"Yes, I can come pick you up." The Doctor's voice came through just loud enough for Trish to hear in the hall, over the sound of the brush carding through her wet hair. Curious, she approached the door to the console room, peering around to see the Doctor fiddling with the controls, an old-fashioned spiralling cord stretching from some part of the console to something in his hand. A phone, it looked like, and an old model at that. Trish was reminded of weekend evenings in middle school spent locked in her room with the telephone, cord pinched in the doorway.
He continued, "We've got guests, too, just so you know. Besides Amy and Rory." He paused. "There's Jack, who I think you've met by now. His partner Ianto. Some new friends of mine, Jessica and Luke and Trish. No, Trish is single." Trish raised an eyebrow. "Well, I didn't mention that, no." Another lengthy pause. "I'm going to set her up, anyhow. Space boyfriend, Jessica called it." He laughed. "Don't we all. No, don't worry, just you. I'm the space boyfriend." He moved to the typewriter, and in the process happened to look up and spot Trish in the doorway. "Oh, Trish is up. Hullo Trish!"
She waved at him, not bothering to hide her curious expression, and he grinned.
"Yes, I'll be there soon," he said. "I'll give you an hour or two to get your things around. How long are you wanting to stay? We can play it by ear, that's fine. Okay. Bye." He hung up with a flourish, and spun in place. "Trish Walker, how are you?"
Eyebrows still raised, Trish joined him by the console. "I'm good," she said. "Who was that?"
She thought for sure she was mistaken when she saw him go a little red. But sure enough, when she looked again, his cheeks had flushed. "Er, a friend," he replied.
"Girlfriend?" Trish asked. "Boyfriend?"
"Something like that," the Doctor said with a bit of a sigh. "So nosy. Well, you'll meet her in a few minutes anyway, I suppose it doesn't matter. Where's everyone else?"
He was obviously deflecting, but Trish wasn't practiced enough at keeping him on topic - when she'd done it while he'd been stuck at Jessica's, it had never ended too well. And even here, her attempts to get solid answers didn't appear to be improving. The other day, when she'd asked him about going to see his home planet, she hadn't been able to squeeze more than a wishy-washy "we'll see" out of him about it. She wasn't sure how to do it tactfully. She felt sometimes as if she could barely hold a tension-free conversation with him. But she intended to learn.
"Last I knew, having breakfast," she told him. "I left them at it to take a shower. They could be anywhere by now."
"Jack's in the kitchen," the Doctor said absently, turning his attention back to the typewriter. He punched in a series of words and numbers, turned a couple of dials, flipped a few switches.
Trish shook her head. "That gives me the creeps," she admitted. He gave her a slight smile.
"I would say I'm sorry, but I'm not. It's honestly quite fun," he said. "Nice party trick."
Trish smiled. "I guess."
"I assume the others are nearby. Care to round them up for me?" Now he was trying to get rid of her. Well, they weren't exactly friends, although it had warmed Trish's heart a little to hear him call her one on the phone. Acquaintances, maybe, working their way towards an understanding. It was hard to put the past behind them, at least for Trish. The Doctor seemed unbothered. But then, it had apparently been much longer for him. She still wasn't sure how to proceed with their developing relationship.
Anyway. He probably just wanted to be alone to meet his girlfriend, or whoever she was. Trish could understand that. She wasn't sure she wanted to even be there for that. "Okay," she agreed. "I'll get them around."
He grinned.
Sure enough, the others were where Trish had left them, although their plates were now piled in the sink and they'd resorted to idle chit-chat at the table. Jessica and Luke sat close together, elbows touching. Amy and Rory were not nearly so discreet, Amy half on Rory's lap. Jack was cleaning dishes while Ianto nodded at something Rory was saying.
Trish knocked on the counter as she entered, prompting them all to pause and look up at her. "It sounds like we're going to head off pretty soon," she announced. "The Doctor sent me to get you guys together."
"He couldn't come do it himself?" Amy asked, eyebrows lifting. "What's he up to?"
Just as she spoke, the kitchen shook, just a tremor of a movement. Trish had no idea why the rest of the ship experienced only a fraction of the displacement as the console room - the Doctor had fudged the details a little - but the small movement was enough to tip her off that they'd landed somewhere.
"Visiting a girlfriend, sounded like," Trish said. "I suspect he's doing it as we speak."
