A/N: Firstly, I have to extend the spoiler warning from the beginning. Because I have recently got the guts to watch episodes 6x09 till 6x13. And I don't understand what I was afraid of, it absolutely played into my hands. Did anyone else notice the slight discrepancy with River and the Byzantium at the end? It's stored for further use.

Also, I really have to apologize, but it became clear that I won't be able to update regularly anymore. I have no chapters written up and will update as soon as a chapter is finished. But it can be very irregularly, with gaps of three weeks between updates.

But now enough chatter, here is the chapter. We will follow River a bit around her morning. Have fun and please leave review afterwards.

Chapter 9 - Yesterday

Yesterday
All my troubles seemed so far away
Now it looks as though they're here to stay
Oh, I believe in yesterday
Suddenly
I'm not half the man I used to be
There's a shadow hanging over me
Oh, yesterday came suddenly
- Yesterday – The Beatles -

When River Song woke up that morning, she didn't know that she was facing a fork in the metaphorical road. She could take the easy way, but the more painful. Or she could take the hard way, but the one for which she had to fight with all that she was worth. But before she realized all that, she lay there, still a little fuzzy from sleep, blissfully unaware.

That changed as soon as she stretched her arms to both her sides and hit thin air. In a jolt, she was wide awake and bolted upright. Looking around she had to realize that she was alone. Shadow had left her there. All alone. Gone without a word. And River thought she had left this sort of thing behind.

She got up and put her clothes on. Well, she tried to do it as fast as she could but she had to find them first, for they were scattered all across the room. Shadow's clothes must have been scattered as well, so River asked herself why she hadn't noticed that Shadow had left.

Well, no use in crying over spilled milk, River thought to herself when she was finally dressed. She had to decide what to do next. Should she go on as though nothing had happened between Shadow and her or should she find Shadow and demand an answer as to why she had left?

The dull feeling inside her pretty much decided that question for her. She would go after Shadow. But first, she had to find her.

Shadow was probably on her way to London by now, River reckoned. That was a start, but London was a big city and River didn't know where to start looking for her in London. But then it occurred to her that Jack might know where Shadow was. So she decided to go back to Torchwood and ask him about the exact whereabouts of a certain someone.

She left the hotel, dropping the key at the desk, and made her way back to Cardiff Bay. Yesterday, they had left through the official entrance, so River knew where to enter and hadn't to stand around in front of the water tower all day, hoping someone might notice.

When she stepped inside the tourist information, Ianto was there. He looked up and seemed mildly surprised.

"Can I help you, Miss?" He asked.

"Yes, actually. I really need to speak to Jack. It's important." Ianto nodded and reached under the counter and to River's right, a hidden door opened. "Thank you."

"No problem, Miss." Should she correct him? No, she had more important things to do right now. So she walked back into the Torchwood hub.

Jack was already waiting for her. They looked at each other and then he turned around and led them into his office. As soon as they were seated, Jack came to the point.

"She made a run for it." It was a statement, not a question and River knew it. Still, she answered.

"Yes, she did. I just don't know why, though."

"Oh, that's easily explained. Commitment issues. She inherited them from her dad." That surprised River a bit.

"The Doctor has commitment issues? That I never noticed." This got Jack suspicious.

"What exactly is your relationship with the Doctor?" River decided to be truthful. If she ever wanted to get somewhere here, she had to be utterly truthful now.

"I'm his wife."

"Wife?" Jack interrupted. "And you have an affair with his daughter?"

"It's complicated. Very complicated." She thought for a moment. "And really easy at the same time. The Doctor is like a flame that burns brightly through the ages. It has always been like that when I was with him." She sighed and then looked Jack into the eye. "But Shadow is like a blazing, raging inferno that can't be put out. She just blew me away. It's like nothing I've ever felt before. And the feelings I have for the Doctor are really strong. But the ones I hold for her are even stronger."

Jack could see that she spoke the absolute truth, but at the same time just realized the truth of what she had said herself. And it seemed to him that she was a bit taken aback.

"You do realize that you have to fight a very strong enemy to get her?" Jack wanted to know how far she would go. "And I don't mean the Doctor." He added as an afterthought.

"I don't know who you mean, but I'm more than willing to fight for her." Determination shone in her eyes.

"You know what? I believe you. And because of that I'm going to help you and tell you who you have to fight. But first, I will call someone, again, and tell her you're coming."

"Shadow?" River asked while Jack reached for the phone and dialed the number.

"Sarah Jane Smith."

After Jack had made the call, he got up and grabbed his coat. "Come on. I'll drive you there."

The drive was quiet but after an hour and a half of mulling, musing, doubting and reinforcing of what she was about to do, River remembered something Jack had said earlier.

"You said you'd tell me who would have to fight to convince Shadow." She looked over at him and saw that he looked a bit uneasy.

"Well, I don't even understand what is going on with her either; all I know is that it's something very powerful. And, you could say, it's all in her head."

"How do you know that?"

"Well, we were on a mission once and she blundered in, seemingly without a plan, and, well, firstly, she was shot at and ducked at the right times and always avoided the shots..."

"Time Lord reflexes." River cut in. "She can see Time to certain degree. I can, too. It's quite handy actually."

"Oh, I forgot. You're one of 'em." Jack looked a bit mock-annoyed. "Anyway, to get the point, she then pulled out knowledge she shouldn't possess and threw the others of their game, giving us enough time to take them in."

"So she is good at gathering intel." River shrugged.

"No, what I'm saying is, I asked her afterwards, how she knew it and she answered with two gestures." Jack pointed with his right hand at his head and then made a V with his index and middle finger and pulled them from under his chin outward with the back of his hand facing away from him.

"Mind. Voice." River translated for herself.

"That's exactly what I found out, once I had it translated. You speak that language?"

"I don't speak it, I can interpret it." Jack looked confused. "It's a bit like being able to read Greek without actually being able to speak it."

"Oh. Anyway, I think what Shadow meant was that there is a voice in her head that tells her things. And I also think that this voice, whatever it may be, is something she listens to when it tells her to do something."

"You're probably right with the voice thing. And you think that this voice told her to leave me?" River hesitated a moment before continuing. "That it maybe told her that I'm married to the Doctor? And this made her leave?"

"I honestly don't know. All I know is what I told you. Maybe Sarah Jane can tell you more, seeing as they are living under the same roof and are continuously in trouble together." Jack smirked.

"Some things can't be helped." River whispered before watching the scenery outside the window pass by again, thinking hard about how she should proceed with the new knowledge and what it might mean. It seemed as if she was in need of a battle plan.

When Jack pulled up at the end of Bannerman Road, River still had no battle plan and didn't know what she could say or do to convince Shadow of her sincerity. She would just have to take a page out of Shadow's book and simply blunder into the scene. That would get her somewhere at least. Even if it were just a free trip to the land of embarrassment. She looked at Jack because she felt his eyes on her.

"Let's do this." She said, nodded and then got out of the car.