NOTE: Happy Birthday America!
ANOTHER NOTE: Just reminder that River is not a linear character. That means that the events in her chapters could happen *anywhere* in the time line of this story. And when she pops up in the Doctor's chapters she could be younger or older. You'll have to snoop around a bit and look at the clues (I'll give you lots of clues) to figure out where you are in River's time line. So just because the Doctor was at one point in his time line in the last chapter (a River chapter), doesn't mean he's at that point in this one (hint: he's not).
The Doctor, Amy, and Rory are linear characters, we pick up on them in sequence. River is a wild card...in more than one way!
River is a lot of fun the way she and the Doctor never met up in the right order, but it is going to be a challenge to write and admittedly probably a challenge to read. Just hang on and enjoy the ride, don't worry if you don't know exactly where she is in her timeline, just understand that she will bounce back and forth and what not. Example in Chapter One she had been to Abydos, in Chapter Four she had not yet taken that trip.
Chapter Five
"River!"
Amy woke sitting bolt upright with her daughter's name still caught in her throat. Shivering from the cold sweat that clung to her skin Amy peeled the sheets off and swung her legs over the side of the bed. Uncertain what her nightmare had been about Amy just sat on the edge of the bed and took a few deep breaths. Rory was still sleeping deeply, snoring with each breath. Shaking her head sadly Amy got to her feet and stepped into the bathroom.
Without turning on the lights Amy pulled off her night shirt and walked into the shower. The water automatically turned on to a perfect warm temperature and rinsed away the unpleasant sweat. Leaning her forehead against the tile Amy let the water run down her back. Since leaving Gemina two weeks ago the Doctor had been no more forthcoming about what he was doing about his chronic pain. What he was doing was becoming increasingly frustrated with the TARDIS and her 'navigation issues', although he hadn't explained where it was that he couldn't get to.
Amy was starting to fear that it was Earth itself that was out of reach his reach. He kept asking her to stay a little longer, but she was starting to wonder if that was because he physically couldn't take them home and he didn't want to admit it. The Doctor was spending a lot of time trying to rewire the TARDIS, and yet no matter what he did when he returned to the console he could never lock the coordinates he was after. He would just shrug it off with a painful grimace and take them somewhere else, but lately he was starting to get more desperate and emotional about it and that was always cause for concern.
Getting out of the hot spray of the shower Amy dried off with a large deep blue towel. She was about to go back and join Rory in bed when she felt the subtle vibration that indicated that the TARDIS had just landed. In their bedroom it wasn't as easy to notice when the TARDIS touched down, but over time she had learned to pick up on the signs. Going into the closet she quickly got dressed.
Without waking Rory Amy left their room and started down the hallway towards the main control room. As she approached the main chamber she peeked around the entrance way at the top of the stairs to see what the Doctor was doing. Looking into the chamber Amy found it empty. The front door was slightly open and a soft artificial light was pouring in from the world outside the TARDIS.
Amy crept up to the door and pulled the doors open just enough to peek outside. The TARDIS was sitting in the corner of what looked like a cluttered museum storage room. The dim light gave the place a feel of being after hours. Amy carefully made her way through the dusty alien statues, broken marble tablets, bronze disks, charred space ship parts and other paraphernalia towards an old wooden door that was set in the far wall.
As Amy got closer she could hear voices in the next room over, one of which she easily identified as the Doctor's. Slinking up to the door Amy peered through one of the cracks in the old and weathered door to see what was happening on the far side. In the room beyond the Doctor was sitting at one end of a heavy wooden table with a serious expression frozen on his face. The far end of the ten foot table sat an impossibly thin alien with lidless dead looking blue eyes. Standing off to the side were two muscular humanoids. On the far side at the center of the table stood what looked to Amy to be a normal human in a business suit looking bored.
The skeletal alien figure was draped in a purple garb with silver writing on it that Amy didn't recognize. It was holding a clear tablet in its spindly six fingered hands that it was reading intently. Amy changed her view to another crack in the door to try and see what was on the tablet, she couldn't read the glowing text that shone through the clear glass, but she did recognize the fact that there were Gallifreyan symbols at the bottom of the page. The alien read through the glittering text a few times before putting the tablet down.
"Do we have an agreement?" The Doctor asked coldly.
The alien looked to the human. The man appeared to be receiving a psychic message of some sort and listened intently before turning to the Doctor.
"There is one amendment to the contract my client wishes to make."
"No, no amendments." The Doctor said firmly. "Absolutely not."