Immediately, Amy and Rory straightened up, eyes widening. A smile broke over Amy's face. "River!" they exclaimed, in unison.
"I take it you've met, then," Jessica gathered, dryly.
Rory coughed, face going oddly red. "Yeah, uh. A few times."
Amy patted him on the back. "Well, I think we're allowed to go say hello. The rest of you lot - we'll see you down there, yeah?" She and Rory hopped up and headed out the door, apparently heedless of the fact that they were still in pajamas.
The others got up, somewhat reluctantly, and vanished into their respective rooms. Trish, already dressed, simply dropped her brush off on her dresser and made her way back to the console room.
She heard them before she even made it to the doorway - a woman's laugh, and the Doctor's voice. Then, Rory, making a choking noise.
"You'd think you would be used to it by now," the woman teased. She had an English accent, too, like the Doctor. "We aren't even too terribly gross. We could be much worse. Don't get me started on you two-"
"We get the picture," Amy interrupted, half laughing. "Don't mind him." As Trish rounded into the doorway, she saw Amy embracing a figure with a head full of wild blonde hair.
The moment the two pulled apart, the new woman was looking up at Trish, a smile already on her face. She was older, Trish immediately noticed, probably late forties or so. Mischievous brown eyes, face full of expertly-applied makeup. She wore a practical outfit - form-fitting black pants and a red top, completed with a pair of tall black boots. "Hello there," she said, smile only growing as Trish descended the stairs to the console.
"Hello," Trish replied, smiling back. "I'm Trish Walker."
They shook, and the woman returned, "River Song. Nice to meet you."
"And you." Trish glanced toward the Doctor, who watched the both of them expectantly, almost anxiously. "So. Are you two together, then?"
The Doctor made a sort of spluttering noise, but River just laughed. "Are we that obvious?" she asked, looping an arm around the Doctor's shoulders and dragging him closer to her.
"I might have been interrogating the Doctor earlier," Trish admitted. "He wouldn't give me a straight answer."
River released the Doctor, and playfully smacked his shoulder. "Don't tell me you're ashamed of me!" she teased.
The Doctor flushed. "Don't be silly." Trish had never seen him so flustered before, hadn't even imagined he could get this flustered.
"Where's everyone else?" Amy asked.
"I imagine they're getting dressed," the Doctor piped up, with a pointed look at Amy's dolphin-printed pajama pants that earned him another light smack on the arm, this time from Amy.
"He does have a point," River added. "I don't know that pajamas make a particularly good adventuring outfit."
"Adventuring?" Trish asked, heart jumping.
River grinned. "Of course. What else would we be doing?"
"We've been trying to keep things tame," the Doctor told her. "Minimal running."
"We've done no running," Amy said, crossing her arms. "I almost miss it."
Rory winced. "Now you've done it." Trish started to wonder what, exactly, she was getting herself into here.
River's grin turned to a near-devilish smirk. "Well, that settles it then," she declared. "A real adventure is in order." She spun to the console, eyes glinting, and ran her hands over it contemplatively. "Hmm. I'm thinking...we should let the TARDIS decide."
"Oh, she'll throw us in a volcano that way," the Doctor quipped. Trish frowned. She opened her mouth to question the 'she' remark, but was cut off as the floor suddenly rumbled underneath their feet. Reflexively, she grabbed at the nearest railing, but the rumbling died down almost immediately. The Doctor pressed a hand to the cylinder rising up from the console and soothed, "Sorry, dear. You don't have the best track record, though, you know that."
No one else seemed perturbed by the rumbling. Amy and Rory were laughing.
"What the hell was that?" Trish blurted, though she felt like perhaps she already knew.
River grinned at her. "The TARDIS. Didn't the Doctor mention? She's alive."
Maybe she should have been more shocked, but Trish couldn't summon up anything more than a faint surprise. "So the rooms really do move," she managed. "I wasn't imagining that."
"Yeah, she does that on occasion," the Doctor chimed in. "I should have mentioned, you know, but it slipped my mind."
"When did you become such a terrible host, Doctor?" River chided, poking him sharply in the ribs.
"I'm a fantastic host," the Doctor insisted, crossing to the other side of the console to avoid further contact.
