Letting Go


Elise awoke to yelling. It was something she was very familiar with. She got out of bed and made her way to the control room.

It was River and her father.

"If you had just listened to me…!" River yelled.

Elise sat down at the top of the stairs watching River and her father go at it. She loved seeing them bicker, but this was just fighting. She knew the Doctor would never lay his hands on River, but she still hated to see people fighting.

"You know what? I'm not going fight with you anymore," River said.

The Doctor laughed bitterly. "Oh? And why's that? I thought you just loved to."

River looked at him and then her eyes met Elise's.

The Doctor spun around and saw her sitting there. "Elise…" he breathed with wide eyes. He knew how fighting affected her. "I…We…"

"I woke up and heard you two fighting…" She stared down at her hands. She didn't cry or say anything else, but the Doctor could see that she was upset.

River walked up the steps and sat next to Elise. "Ellie." River played with the ends of Elise's hair. "My little Ellie."

"It's fine," Elise said.

The Doctor sighed. "No, it's not." He sat down on the other side of her. "River and I didn't mean to wake you. We shouldn't have been fighting in the first place."

"But you know how your father is."

"Oi!"

Elise laughed and smiled.

"Come on. Let's get you back to bed," River said. She helped Elise up and they walked down the corridor to Elise's bedroom.

It had changed once again. Gone was the play area and in its place was an expansive collection of art supplies. A large canvas sat against the wall. It was of a nebula. The same one floating outside her window.

River knew they were parked somewhere and not drifting through the vortex.

"It's a fake window. The TARDIS shows me what I want so I can paint it," Elise explained.

"It's really good."

"Thanks, mum."

Elise climbed back in bed and River sat next to her. Elise rolled over and put her head in River's lap.

River stroked her daughter's hair. "You shouldn't have to listen to us fight."

"Mum, stop apologizing."

"Sorry, sweetie."

"Will you sing something to me?"

"Do you want your usual?"

Elise closed her eyes. "Sing me something new."

River settled on an ancient lullaby she'd come across in her work. Apparently it was extremely old, because the TARDIS wasn't translating it.

But the melody was pretty and Elise was asleep in no time.


When Elise was asleep, River got up and went back into the control room. "Well she's asleep," River told the Doctor.

The Doctor was quiet.

"Doctor?" River approached him and put a hand on his arm. "It's okay."

"No. It's not. Fighting bothers her. God, when she was a child she used to cry when I even raised my voice."

"She seemed fine when she fell asleep."

"You don't understand, River! You're not with her every minute of every day!"

"Will you lower your voice?"

The Doctor sighed and ran a hand through his hair. As much as he loved River, she still seemed to get under his skin.

"Now what is this really about?" River asked.

"Elise is growing every day. Soon, she won't need me anymore and she'll leave. They always leave."

"Sweetie…" River wrapped her arms around him.

They both knew a little bit about where Elise's timeline was heading. It was just a question of "when".

"Elise loves you, you know that. But she's a young woman now."

Elise had just turned 400, putting her in her late teens in human years.

"Even if she leaves, you know it won't be for long."

The Doctor pulled away, but there were tears in his green eyes. "But she'll get married and probably have children. Then she won't need me anymore."

"She'll always need you. She needs you more than anyone in the universe. You're the most important thing to her. Just try and enjoy the time you have with her and not worry about the future."