"It is a small one, more of a technicality than an amendment."
"What is it?"
"My client wants the payment from one of your hearts."
"That's just ridiculous. It doesn't even make sense." The Doctor protested. "The palm is standard procedure for this."
"There is nothing standard about this, Doctor."
"Why does it even matter?"
"It matters to my client."
"You talked your client into this." The Doctor accused. "You're just trying to make this more difficult for me because of that little incident on Seiten 9, which I was not even responsible for."
"That is my client's final offer. Do you accept it or not?"
Amy wasn't sure what was happening, but the Doctor was clearly not happy with the situation. The thin alien remained calm suggesting that it was in some sort of position of power. Amy knew it wasn't often that someone had something that the Doctor wanted. The Doctor stared down the wraith like alien for a moment, but when it didn't back down he gave in. He reached up and yanked his bow tie apart before starting to undo the buttons.
"Fine." The Doctor growled.
The alien was unmoved by the news, however a smug smile spread across the business man's lips that made Amy want to burst in on the scene and demand to know what was going on. Knowing better than to interrupt the bizarre meeting Amy stayed hidden behind the door. The man in the business suit reached out and opened a small wooden box that lay on the table that Amy hadn't noticed before.
The man pulled out a small device that looked like a metallic octopus to Amy. The business man lifted out a tiny glass vial that held a thick clear gel with a few bubbles in it and clicked the vial into the top of the dull silver metal octopus. The Doctor leaned forward and reached out to take the device but the man just shook his head. Rolling his eyes the Doctor sat back and held his shirt open just enough to expose the skin over his left heart that still held faint white spiral scars.
"Scars, Doctor? Getting old are we?"
"Just get this over with."
Amy's stomach twisted nervously as the man approached the Doctor with the sinister looking metal creature. The Doctor remained calm even as the man pressed the device against his chest. The small arms on the inanimate creature that gave it the octopus like look latched down on the Doctor's skin and held it in place. The Doctor tensed visibly and released his hold on his shirt so that he could grip the arms of the simple wooden chair that he was sitting in. He fought to breathe normally, but he quickly started panting.
"Sorry about the discomfort, Doctor, it has to sterilize the area first." The business man said in a tone that suggest that he wasn't sorry at all. "I know how your system doesn't take well to decontamination, but you'll survive."
"Shut up," the Doctor snarled through his clenched teeth "this didn't have to be painful."
"Consider it another amendment to the contract to sweeten the deal, it's my commission in fact."
"I hate you."
"The feeling is entirely mutual, Doctor."
The Doctor started to say something but was forced to stop as the device over his heart bit down harder. Gripping the the arms of the chair he weld his eyes shut and ground his teeth together. The Doctor fought to hide the extent of his condition, but as it escalated and sweat began to bead against his temple a hiss of pain escaped past his teeth. The thin alien didn't seem to care one way or another, but the businessman was clearly enjoying the show. The device flashed a green light and the Doctor relaxed suddenly. Amy thought that whatever they were doing was over, however the device flashed red and made an ominous click. Arching back violently in the chair the Doctor threw his head back and cried out piercingly.
"Doctor!" Amy called out in alarm on sheer instinct, giving away her hiding place.
The two muscular humanoid creatures that had been standing back looking disinterested in the proceedings leapt into action. Amy scrambled back and tripped over an antique sarcophagus that lay on the floor behind her. Amy heard the Doctor scream again as the men threw open the rickety wooden door and descended on her. Grabbed roughly by the upper arms Amy was dragged into the next room. Recovering from whatever they had done to him the Doctor looked over in a daze from his place at the table as they hauled her into the small room.
"Amy?"
"Doctor..." Amy whimpered in fright.
"Let her go this instant!" The Doctor demanded as he tried to get to his feet and failed.
"Who is this?!" The business man demanded. "A spy? An assassin? What are you up to Doctor?"
"My business is exactly that, mine." The Doctor said firmly as he ripped the device off his chest. "She's not a threat, Realtor, if don't tell your goons to back off right now this deal is off!"
The Realtor stared the Doctor down defiantly, looking for all the world like he was going to give the order to have Amy's neck snapped just to spite him. The Doctor sat back in the chair and casually held up the device in his hand. The gaunt alien made a trilling sound to get the Realtor's attention before giving him another psychic message. The Realtor bowed to the alien respectfully before turning his attention back to the men holding Amy.
"Let the Doctor's whore go."