Someone from the top of the stairs laughed. Jack. "I don't know about that," he chuckled. "You almost let me set the whole library on fire once, don't you remember?"
"I was busy," the Doctor informed him, jabbing a finger at his approaching friend. Trish caught Jessica's eye, where she stood with Luke behind Jack and Ianto. There was a light of good humor there Trish hadn't seen in a long time.
"Everybody," Amy announced, "this is River. River, meet Jack, Ianto, Jessica, and Luke."
"Oh, I've met Jack," River purred, a devilish grin on her face to rival the Doctor's.
Jack patted Ianto's shoulder. "Not like that," he said, though he was grinning. "Hey, sweetheart," he said, back to River. Despite his claims, he waggled his eyebrows suggestively.
"Oi!" the Doctor exclaimed, going red again. His hands fluttered uselessly, as he visibly struggled with what he was meant to do about this situation. Trish, for her part, understood exactly what Jack had done what he had - seeing the Doctor so frustrated was undeniably amusing.
Sure enough, Jack waved the Doctor off with a dismissive, "it's just fun to get a rise out of you, Doc." River laughed.
"I feel incredibly outnumbered," the Doctor muttered. With a dark glance at Jack, he sidled back over to River and clasped a hand loosely around one of hers. Her grin only grew in magnitude.
"I suppose we'll go get dressed," Rory chimed in. "Adventuring clothes, you said?" There was a certain amount of resigned uncertainty in his tone, but Trish managed to detect the unmistakable twinge of excitement accompanying it.
The Doctor exchanged a glance with River, in which she nodded encouragingly, that mischievous smile still pasted on her face. "Yes!" the Doctor decided. "Adventuring clothes."
"Adventuring where?" Luke piped up. He released Jessica's hands to cross his arms. Trish hid a smile as she saw Jessica (seemingly unconsciously) mimicking him.
River leaned toward them a little, bending over the console. "I guess we'll find out, won't we?"
"Randomizers on," the Doctor announced, flicking a few switches. He then pressed a hand to the cylinder rising out of the console. "Be nice to us, dear."
The Ponds returned shortly, clad in clothes meant for good weather but toting along thick winter coats. "Adventuring clothes," Amy told them all, knowingly, as she caught their confused expressions.
Trish eyed her own jeans-and-t-shirt getup. "Maybe I should change."
"Ah, it'll be fine," the Doctor assured. "The TARDIS will take it into account. She's considerate like that."
Before anyone else could question the TARDIS' state of existence, he threw the take-off lever, and the room shuddered with all its usual drama.
"You never use the stabilizers!" River chided over the grinding noise.
"There are stabilizers?" Jessica demanded. "What the hell, Doctor?" Trish had to agree, as she nearly toppled over and bashed her head on the railing.
"It's more fun this way!" the Doctor called back, grinning madly.
Well. Trish supposed he was right about that, at least.
In the aftermath, Trish was unable to think about much else besides her wobbly legs, made useless from frantic running. But she was also full of a sleepy contentment like little else that she'd felt before - the kind of contentment that only came after doing something good and productive.
Such as overthrowing a totalitarian government, which was...nothing something she had much experience with. Or hadn't had, up until now.
"Tea?" Trish blinked, tearing herself away from the blank gaze she'd had directed at the kitchen table to look up at River's smiling face. The woman was half-turned away, already setting several mugs on the counter by the stove.
Trish smiled back. "Sure. What kind?"
River hummed, and headed to a different cupboard. "Earth tea or alien tea? We have...Earl Grey, green, knoxknarlian root-"
"Chamomile?" Trish tried. She craned her head over enough to catch a glimpse into the cupboard, and saw nothing but shelves and shelves and shelves of tea. Unless she was mistaken, the cupboard was far bigger on the inside than it appeared…
River reached an arm in up to her armpit, and pulled out a shiny gray box of teabags. "Nice and soothing," she said, "good idea." She set a pot of water to boil. "A snack or anything for you?"
Now that she mentioned it, Trish's stomach had been protesting faintly in the background for some time. "Sure," Trish agreed. "Thanks. Earth food, if you don't mind."
River chuckled, already hunting through the cupboards. "Not at all."
Trish propped her chin on her hand, and set her elbow on the tabletop. She sleepily watched River move about the kitchen, only realizing that she'd been on her way to dozing when the whistling kettle startled her.
