Chapter 2: wherein River goes for a checkup... and meets another River.
Simon - they take her to the doc first off, to check her out and make sure they don't have another crazy River on their hands. She's quiet, almost excited when they mention a Doctor, and walks arm in arm with Mal down to the infirmary with a little spring in her step. Her notable disappointment when she sees him fades quickly during the examination, as they chat of Osiris and the Library planet he's grown up hearing about. They trade insults in Chinese, and she teaches him a few choice phrases of complete filth in languages that have gone unspoken by tongues any color than green or purple in several centuries. Their mutual brilliance is a fun sort of play, and he appreciates a sane (well, slightly saner) River to talk to. With permission, he tugs on one of her curls, and she pushes a few stray locks off his forehead, commenting that they're "floppy" with a slight quiver to her lower lip before she catches it between her teeth.
He's about to push a boundary, actually take her hand in his and ask what's bothering her, when River wanders in. She's mumbling under her breath about a River on board being unlikely, because of difficulties with water flow, when she sees the newcomer. With a barely suppressed sigh, Simon introduces River to River, and stands at the ready to tackle his sister should she do... something... Riverish. She merely assesses the woman before her, walking around her in a slow circle, and then dashes forward to snuggle under her arm. The slight sting at his sister's sudden transfer of affections is soothed by the Elder River's burst of startled laughter and the sweetly affectionate squeeze she gives the younger girl who begs to drag her away. They part with a fond handshake and a quiet admission in his ear that he's now her second favorite young Doctor. He presses a kiss to her cheek before the Rivers run off down the hall, and puzzles over the odd statement as he turns back to clear up the med bay.
River - it takes a few minutes for River to accept the presence and existence of another River on board. Once she's processed it, she glues herself to the woman's side. Rather than running for cover at the sight of her hair for fear of cranial collapse, she declares it magic space hair and sits fascinated for over an hour, pulling gently on each wild curl and letting it spring back while discussing temporal disruption and the surprising sweetness of illogical reverse time stream romance. The Elder River finds a radio feed on her vortex manipulator and introduces the younger River to swing dancing and big band music. They happily bounce and groove, making up complex rhythms with their feet and spinning around in each other's arms. The sound of their blended laughter is hypnotically blissful, and one ponders that the meeting of two Rivers has never produced something so sweet. Eventually, the girl's eyes begin to droop from the activity and excitement, not used to having someone understand her for so long and continuous a time the way this River does.
They are so similar, in their smarts and sadness, and the way they each have the best love of a young Doctor. The blonde tucks the brunette gently into bed, briefly flashing her sonic into the girl's chocolate locks, frowning at the implications of its readout. Banishing her own memories to the locked cage in the back of her mind, she presses a gentle kiss to the girl's forehead as a safeguard against bad dreams, before slipping out in search of a new playmate. There's a few hours til dinnertime yet, and she can't wait to see what else she can get into before then.
A/N: next up, some fun with the Washburnes!