The Greatest Night Ever

Chapter 4

The First Three Years

The landscape of Darillium was constantly taking shape ever since the day The Doctor and River had set foot within Alphonse's restaurant. The couple were in the middle of another of their witty and playful conversations. "Give over, it's nothing like a mini London outside. I'd say it's more or less like Space London but without all of the famous landmarks like The Shard and Big Ben."

"You say you don't like London but it's so obvious you so do." River gleefully proceeds in teasing The Doctor just that little bit more.

"Uhm, wait just a minute. You told me once you would happily choose Luna over most of the world cities on Earth." He recalls, proving how well his memory can handle remembering most of their past conversations.

"Says the man, who crash landed the TARDIS into the River Thames during an outside live broadcast of This Morning." She reminds him, sometimes he isn't quite the Bright Spark he assumes he is. Occasionally getting them into heaps of trouble because of one or two of his careless choices he makes.

"That really wasn't my fault. The Old Girl became out of control and so she decided to take matters into her own hands, by landing in the River Thames. You were there, surely you didn't forget about me, telling her off?" He protests his innocence, knowing he's being wrongly accused of mistreating his beloved TARDIS.

"No I didn't. I assumed you were intentionally making one of your pointless attempts to make me jealous, by dabbling in a ridiculous flirting game with the TARDIS and then somehow it had got out of hand, just before you crashed your TARDIS into the water." Okay, perhaps she wasn't too in the know regarding the reason why the blue box had ended up in London's most famous river.

"She tricked me and played me for a fool. I would never flirt with her in front of you River. I give you my word, hand on hearts et cetera, et cetera..." He leisurely paces around the room, thinking long and hard for a change.

"Nardole told me once, when you grumpily greeted him with holographic antlers, you then chose to rudely leave him standing in the cold. He heard you voicing your disappointment at being given the antlers. Oh I wish I was there, to see this for myself." She laughs out loud, which set Emilia off crying.

The Doctor carefully picks her up from the baby cot and holds her in his arms. He's certainly showing how well, he's adjusting to the responsibilities of what parenthood truly meant.

"Whatever you do, don't bob your head around like an overexcited puppy." She tries to persuade that wouldn't be a clever idea.

"My head most certainly does not bob or nod like an overexcited puppy. Honestly River, this feels as if you're treating me as one of your mischievous hobbies" It isn't difficult for him to work out, how she's taking great pleasure in thwarting any ideas he has of exploring the Darillium alone.

"Hush now." She attempts to shush him, by trailing the middle finger of her right hand, along those superb-looking lips of his.

"Tell me, what are you really planning River, within that unpredictable mind of yours? A trip back to Earth? A rendezvous for the two of us on one of the most romantic planets, while we leave Emilia with one of the best nannies in the galaxy." The Doctor refuses to stay quiet, knowing he never takes being advised to keep silent, too lightly.

"What part of hush didn't you understand, my dear?" She asks, while he walks back over to where the cot is - alongside the bed, on the left hand side. She doesn't take her eyes off for one minute, especially when he places their daughter back in the cot and tucks the tiny blanket half way over her, he double checks to make sure the blanket is loose enough.

He throws her a "Oh now you want me to speak." look.

"Hmm... let me think...nothing." He answers. Well he did fancy having some fun of his own with her, seeing as she was having way too much fun, at his expense. "I know you too well River. You're longing for another adventure away from here, so far away. I swear I've definitely seen that familiar look in your eyes before; the one which gives you away every time because you know your love for adventure and for me are roughly about the same as each other." He draws his hands up towards her, placing them on either side of her face.

The immensely passionate and tender look he gave with those extraordinary eyes of his, made her weak at the knees. River finds herself forever entranced by him and completely in love with him, more so than ever before. She knows, she loved his former self and the eccentricity he brought to the table however with this newer him, she was discovering a greater and romantic side of him, which she found herself blissfully worshiping.

"You should take that jacket off of yours." She suggests.

"Why?" He sees no problem with permanently wearing it.

"Because you've worn it for too long and it's time you should consider losing a few clothes as well." She implies purposefully.

"I can't say whether I think you're mad, too impatient or you fantasize about me around-the-clock." The Doctor feels openly flattered by the attention she's providing him with.

"Excuse me, did you just say, you think I must be mad?" She fakes her surprise and unsurprisingly she goes to work on bewitching him once more.

