The Doctor wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, sweeping away the water he had coughed up. He looked at Mr. Daniels plainly, as if saving James hadn't been his intended result. River pursed her lips to keep them from curling into a smile. 900 years, and the Time Lord was still oblivious.

She looked out at the water. They'd drifted farther than she'd thought. The men in the boat aside from Mr. Daniels all rowed in the direction of the pier. He, on the other hand, had settled down in between River and the Doctor.

"Sir," he started. "You deserve a reward for that brave act. Mad, but brave. But first, may I inquire as to your name?"

"Not brave," the Doctor muttered. "I'm a coward. I could've let him drown."

"But you didn't," Mr. Daniels murmured.

"He's the Doctor. And you are very far from being a coward, my love."

Mr. Daniels wet his lips and looked up at the sky. "We are headed to New York tomorrow, and I can do very little for you, Doctor. But what I can, I will."

"On the Titanic?" The Doctor's head shot up. River raised her eyebrows at the two men. Mr. Daniels' face morphed quizzically.

"Yes, but I don't see what that's got to do with any—"

The Doctor beamed a tiny smile at River. "Fantastic. Mr. Daniels, I know exactly what you can do for me."

"Yes?"

The rowboat hit something solid. All three of them looked up; Mary, James, and another young girl waved at them. The men rowing the boat climbed out first, then reached down to pull River out.

The Doctor shook Mr. Daniels' hand firmly. "Don't get on that ship tomorrow."


On land, a woman who must have been Mrs. Daniels practically smothered the Doctor with an embrace. River slipped away to put on her shoes before anyone could do the same to her. She strapped the vortex manipulator around her wrist and glanced up to find everyone from the rowboat clamoring to shake the Doctor's hand. He looked uncomfortable.

"River," he croaked, voice still hoarse from the effort of coughing on salt water.

"Sorry, sweetie," she grinned, returning to his side. He slid into his shoes and she helped him shoulder off the blanket and shrug into his coat. It was a useless exercise as both of them were dripping wet, too much for the jacket to do any good.

Mrs. Daniels threw the Doctor into another hug as Mr. Daniels attempted to shake his hand. "Are you sure I can't really repay you?" he said. James was huddled deep in the folds of several blankets, wolfing down the contents of a bowl of soup from a nearby café. Mary and the other little girl sat next to him on the pier.

River wrung the water from her flattened curls, somewhat displeased that her hair was going to frizz. The Doctor shook his head, rubbing water out of his short hair with a hand. "Just trust me, Mr. Daniels. If your son's life means anything to you, you'll go home today."

"Money, transportation, really, Doctor."

"Doctor who?" Mary asked.

"No, he's just the Doctor," James replied. He shivered as a wind blew, and River did so too. She tugged the blanket further around her shoulders.

"Doctor, really. My son would have died." Mr. Daniels raised his hands. He was a tall imposing figure with a soft face, and next to him, his shorter wife looked just as wholehearted, even with her severe features. "Why don't you want us to go?"

"You'll know soon enough. Promise me."

Mrs. Daniels put a hand on her husband's shoulder. "I believe him." Her eyes shone; River knew she'd been crying for the sake of her children. "Maybe we'll go next time."

Mr. Daniels bit his lip. He glanced at James and his dark eyes finally turned to River. The indecision was written across his features. The Titanic was history in action… just not the history he was looking for. He looked like a well-to-do man, probably one who had paid handsomely for the passage and wouldn't be refunded.

"Daddy," James said, "that man is from another planet. He has a magic box. You should listen to him!"

River laughed. "Listen to your son, Mr. Daniels. Give him a chance."

Mr. Daniels pursed his lips and sighed, "Doctor, if I agree to cancel our trip, will you please allow us to treat you to supper?" The Doctor groaned, looking away. Mr. Daniels put up his hands quickly. "Not as a reward, just to show our gratitude. As friends."

The Doctor frowned. With a wry smile, River nudged his shoulder and winked, walking away backwards toward the TARDIS. "Have fun, sweetie! Be back by ten. Mr. Daniels," she pointed, "don't keep him out too late."

"River!" the Doctor stuttered, speechless. "What are you, my mother?"

"Oh, hardly," River raised a suggestive eyebrow as she turned to unlock the TARDIS. "I'm much more exciting than that."

She walked into the TARDIS and turned to peer out the door. Mrs. Daniels took the Doctor's arm and the six of them left the pier. The Doctor glanced back, but he stayed with them. River pressed her lips together and smiled lightly, pleased. He was good now. Safe. Hurting, but not as bad. He would go on, be alright. Find Rose Tyler and live a good life. She knew he had a fantastic future in store.

She'd been a part of it.

But it was time to go. She understood it. She'd done enough to corrupt both their timelines. River strolled into the center of the TARDIS, running her hand along the console. It was beautiful, she realized. The coral wasn't so bad. The TARDIS responded to her touch, humming. Even if the Doctor didn't know her yet, his blue box could sense who she would be.

Hopefully, being there hadn't changed anything.

All the same. It was time to go. River raised her wrist and tapped her fingers quickly across the vortex manipulator. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and pressed down.

Nothing.

No whooshing, pulling feeling, no time-travel-in-a-capsule breathlessness. Nothing at all.

River cracked open her eyelids and glowered down at the vortex manipulator on her arms. She retyped the coordinates and shut her eyes again, stabbing down the button. She expected to be ripped across time and space, to gasp across eons of the universe's history, be torn out and away from the TARDIS. But she didn't move and time didn't shift around her. Nothing happened. River swore under her breath and tried again. This time, the manipulator sparked and crackled. River started and yanked the strap from her wrist. On the grates, it clattered with a jolt, and then fizzled out.

River knelt tenderly to retrieve it. In her hands, the screen went dark, totally dead. She breathed. The TARDIS fell silent as she rose unsteadily to her feet. She swore again, desperately. Her eyes lifted to the TARDIS' roof.

"Paradox."