River poured them each a mug, leaving a few remaining on the counter, and sat across the table from Trish with a sigh, setting a plate of crackers between them. Gratefully, Trish accepted the mug as it was offered to her, and wrapped her hands eagerly around its heat.
"Tired?" River said, nothing but smiles and sympathy.
Trish smiled back. "Very. But it's a good tired."
River hummed in agreement. She cupped her own hands around her tea and sighed again. "I'm glad it all went well today," she said. "We've been known to get in a spot of trouble in situations like this." That sympathy turned just a little bit wicked. "You were quite impressive though."
"I did track for a minute in middle school," Trish admitted.
"I was more talking about the dressing down you gave that minister, but the running was good, too," River smirked. Trish felt her cheeks heat a little, despite herself.
"I have a radio show," she explained. "I've had a few lively debates with some callers."
River laughed. "I can imagine. In any case, I respect your backbone."
Trish grinned. "Thanks." She took an experimental sip of her tea, and although it burned her tongue it tasted so delicious she hardly cared. River copied her, eyes dancing happily. "So. How did you meet the Doctor?"
She'd thought it would be a safe topic of conversation - River and the Doctor were very obviously happy - so she was caught off guard when the smile fell from River's face and the woman turned her eyes to the table. She was quiet for so long that Trish opened her mouth to take it back, but the apologies never made their way out.
"We have a sort of complicated past," River revealed. She hid the hitch of pain in her voice well, but Trish had too much practice seeing past Jessica's walls to miss it. River was remarkably like Jessica, Trish thought. "He's a time traveller, so...we aren't exactly in order." At last, the woman looked up, and the depth of sorrow in her eyes made Trish's heart ache with profound sympathy. "His past is my future, and vice versa."
Trish had nothing else to offer but a weak, "I'm sorry." She decided to distract herself with a cracker, hoping it might somehow diffuse the tension.
River's mouth quirked up on one side, and she shook her head with a wild flying of blonde hair. "I shouldn't be dumping all this on you," she said with remarkable good humor. "We've only just met."
"We did bring democracy to an alien planet together," Trish pointed out, fighting for something equally light-hearted. "I think that makes us fairly close."
River's slight smile widened by a fraction. "You do have a point." She took a sip of her tea, and Trish followed suit. "I tried to kill the Doctor when I first met him."
Trish nearly did a spit take, but instead burned her throat as she hastily gulped down the tea.
"Exactly," River said. Somehow she was still smiling. "It's a strange story. I won't bore you with the details, but at that time in my life I was fully convinced that he was evil. It didn't help that he'd done a fabulous job of disappointing my mother."
Turning this over mentally didn't give Trish any new information, so she ventured forward with a question. "Your mother?"
River eyed her, a kind of thoughtfulness in her eyes that made Trish itchy. "My mother met the Doctor when she was very young. She thought he was magic. He had to leave her not long after they met, but he told her he would be back for her in five minutes. He promised to take her on an adventure." She paused to take another sip of her drink, and the silence had Trish twitching. "He was gone for twelve years."
Trish supposed this meant River was human, then. She'd wondered if she was the same species at the Doctor, but apparently not.
"She was a lonely child," River revealed. She dug a nail into the grain of the table, her smile fading at last. "She never really gave up on him, but his departure made her cynical. She convinced herself for the longest time that he was nothing but her imaginary friend. She called him her Raggedy Doctor. When he finally did come back, she was a woman, with a fiance, my father, and a normal human life." The smile returned in full force. "But she still ran off with him, and later brought my father along, too. In the long run, he made her life better. But when I was young, I had outside influences persuading me otherwise. By the time I met him, those...influences...had quite a hold on me."
Trish nodded. "That sounds really difficult. I'm sorry."
"We're all here now, aren't we?" River asked, brightening up further, though the sadness lingered. "It's all ended relatively well, at least for now. I'm happy."
Trish smiled, as much as she could. "I'm glad."
"Now," River said, leaning forward a little. "Let's move on to some more interesting topics, shall we? What about your love life, Trish Walker?"
Trish groaned.
After nearly a week spent on the TARDIS, Trish was beginning to run out of borrowed clothes, and she wasn't keen on the idea of simply wearing an entirely new outfit everyday. It felt wasteful. The second Rory informed her that there was an entire laundromat hidden somewhere in the depths of the wardrobe room, Trish abandoned the movie she had been half watching with him, Jessica, and Luke, and rushed off to do some much-needed laundry.
