He looked to the side, somewhere out of view of the screen, face unusually unsure.
"River! River… Uh, nice to see you! Well, I can't see you, I'm looking at a-" He cut himself off, glancing once more to the side as static ran over the screen momentarily, "Well, anyway! We should meet! General Space Board three, I think. It's a date! Oh- I mean the date, is um… Seven million years after the 21st century. Yes… So, see you then!" He grinned, smile slightly weak as the video feed cut off. Coordinates and a specific time and date appeared on the screen. The woman dubbed "River" frowned at the screen.
That was highly unusual, and worried her. Instead of blindly following as the Doctor said, she instead tracked down the signal that the video came from, teleporting there using a stolen Vortex Manipulator.
A woman with long golden hair in a militaristic grey suit paced back and forth in front of her captive. River would pay for what she has done, just as everyone else would. It had been an hour, though, and there was no sign of River whatsoever.
She turned to her captive, irritated.
"Even if it reached a version of her that was out to kill you, she'd be here! What's taking her so long?" The woman snapped, not in the mood for pacing and waiting any longer.
"Mmhph, mmnunm?" The chained man with vines and wooden cages surrounding him answered. He shook his head, floppy black hair soaked through with cold water. He had been lightly tortured during the wait, more to shut him up than to really do any damage. After a while she had just duct taped his mouth shut. The woman nodded, not really wanting to take off the duct tape.
"Right, you aren't all-knowing. Not like you're married to the woman or anything," The woman muttered angrily, tightening the barbed wire chains around him, making him flinch as he shivered. It was cold in the room, and he was drenched in cold water with only boxers on. It made sense that he was shivering.
The woman pulled out a hot dog and smeared it with peanut butter, eating it as she went back to pacing. Pregnancy cravings were the oddest of things, but she found at least twenty different food combinations that she adored that she'd never have tried otherwise.
"Mmsgy, thnnffk, mmpnsh!" The Doctor cried, louder. He elongated each word, as if he was trying to overcome the muffling powers of duct tape. The woman rolled her eyes, ripping the duct tape off of the Doctor's mouth, getting a flinch from him.
"Ahh, much better! I'm rather cold, could you get me a blanket or something?" The Doctor asked, shifting as much as he dared with the barbed wire chains wrapped around him. The woman stared blankly at him for a moment, and he nodded.
"Right, right, I'm a captive. Got it…" The Doctor trailed off awkwardly, looking around, "What if she doesn't come?" He asked, only slightly worried.
"Then I'll release you, apologize profusely, and turn myself in to the authorities." The woman sat down, rolling her eyes at the Doctor's hopeful look.
"Really?"
"No. What do you think I am? A charity service? You'll be killed. River will pay, one way or another," The pregnant woman replied, voice dark. The air turned downright frigid, and the Doctor shivered a bit more, skin turning blue.
"Ah, well, that's not good. Not good at all! River's not here, I'm cold, can I at least get a last meal?" The Doctor whined, eyes darkening in thought. He wouldn't let himself be killed by something River did. It usually was the other way around for people who knew him.
"What did River do? I'm sure we can talk this through," The Doctor tried. The woman looked at him flatly.
"She killed my husband, before he even knew he'd be a dad. Right. In. Front. Of. Me. I'm planning on repaying the favor. You don't have any regenerations left, I checked."
"What? River wouldn't do that! Well, was he a criminal like you? She wouldn't just kill someone like that! The only person she ever killed was me! And don't ask, it's complicated."
"He was part of a charity service. Helped out with orphans. He didn't know I was a criminal of time, and never found out." The woman sniffled, eyes watering as she remembered the brilliance of her late husband. She didn't notice the Doctor's grimace as he glanced at her slightly protruding stomach and her various food items next to his stuff.
"Ooh. Sorry about that. Um."