A short time later, the Doctor had dinner finished. He had made chicken and rice with a few vegetables. He would never tell River this, but he had secretly looked the recipe up and tried his hardest to do exactly what it instructed. As River walked in the room, the first thing she saw was the ordinary mahogany dining table. It was set beautifully, and there were even candles resting on it. Every detail was taken to with meticulous care, and nothing was left unthought-of. To be honest with herself, she was quite impressed.
The Doctor pulled out her chair and helped her sit, taking his own seat only after making sure that she was comfortable. He straightened his bowtie somewhat nervously, and she realized that he'd changed it to the dark blue one he had worn when they'd married.
"This all looks wonderful," she said, smiling.
"Thanks, I think so too. I-" He had begun excitedly, and then stopped. "I mean, thank you. You look nice too."
She suppressed a laugh. "Thank you." They started eating, and she was again impressed, this time at the taste of the food. He had made it well, and she hadn't expected him to do so, had raised the fork to her mouth warily. He had exceeded her expectations, as he always seemed to do.
He sat across from her in the candlelight with his eyes squeezed shut, as though he were trying to remember something just out of his grasp. Suddenly, he opened his eyes again and said, "If you could travel anywhere in time and space on a date, and you only had one choice, where would you go?"
River just looked at him for a second. "Well, I suppose that question is irrelevant, because I don't only have one choice; I travel with you quite often, and I almost always get my choice."
"If you couldn't logic your way out of it."
"But I can logic my way out of it." She smiled. "I thought you of all people would be the first to do that."
"Assume you can't. Just answer the question. Please."
She sighed mockingly, giving in. "Fine. I suppose I would go… Well, if it were a date, I would want my date to choose. It would be more romantic that way, if they chose somewhere they thought I would like."
"How about Venice? Early 1800s?"
"Works for me." She secretly liked when it happened that way, when he chose a place he knew she would love, and then he would take her on a nice date there. It was sweet.
They finished eating, and the Doctor crossed to her side of the table, kissing the top of her head. "Go get something nice on, and that's where we'll go. I'll clean up the kitchen and get the Tardis ready."