Laundry had always been a secret pleasure of hers. She had enough money by now to be able to hire people to do it for her, but she'd always found something relaxing about the steady motions of forming warm clothes, and the hum of the washing machine, and the time it gave her to think. However, her plans were interrupted as she entered the wardrobe with her hamper full of dirty clothes and found Amy and River there, pawing through the many racks of dresses.
"Hey Trish," Amy called over her shoulder. She then plucked a frilly blue number off its rack and turned to display it in Trish's direction. "Do you think this is too much?"
It was blinding in color, and the frills were definitely a distraction, but it certainly wasn't ugly. "Maybe a little too much," Trish hedged. "I'm not a fan of the frills."
"That's high fashion on High-Teven-Eight," River informed them, hands on hips.
"But you have to admit it's a bit crazy for a dinner date," Amy insisted. "And look at these straps, River." She tugged at one of at least twenty. "You'll get yourself all tied up."
"Getting into it, or out?" River smirked. Trish nearly choked as she tried to hold back a laugh.
At the same time, Amy looked scandalized. "I do not want to hear about any of that," she decided. "The less I have to think about the Doctor and sex, the better." River laughed.
Trish decided to leave the laundry for the moment, and set the hamper down to give her arms a break. "Are you and the Doctor going out?"
River turned to her, grinning. "Oh, yes."
"Space restaurant," Amy said, rifling through more dresses. "I still don't know where it is, exactly, but River's excited about it."
"You wouldn't believe it," River said, "it's fabulous. I've heard wonderful things about it. Supposedly, you can see entire galaxies no matter where you sit. And they've got legendary garlic bread."
"Yum," Trish agreed.
Amy picked out another dress, this time golden and sleek, with the faintest shimmer in the skirt. "Ooh," she said. "Look at this, River."
Immediately, River replied, "I'll look like Belle, from Beauty and the Beast."
Amy barked out a laugh. "So the Doctor's the beast, then?"
"Oh, absolutely."
Trish grinned. "What about that one?" She stepped forward, pointing to a pretty red thing that had caught her eye from the start.
"I've got matching lipstick for that," River said, before anything else. She took the fabric in her hands and examined it before taking its hanger off the rack.
"That's stunning," Amy declared. "I vote for that one."
A slow smile spread over River's face. "I do like it," she admitted.
Amy's expression softened. She settled a hand across River's shoulders. "I feel like I'm getting you ready for a first date or something," she said, her voice hushed enough that Trish began to feel like she was intruding.
River kissed Amy's cheek. "Not the first time, is it?"
Amy drew back, her own smile widening despite something painful growing in her eyes. "No. No, you're right."
River cleared her throat, looking back to Trish. "Go start your laundry," she suggested, "then you can come back and help me get ready, hm?"
Trish smiled. "If you want, sure."
"If Jessica wants to come, she can," Amy added. "We can make it an event. Girls' night."
"I'll invite her," Trish said. She couldn't actually recall a time that Jessica had ever really enjoyed events like that, but she had vague recollections of senior prom, and Jessica's nervous laughter as they put on their dresses.
It could be nice.
Trish didn't realize how much she missed little get-togethers like these until she was in the midst of one. As she laughed at another of River's well-timed jokes, it dawned on her that she hadn't had any real close friends besides Jessica in a long time. And even then, Jessica had fallen off the map for a while because of Kilgrave, and Trish had been mostly on her own for longer than she ever had before.
Maybe she didn't know Amy or River all that well, and she was just beginning to truly repair her friendship with Jessica, but she had the sense that this could be a good thing. For all of them, maybe.
"Okay, stop fussing," River ordered, gently moving Amy's hands away from her face. "You'll smudge my eyeliner if you keep at it."
"Maybe it needs a little smudging," Amy insisted.
"You'll make her look like a raccoon that way," Jessica put in, smirking.
"She was quite fond of that look back in the day," River said, before Amy hurriedly shushed her. Trish giggled.
"Not raccoon eyes," Amy pressed. "Smokey eye, River! I was a model, I know about things like this."
River scoffed. "I've already gone and married him. I don't need to go too crazy."
