A/N: I got inspired to write a short songfic (yeah I know sometimes they go wrong, hopefully this one didn't) by Lady Antebellum's 'Need you now'. All of the italics except for the "don't you dare, not one line!" are lyrics. I thought it fit River and the Doctor quite well so I tried to fit this just before 'First Night'
Characters are (c) to BBC/ Steven Moffat. No copyright infringement intended.
River sat on the cot in her cell. So this was it for her now? Prison for a crime she technically didn't commit while her new husband went swanning off around the universe, doing everything he used to, just a little quieter. She glanced at the corridor outside and at the camera that was trained on her cell; she could always blow it up but then what would she do? She knew what she wanted to do. Call her parents and tell them how much she missed them, missed the games they'd played when they were younger, missed Amy's terrible attempts at making cakes that they'd have to eat anyway because nobody else would.
She looked around the room, because of how long her sentence was they'd given her a few extra pieces of furniture. A bookshelf where she kept all her university books and a couple of old worn out titles that Rory had given her for her eighteenth birthday. Pride of place was of course, given to her diary and surrounding it were clay figures that Amy had made when they were younger and then given to her as Christmas presents. The top shelf was a line of framed photos. One of her getting her doctorate, oh how she wished her parents could have been there to see her, she could easily imagine Amy grinning madly and Rory beaming as her name was called out and she walked to the front, and then the two of them dragging her off for a celebratory drink before they went back home. The other photos were simple snapshots of the three when they were younger but River treasured them for the sense of home they gave her.
Maybe she couldn't phone her parents but she realised, she could always call The Doctor. He never quite left her thoughts and he was quickly becoming the little voice in her head. Maybe that wasn't such a good thing but honestly she could care less as she fished her mobile out of her bag and scrolled down to his number.
Picture perfect memories scattered all around the floor
Reachin' for the phone 'cause I can't fight it anymore
And I wonder if I ever cross your mind
For me it happens all the time
As the phone rang River looked at her watch. It was late, maybe he wouldn't answer. This was her second night alone, a newly wedded bride with no husband in sight and nothing to show for it. The phone kept ringing. Maybe he was asleep, or in the swimming pool, somewhere he couldn't hear the phone. Or maybe he was off having wild adventures. Without her. River knew it shouldn't hurt so much but it did. He was free to do as he wanted while she was stuck here, alone.
It's a quarter after one, I'm all alone and I need you now
Said I wouldn't call but I lost all control and I need you now
And I don't know how I can do without
I just need you now
In the TARDIS, just floating in space, was the Doctor. He sat in the library with his jacket across the back of the chair and a bottle of whiskey that Jack had left lying around on the small table next to him. The events of the last few days had finally caught up to him, his supposed 'death', his marriage and his escape.
"Oh River," he sighed and looked at the ceiling. He missed her, the way she talked to him, as an equal, nobody had done that for a long time. And he'd left her in prison, it shouldn't have felt like a betrayal but it did, she was his and he was hers, they belonged together not apart. He debated breaking her out and never letting her go back but the promise he'd made to her, that day in The Library,
"Don't you dare, not one line!"
He sighed again. He'd grown to love her and that meant he'd keep whatever promises he made, even ones he didn't understand at the time. Oh he knew that River wouldn't spend every day in Stormcage, there would always be the adventures he'd already lived after all, but to leave her alone tonight of all nights. He didn't know if he could stand it.
Another shot of whiskey can't stop looking at the door
Wishing you'd come sweeping in the way you did before
And I wonder if I ever cross your mind
For me it happens all the time
He pushed himself out of the chair, the alcohol making him that little bit more daring as he headed to the console room. As he got closer he could hear his phone ringing and he sped up, he knew who it was, knew who the only person who'd call him this late could possibly be and he wanted, no, needed her. Just as he crossed into the room the ringing stopped and he felt the disappointment of missing her call cloud his mind.
"River," he moved up to the controls and hesitated for a brief second. What if he phoned the wrong River? "Ah well, keep trying until I get the right one!" he picked up the phone and dialled the number, leaning on the edge of the console as he listened to the tone.
It's a quarter after one, I'm a little drunk and I need you now
Said I wouldn't call but I lost all control and I need you now
And I don't know how I can do without
I just need you now
"River?"
"You got my call then?" he could hear the mix of relief and playful teasing in her voice and he smiled.
"Pack a bag Ms Song."
"Why? Where are we going?"
He entered the co-ordinates for Stormcage and remembered to take the brakes off before replying, "Anywhere you want River. You choose."