. "If you're not going to play nice then I won't either. Enjoy the next decade, Missy."
Missy's voice echoed after River, though she stayed put. "Sooner or later you're going to have to deal with me. Better make it before that poppet arrives."
River didn't waste any time leaving, setting in the coordinates and going back to her home. The TARDIS landed about half an hour before the rest of the family was to get home so she wouldn't have to wait too long.
River sat in the living room, arms crossed, planning on having a talk with the Doctor about Missy. The TARDIS left back to the vortex again, knowing it made the adults uncomfortable to have Missy near.
She sent the kids to the backyard to play when they arrived home, making the Doctor sit with her. "We need to talk about something."
"Is it about the camping?" He asked. "In retrospect, not my best idea and if there's next time it will involve real beds."
"No, it's about Missy. We need to go speak with her."
He looked up at her. "Oh... about what?"
"She said she was you to come see her more often. She wants a chance to prove that she's changed."
"You don't seem very keen on either of those." The Doctor murmured.
"I'm not very keen on her being here in the first place."
The Doctor decided not to comment on that. "What does she mean by proving herself?"
"I don't know, but I think we need to go talk to her together."
He nodded. "Alright. Did you have a time in mind?"
"Now?"
He looked uncertain. "Maybe today is not the best day for it..."
She raised an eyebrow, "Why not?"
"You've already had to see her once. I think that in itself deserves a proper wind down from."
"I promise I'm not going to break if I see her more than once. I can handle it." She shook her head, "Besides, making her wait is only going to piss her off more and make the next time we see her even more miserable."
"I'm not worried about her, I'm worried about you." He searched her face. "But if you're sure..."
"I'll be okay." She murmured again, leaning in for a kiss. He kissed her softly, arms moving instinctively around her. She hummed against his lips, letting him pull her closer. He pressed his forehead to hers when they pulled apart.
"I think we need to have an adults-only vacation before the baby comes." She smiled softly.
"With proper beds and real food, I presume?" He teased.
She hummed, "I quite like the sound of a proper bed."
"Me, too." He said in the same tone. "And I believe I promised you a massage after sleeping on the ground."
She smiled, "Maybe after we go see You-Know-Who."
The children came back inside at that moment asking, "Can we order takeaway tonight?"
"No, we'll cook dinner for you soon. Your father and I just have to... do a maintenance on the TARDIS. We'll be back soon. Girls, watch your siblings for now?"
They agreed, knowing it would probably be a night of telly. River got the vortex manipulator, plugging in the coordinates.