Jessica spluttered. "You're married. You have to be kidding."
Another of those wicked smiles spread over River's face. "Oh, we're very married."
Trish barked out a laugh, unable to hide her surprise. She tried to picture the Doctor at a wedding, but her imagination failed her.
"Fine, I'll leave it," Amy relented, stepping back at last. "Turn around, let me zip you up."
"You look great," Trish put in, as River faced them. The dress was slender, but cut rather short, with enough skirt to make it look playful rather than the overdressed look Trish had somewhat expected. River beamed.
Jessica raised her glass, and tapped it against River's.
"We should do this more often," Amy decided. "I know you'll probably be headed home, soon, River, but at least the three of us. Trish, Jessica." She gave each of them a close-mouthed, hopeful smile. Trish replied in kind, a similar look taking over her own face. But Jessica, true to form, took a gulp of wine and nodded noncommittally. Trish didn't miss how Amy's face fell minutely as she looked away to fiddle with River's dress again. Trish wished there was a way to communicate telepathically with her somehow, to tell her that Jessica was just bad at starting relationships, that it wasn't her fault.
But she wasn't about to say anything in front of Jessica, and they were already moving on.
Something tapped on the door, loud enough that Trish winced, and the Doctor's voice boomed, "River Song!"
A glance to the entrance revealed him there, clad in a different coat, a long green thing, but without any other visible changes besides a crimson bow tie that nearly perfectly matched River's dress. He only barely took note of the rest of them, eyes locking on River.
"Hello, sweetie," she replied, eyes lighting up. "You look nice."
Behind the Doctor, Rory stepped into view. "You two are going to be safe, aren't you?"
"Don't worry, no shenanigans," the Doctor promised, ascending the steps. He took River's hands in his and moved close so that their foreheads nearly touched. "You look nice, yourself, Dr. Song."
"You two are disgusting," Jessica declared. Trish saw Rory give her an approving, understanding look.
"Now that we've finished disturbing you, we've got places to be," the Doctor said, pulling back from River to smirk at them. "We've already landed, we need to run if we're going to make our reservation."
"Okay, Raggedy Man, run off," Amy sighed, waving a hand at him to come closer to her, which he did without hesitation. "Don't be out all night, you two." She pressed a swift kiss to his forehead, and then to River's. Rory kissed River's cheek.
She called him her Raggedy Doctor, Trish remembered River saying about her mother, and a weird suspicion began to tickle at the back of her mind. But no, that was impossible. She watched Amy's young face exchanging a radiant smile with River's older one.
"Night, Ponds," the Doctor called behind him as he and River skipped down the stairs. "Jessica, Trish."
"Night, everyone!" River echoed.
"Goodnight," Trish managed to say, and then they were gone.
Amy caught her eye, and an expectant smile spread over the other woman's face. "Movie night?" she asked.
As Amy had predicted, River came to breakfast that morning ready to return home, wherever (and whenever) that was for her.
"I'm all packed" was the first thing she said as she relaxed into her chair at the table with a cup of coffee.
"You're going home today?" Luke asked, idly swirling a spoon through his own cup.
"Unfortunately, yes," River sighed. "I try to keep my visits here short, simply on principle."
"Couldn't the Doctor just take you back to the day you left?" Ianto pointed out between mouthfuls of toast.
River's smile turned slightly pained. "Despite his driving issues, I'm sure he could manage it. It's more due to personal reasons than anything else." She kept her gaze aimed at the table as she took a sip of her drink, and Trish felt her heart twinge in sympathy.
She could only guess at what these "personal reasons" were, but she suspected it was due to River and the Doctor's complicated relationship timeline. What River had implied when she'd said his past is my future, and vice versa was not exactly pleasant. Trish imagined there was only so much time that they had together - hence the Doctor's elaborate dinner date, and the way he bowed to River's every whim with nothing more than obligatory protests, and the way they looked at each other.
"Will we see you again?" Trish asked, forcing her mind to more hopeful ideas.
River glanced up at her, warmth in her eyes. "I do hope so. I've had fun with you all, the past few days. It's refreshing, having so many people aboard."
"The Doctor's a bit of a loner, is he?" Jessica smirked.