"Hey!" Amy exclaimed indignantly. "I'm not his...whatever...I'm his mother-in-law."
"Amy, go back to the TARDIS."
"Doctor..."
"Now, Amy." The Doctor demanded in a frighteningly calm tone.
The Doctor never took his eyes off the Realtor during the entire exchange giving Amy the sudden impression that the man was far more dangerous than he seemed. Amy took a few steps back before turning around and heading back into the large storage room. When one of the guards closed the battered wooden door behind her she lagged behind and returned to her hiding place. The tension in the room was still palpable as the Doctor and the man he'd labeled as the Realtor continued to stare at one another.
"I believe that you have something that belongs to my client." The Realtor broke the silence.
The Doctor looked down at the device in his hand. He pulled the glass vial out of the metal device and held it up. Suspended in the clear gel was a bright red drop of blood. The Doctor stared at the blood, hesitating to hand it over. He brought his hand down and looked across the table at the silent alien.
"If I find out that you use this for *anything* other than what is stated in the contract I will hunt you down and you don't even want to know what I will do to you. Understood?"
The frail looking thin creature nodded.
"I'm psychically connected to every single cell in my body, no matter how far removed it becomes from me in time and space, so I will find out if you abuse my trust." The Doctor warned as he tossed the bottle to the alien who deftly caught it. "Do not cross me. I am sure I do not have remind either one of you what has happened to those who have done so in the past."
"You do not, Doctor." The Realtor said as brought out a rolled up piece of golden paper from under the table and offered it to him. "Enjoy your purchase."
The Doctor snatched the golden paper away and untied the red ribbon that was wrapped around it. He read the page carefully while redoing the buttons on his shirt with his free hand before nodding to the alien and getting unsteadily to his feet.
"Are you feeling well, Doctor?" The Realtor asked with mock concern. "You are getting up there in years, aren't you? You've burned through your regenerations fast, you must be reaching the end soon. If you need someone to handle your estate..."
"My 'estate' is just fine."
"Well, you know where to find me if you change your mind. A pleasure doing business with you as always, Time Lord."
The Doctor didn't bother to respond to the Realtor's insincere farewell. Amy realized that she was about to get caught and started to hurry her way back towards the TARDIS through the mess of museum pieces. She made it back into the TARDIS before the Doctor, but she knew that was only because he let her. He entered the TARDIS looking tired and locked the door behind himself.
Without a word he walked directly over to the control console and started to prep her for flight. He casually tossed the golden paper that he had fought so hard for on the console. Amy reached out and put her hand on it. When the Doctor didn't seem to mind that she was mucking with it she picked it up and unrolled it. She started reading the complex legalize but quickly gave up.
"What is this?" Amy asked.
"It's a Universal Planetary Deed."
"A deed? Like a purchase deed? That's what all that was about?"
"Yeah. Closings are never any fun."
"You bought a planet with a drop of your blood?" Amy asked in disbelief.
"No, no, don't be silly. Buying a planet with a drop of my blood...that's ridiculous." The Doctor shook his head at the notion as he continued to work with the console. "I bought the entire solar system."
"A solar system? A whole solar system? For a drop of blood?"
"That was the deal."
"That's insane!"
"Yeah, I paid way too much, but I like the location." The Doctor forced a smile.
"What are you going to do with a solar system?"
"To be fair I am only interested in the one planet, but I figured this way I don't have to worry about any noisy neighbors moving in to the orbit next door."
"Why?"
"Why not?"
"Doctor, seriously, what are you doing buying planets?"
The Doctor finished what he was doing with the TARDIS and sent her into flight. Rather than sending them into the Time Vortex they just snapped into deep space to drift. The Doctor tended to feel most comfortable in the tides of nebula and the cold reaches of space rather than parked on a planet when they weren't actively exploring a place. Amy waited for an answer, unsure if she was going to get one. The Doctor put his palms on the console and stared down at it.
"Doctor?"
"Seeing Gallifrey again made me realize that I don't have a world to call my own anymore." The Doctor sighed. "I want a home, Amy."
"What about Earth?"
"I can't settle on Earth. It's too dangerous."
"Dangerous?"
"I'm a hunted man, Amy." The Doctor said simply. "Any time I stay in one place for too long I am found by any number of the multitude of enemies I've made, or even just by creatures that want to feed off my essence. I can't put the Earth at risk by settling there. I can't stay on any world that has intelligent life without risking having it burn."
"So this world you bought?"
