The TARDIS shuddered as it landed. The Doctor tossed River her diary as he emerged from the wardrobe, now looking like he should in leather jacket and jumper. All put together. You're welcome, a childish voice in the back of her mind muttered. He didn't meet her eyes but pulled down a lever and the entire box shook. He put out an arm, motioning to the door.

River raised an eyebrow and walked forward. The Doctor was being quiet. He hadn't said a word since she'd mentioned Krakatoa, and even for this strange version of him, that was wrong. It made her uneasy. She paused at the door and looked back—the Doctor folded his arms crossly, watching her. Undoing the latch, River stepped out.

And instead of an island, she hit the solid, marble floor of a wide hall. One she knew well. The ceilings arched over her. The hundreds of students with books loaded in their arms bustled past her without ever noticing the odd blue box that rested in the middle of the room. River pressed her tongue against her cheek and oriented herself. Everything was exactly as she had last seen it. The Doctor had put her back exactly in her own timeline.

"What are you doing?" River demanded through the open door. She pulled herself back into the doorway. "What about Krakatoa?" The Doctor looked up at her, lips pursed. Her eyebrows furrowed. "This is Luna University, Doctor. I don't understand."

"Isn't this the right place?" he asked. River opened her mouth to protest, but the Doctor shook his head. She hesitated. "I'm going," he continued, "to Krakatoa, I mean. I'll meet with that man and see what we can do. I'll find you again when I've worked it out." Quizzically, River looked at him.

"But—"

"It'll be a quick trip. I'll figure things out, come back, and we'll fix things up. River, you know every minute you spend with me, the paradox gets worse. The whole entire universe is busting at the seams, and I'm barely keeping it together as it is. You can't come. I'm sorry. Get out of the TARDIS." The Doctor didn't move from his spot by the console. His face was set. But River felt her heart plummet from her chest and shatter on the ground. She grabbed the railing and wrapped her fingers tightly around it.

"I can't," she replied simply. "You don't understand." The Doctor arched an eyebrow at her and River shook her head. "You don't know who I am, Doctor. And if that's so… if that's true... that means, paradox or no, this is the first time you meet me. And the last time I see you." His expression darkened a shade. River swallowed the quiet desperation crawling, slimy, up the back of her throat. "I can't… I just can't…."

It's not fair, she wanted to scream. Pressure built behind her eyes, hard and longing. She told herself she wouldn't cry. Not even for this man.

"What is it you want then?" the Doctor asked. Gripping a lever, his knuckles turned white. River could see him trying to swallow his temper. "You want me to put you into danger? Or the universe? Time and space?"

"No, it's just… if this is the last time I see you, I want every minute with you I can have. I don't even care if you know me anymore; I only want to have every single one of my last moments, Doctor. It's the end for me. And all of those days we had together, those are all ahead for you, but for me… I never get one of those days again. One of those days where you look at me and you know me, you trust me completely. It's your eyes. Even the last time I saw you—"

"The Byzantium?"

River nodded. "You barely trusted me at all. But in those days… we ran, Doctor. You should have seen us. You will see us. Through planets and moons and cascades of star across the cosmos, through fields of grass and sun and mountains, waterfalls; soaring all over space and time, all those futures and histories and all those beautiful, terrible, incredible places… we ran. Oh, god, did we run. You and me. And now," River looked down, dreamy smile fading, unable to meet his eyes, "I never will have those days again. It kills me."

The bustle of the University buzzed around the blue box. Students raced by with bags and books as the bell signaling the start of the day's classes rang. Light from the multiple suns slanted in through the high windows. Back home, in a sense. Or at least it was now, since she'd achieved a pardon at the Byzantium. River took a deep breath. That was a life she couldn't go back to. It had been so hard without him and it never got any easier. He didn't even look at her without the angry distrust burning across his face. That look, that singular look, shattered her soul. Shards piercing her heart. River felt like she might crumble to dust. She blinked away the blurry hotness welling in her eyes and held a deep breath.

"So, please," she murmured at last. "Let me come with you."

The Doctor only stared at her. She wondered if she didn't see a flash of painful sympathy flit through his eyes. "I'm sorry," was the reply. River looked up. He continued, gently, trying to make the words kind, "Get out."

River's arms tensed. She tightened her grip on the railings. "I can't leave you, my love."

"You saved me. Thank you. Because you're right. I needed someone. But River, I'm fine now. And it's time I solved this problem so we can continue on our ways." The Doctor folded his arms. "Go."

River glared at him and bit her lip. "No." His shoulders slumped and his leather jacket hung around his frame. He shook his head and turned, walking around the center of the TARDIS. He stopped, like an afterthought, and looked curiously at River, facing her.

"One last question, River," he said. "Do you love me?"

That question caught River off-guard. Her eyes widened. She looked at him, caught between confusion and urgency. "What?" she mumbled aloud. But in her mind, her thoughts were zipping by, screaming at hundreds of miles an hour. Not yet, part of her argued, taking in his too-young eyes, his nose, his clothes.

Always, the rest of her breathed.

In the end, she didn't say anything to him. Her eyes softened and met his. No words came to her tongue. But his eyes understood everything. "I'm sorry, but you can't stay." He stepped forward and River froze. Her eyebrows lowered suspiciously. The Doctor strode forward, close to her and gripped her shoulders with his strong hands. He pushed her back, but River wouldn't budge. She tried to move forward. The Doctor rocked forward, pulling her toward the door. She scraped her feet along the floor. "I won't leave you!" she exclaimed. She wasn't about to let him force her out.

Then, in one swift movement, his hands slipped down to her arms, he tilted his head, closed his eyes, and he kissed her. A shock wound up from the base of her spine as his lips reached hers. She simultaneously relaxed and tensed. Her eyes closed as her fingers uncurled with want, and fluttered open again with surprise. He held her, hands lacing around her back… and… and…

All of the sudden, her thoughts weren't working, her heart was pounding, and she was starting to melt… but he wasn't her Doctor… and she didn't care. His arms were around her and all her defenses puddled to the unexpected. Her stomach curled and flipped, butterflies pushed around inside her. Her blood started to race, to dash…. She could feel warmth rising in her chest… Her hands lifted and fell… It couldn't be wrong if he was the same man….

The Doctor stepped forward, leaning into the kiss, taking a breath but never leaving her. River stumbled back in response. And in that instant, her hands free, he shoved her out the door and broke away. River gaped as she realized; the Doctor slammed shut the doors with a sharp thud. He was using her. He hadn't meant anything.

The blue box disappeared.

River numbly fell to her knees in the empty hall. The University echoed with the sound of the TARDIS. She stared at nothing, head catching up with what just happened. She sat back on her ankles and took a heavy breath, shaking her head.

"I hate that man," she said to herself.