"Not by choice," River said, after another long sip. She sounded bitter, but she moved on before Trish could speak up about it. "Anyway, I'll try to come visit when you all are here. I can never be sure of when I'll meet the Doctor again. Could be before he brought you all on board, could be long after you're gone." She gave them a knowing grin. "I'll ask him if he's been to New York City recently."
"Mention Hell's Kitchen specifically," Trish put in. "Little bit more exact."
River inclined her head, raising her mug in acknowledgement. "Will do."
At that exact moment, a blur of tweed swept into the room, and headed immediately for the fridge.
"Morning, Doctor," River greeted. She hid her smile in her cup.
"Morning," he said back, though it sounded as if it came automatically, without thought. "I'm starved, me and Jack spent all night trying to fix the microwave oven in kitchen number nine. Or, mostly me, rather, Jack might have fallen asleep on the floor at some point. It was awhile ago." He half-vanished into the refrigerator, pawing through enough items to make Trish's head spin.
"You let my boyfriend fall asleep on the floor," Ianto repeated, nearly horrified.
"I was busy," the Doctor dismissed, not unkindly. "He's fine, up now. Might be a bit sore, but he didn't die. Not that that would knock him out for long anyhow."
Ianto pursed his lips, but some of the outrage dissipated.
"I thought you were a 'great host,'" Trish said. She couldn't help but snicker at him as he froze, and then slowly straightened up and turned to glare at her.
"Jack didn't have to stay up," he pointed out. "I told him to go to bed at least once."
Jack himself announced as he entered, "I was trying to have a conversation with you, Doctor. I wasn't sticking around because I love to repair toaster ovens."
The Doctor aimed a pointedly self-satisfied look at Ianto. "See? Not dead. Very much alive, in fact."
"Ta-da," Jack deadpanned. And then, as he stretched out his arms to do jazz hands, he winced. "I'm getting too old to spend the night on the floor," he complained.
"You don't get older," the Doctor shot back, once again buried in the contents of the refrigerator.
"If you two are done," River said, voice dry but nonetheless amused, "I'm looking to head home soon."
The Doctor emerged from the fridge again, this time holding a container of what looked like yogurt, and an expression on his face like that of a hesitant child. "Time's up, then?" he guessed. He kept his eyes firmly on his food as he peeled the lid off and set it on the counter.
River swallowed. "I think now's a good time, yes."
The Doctor dug through a drawer and retrieved a spoon. "I suppose it is. Well, let's all eat, and then Amy and Rory can see you off."
"Thank you," River said, although the look on her face was anything but grateful.
Jessica coughed, and Trish quickly elbowed her. "Hey," Jessica snapped. She then turned her attentions to the Doctor and River, while Trish ducked her head. "Look, you two, can we leave off on a good note? Please?"
River straightened up in her chair, just a little. And despite the previous pain on her face, she smiled. "That's probably a good idea. After all, we might not see each other again. I'd rather spend the next little while we have in a good mood."
"Fair point," the Doctor sighed. "Look at you, Jessica Jones. Telling us to cheer up." He huffed a little. "Have we entered into an alternate universe again?"
Jessica made a face at him.
"What shall we do, then?" River prompted. She slapped a hand to the table. "One last trip? Just a nice breakfast?"
"Let's go to Starspot Delta!" the Doctor exclaimed. His eyes lit up as if he'd discovered some sort of treasure. "Ooh, that's a treat, that. Lovely spot. I don't think you've been, River."
"What's Starspot Delta?" Luke inquired.
"Beautiful!" the Doctor proclaimed. "The most beautiful place this side of the universe, in my humble opinion. You can see at least four other galaxies in just the one spot - and we can make it a lazy day, since we don't even have to leave the TARDIS."
"You, having a lazy day?" Jack asked with a smirk.
The Doctor abandoned his yogurt on the counter to cross his arms. "I don't know if you've noticed, Captain Harkness, but we have had plenty of lazy days since you've all been on board. Plenty. Too many. More than I have ever had before."
"Because you're a good host," River put in.
The Doctor pointed at her. "Quite right."
"Thank you so very much for not actively trying to kill us," Jessica snarked. Jack coughed a laugh. The Doctor glared impressively. Trish hid yet another smile in her coffee, which was quickly going cold.
"So," Ianto interrupted. "Starspot Delta?"