"Uninhabited. A far flung corner of the Universe that I can defend from attack without having to worry about innocent bystanders getting hurt."
"But you'll be all alone there."
"I'd rather be alone than watch everyone around me die."
Amy put the golden deed down and stepped over to the Doctor. He was still staring down at the multi coloured console. She gently guided him to turn around so that she could put her arms around his slim waist. She looked up at him and smiled. He looked down at her and tried to smile as well.
"I trust you." Amy said simply.
"What?"
"You said that's what you needed from me right now, so this is me giving it to you." Amy explained. "I honestly don't know what else to do for you any more. So I am going to trust you in whatever it is you're doing right now and hope that you know best."
"Thank you, Amy." The Doctor kissed her forehead. "That means everything to me."
"However, I'm still going to make my opinion known."
"I wouldn't expect anything less." The Doctor said honestly. "Tell me what you think."
"I think sulking alone on a desolate planet to lick your wounds is a terrible idea."
"Opinion noted." The Doctor smiled. "And for the record I'm not going anywhere to lick my wounds. I just want to know I have a place of my own in this Universe and this opportunity presented itself. It's not everyday that an offer comes through to buy a solar system. So, please don't worry about that right now, okay?"
"Are you really psychically connected to every cell in your body no matter how far removed it becomes?" Amy asked anxiously.
"Absolutely not, that would be dreadful. Not to mention confusing, I shed skin cells all the time I'd hate to have to keep track of what they were all doing." The Doctor chuckled. "That was just a clever lie to ensure good behaviour."
"Good. It frightens me to think of what someone could do to you if you were and they got a hold of that vial."
"Don't worry, the alien I bargained with is not a malicious being." The Doctor assured. "His intentions are pure."
"And yet you felt the need to threaten him?"
"I was given him something very powerful."
"What is he going to do with it?"
"He is going to save his species with it. It will rewrite History."
Amy gave the Doctor a doubtful look but he remained serious. She remembered River telling her that a Time Lord's body was a miracle, but she didn't know exactly what that entailed. The Doctor reached out and took the golden paper and looked at it.
"My planet doesn't have a name. It just has a galactic designation number. LMC-7/11MAH-Zed. That's rubbish. Do you want to name it for me, Amy?"
"What? Me? No, nooooo."
"Why not?"
"That's way too much responsibility for me. I named my first fish 'Fluffy', I named my own daughter after herself, I'm terrible at naming things."
"Don't worry about then. I'll think of something."
"Can we go there?" Amy asked suddenly.
"My planet?" The Doctor asked surprised. "Of course, I'll warn you though it's not much to look at."
"I don't care. I'd love to see it."
"We'll go tomorrow. Go get some sleep."
"Okay. Night, Doctor."
"Good night, Pond."
Amy didn't dare offer the Doctor a hug in fear of hurting his shoulder so she just brushed his cheek instead. He smiled warmly and tousled her hair in return. The Doctor watched her walk off until she was almost at the top of the stairs that lead to the back hallways.
"Amy?"
"Yes?"
"Do you still have any of your ability to rewire the TARDIS?"
"No. Actually I miss it, not the headaches, but I miss the colours the way I could see Time. The Universe is a beautiful place through your eyes, Doctor."
The Doctor smiled and waved Amy away. Amy paused for a moment to see if he was going to say any more, but when he didn't she wandered off to return to bed. Now that he was alone the Doctor reached up and rubbed at his aching shoulder. He undid the buttons on his shirt again and pulled his shirt aside so that he could look at the wound. He had been careful not to reveal his shoulder during the meeting, only the small space over his heart. The cut wasn't bleeding, but it was as open as the day he'd received it. The faded white spirals still marred his chest near the cut, however tiny new gold spirals and lines now radiated from the red and infected wound as well.
Reaching into his pocket the Doctor retrieved a jar with a thick cream that had a soft aqua glow to it. Placing some of the aqua salve on the deep wound reduced the maddening throbbing. Rebuttoning his shirt the Doctor's thoughts were drawn once again to Aleena. He went down below the glass dais and made more adjustments to the TARDIS, trying to override some of the safety systems. Going back up to the control panel the Doctor put in the coordinates for Aleena and Ithican's new world that he had set them up on. For what felt like the thousandth time the TARDIS refused to respond to the coordinates. The Doctor bowed his head in defeat.
"I hope you and your child are okay, Aleena, because it looks like the TARDIS has taken serious exception to you. I don't think she is ever going to take me to you again."