They said their goodbyes after the TARDIS had landed in River's home - not tearful ones, but nonetheless sad. River hugged everyone who would allow her, and gave a friendly handshake to those who were a little more trepidacious about physical contact.
They were friends, Trish realized with a jolt. She'd hardly known River for a week, and yet they were well on their way to an enjoyable friendship. As River turned from the Doctor's new passengers to the Ponds, Trish was so wrapped up in her new discovery that she almost missed the words the group of them exchanged.
"Give us a call, won't you?" Amy was saying, a definite pout in her voice.
"I don't have an upgraded phone," River said back, gently, her hands on Amy's upper arms and a sad smile on her face.
"Then we'll call you," Rory decided, leaning a little closer. "We should get the right date, right?" He spun to shoot a stern look at the console, where the Doctor was fussing around with the controls in what Trish assumed was an attempt to give them space. "Doctor?"
Though he'd obviously been listening, the Doctor did a good impression of 'distracted.' "What? Oh, yes, you should be fine. So long as you plug in the right time, you'll get it."
"What's this about an upgraded phone?" Jessica pried, poking the Doctor hard in the shoulder.
"Time and space phone," the Doctor explained, but Trish became distracted by the events at the doorway once more, and tuned him out.
"Okay," River was saying, smiling at Rory now. "You call me." She then wrapped him in a hug. "Be safe, you two," she ordered as she drew back. "Make sure the Doctor stays on track with this 'limited trouble' plan of his."
Amy snickered. "We'll try. But you know how he is."
In response, River rolled her eyes. "Oh, do I."
"You be safe, too," Amy said, as she pressed a hand to River's cheek. "Stay out of trouble, Melody Pond, or...or else."
"Yes, Mum," River said back, though the grin on her face betrayed her true intentions - she wasn't going to listen at all. Amy kissed her forehead.
"You're joking," Luke blurted. He pushed off of the rail where he'd been leaning. Trish had to agree with him - she could hardly believe her eyes.
The Ponds - all three of them, apparently - turned to look. Rory wore a grimacing sort of smile, while Amy and River had devilish smirks that matched down to the turn of their eyebrows. And suddenly, Trish couldn't help but wonder how in the hell she'd missed it before.
"It's a long, long story," the Doctor interrupted, half-leaping down the stairs to the ground level and almost knocking a surprised Ianto over in the process. "Sorry, Jones. River, let me walk you out."
"How romantic," River said with a dramatic flutter of eyelashes. Rory facepalmed, but Amy only giggled. River accepted the arm the Doctor offered her, and the two of them whispered to one another as they exited the TARDIS. The only impression Trish got before the door closed behind them was darkness, and slime. She felt another of those sympathetic twinges for River, which she quickly smothered. She hadn't known River for long, but she was certain the woman wouldn't want any of her pity, no matter how appropriate it might be.
Rory wrapped an arm around his wife, which she leaned into with a loud sigh. Trish guessed that she'd get an explanation at some point, but for the moment she was left with a spinning head and a dozen questions all fighting to get out at once.
The Doctor returned in only a minute, beaming absurdly. He closed the TARDIS doors behind him and bounded up the stairs.
"You okay, Doc?" Jack asked, patting Ianto's arm before leaving him to head up to the console.
"Fine," the Doctor said. Already, his hands flew over the console. "Why don't we head to New New York, hm?"
Although Jessica had that squint like she was seeing right through him, she still asked, "New New York?"
"Yes! Lovely place. Be nice, yeah, to see your city long after you've all died?"
Trish wrinkled her nose. At the same time, Luke said, "Cheerful."
"That's me," the Doctor muttered, almost inaudible. Louder, he continued, "So, what do we think? They have fantastic ice cream." He finally looked up from the controls with a manic sort of grin, and Trish felt herself giving in, mostly out of sympathy.
"I'm always up for ice cream," she admitted. She smiled at him, as genuine as she could manage. "But you three are going to explain yourselves when we get there."
"Please," Luke stressed.
"Oh, fine, fine. That's a fair compromise," the Doctor agreed. "So!" He turned a couple of dials. "Geronimo!"
He flipped the lever, and despite the sorrowful goodbye, Trish couldn't stop herself from grinning as she held on for dear life.
Ta-Da! I hope you all enjoyed! Let me know what you're thinking so far, I love hearing from you guys as always. :)