"I wouldn't say you were mad. River, not all. My face doesn't lie, at least I think it doesn't lie. Then again, I know I was telling the truth about whether I thought, you were fantasizing about me when my back's turned. Turns out I was right to assume." He strides past her, while he's telling her this.

The Doctor's heading towards into the bathroom, as his back turned to her; he doesn't pick up on the fact she's not sitting on the edge of the bed and how she's now smartly tiptoeing up behind him, with new but all too familiar intentions in mind.

She wraps her arms securely around him and comfortably snuggles him from behind. "Just so you know, I'm not letting you get away from me too easily."

"You're practically glued to me, which doesn't exactly come as much as surprise for me. Loving wife showing how ridiculously in love she is." A side smile forms itself across his exquisite and firm lips which was surprisingly overlooked by her.

"So. I hope you're not making me out to be someone with an addiction to passion...because guess what? You're quite right to assume the worst." Soon enough she sees a reflection of his "Pfft" expression in the bathroom mirror, she couldn't hold back her laughter, once her eyes had accurately singled this out.

"Me, assuming the worst, that's very unlike me. No a Time Lord does not fear pledges nor responsibilities River. You know what a Time Lord like me does instead. I keep good memories locked inside my mind and remember the reasons for why I was first attracted to you." Once he frees himself from her embrace, The Doctor turns round to face River, his eyes looking deeply into her eyes.

"That's rather sweet of you to say." She's touched by his honesty and his imperative need to definitively clear the air between the two of them. "If this is your way of telling me you love me, there's no need to tell me because I already know. Your eyes give away all of the clues. Doesn't take a genius to know or for them to be able to work out, what those eyes of yours are sometimes referring to, when you don't speak a single word."

"Here we are; the two of us prepping ourselves, all in the good name of romance and appreciation. Two things I couldn't related myself with, until you came back into my life, thanks to Nardole." He's more than happy to help with jogging her memory and sharing more of his insightful thoughts. She's grateful for his additional assistance however right now she's too busy wishing he might finally shut up and very much keeping her fingers crossed, of the fact he actually wants to make love to her.

"Hush Hush, my love." She leaves him standing alone; to watch her waltz around to the other side of the bed; before she crawls onto it, right in front of him. River's making her intentions known and before long she inevitably succeeds in gaining his attention with them, she even goes as far as leaving him hot under the collar and breathless.

"Is it just me or is it wee too hot in here? Oh oh..." The Doctor's clearly thriving on the attention being flourished upon him, which is making feel him like one of the historical Greek Gods. He doesn't see the point of standing around like a monument and so he shrugs off his jacket and leaves on the back of a wooden chair in the corner of the room.

"You're not wrong." She smirks knowingly and then makes a long awaited move on him, her hands tugged at both of his sleeves and within moments she was guiding him over towards her.

Once she has him exactly where she wants, he shares one last thought with her. "Just so you know, I was already fine with making my own way over to you. You certainly know how to ruin someone's plans well River."

"I should say the same about you. Please tell me you haven't forgotten the time, you almost got us in heaps of trouble; that time when we found ourselves stuck in a Nebraskan Walmart in 1985 with Autons and we got chased by them. You almost made the mistake of letting one enter the TARDIS. No wonder she kicked up a storm with you, when one of the Autons arm got trapped in the doorway."

"What was I to do? Make good use of it as a cricket or a baseball bat, if the both of us had ended up having to defend ourselves against more Autons. The TARDIS has never been a fan of me making a few mistakes. The Old Girl certainly put me in my place, once she got the the two of us out of harm's way, in the nick of time."

"Yes she did." River agrees. Seeing as nothing needed to be said regarding their previous thrill-seeking adventure. She chooses the current moment of silence to reveal, she plans on using her magic appearance spray, which she's clutching in her right hand.

"Oh come onn!, this just means you're cheating, by using your fancy spray." The Doctor says, as soon as she waves it around in front of his eyes. His eyes dart back and forth, the smoothness of his cheeks blush and glow ever so brightly.

"Me cheating with a sprinkle of my fancy spray, that's hardly my aim anymore Darling, whenever I seize the chance of enticing you. As a matter of fact, I was considering another intention...trying it on you." She's clever perhaps too clever for The Doctor's liking. Still he's not one to contemplate doing a runner because she wanted to try out her spray on him.

"Now if you will please stop jiggling around, as if you're performing the Riverdance, while you're lying sideways. Just lie back and relax." She recommends he ought to follow her instructions otherwise she will plot some form of revenge on him.

"Fine." The Doctor budges over to her side of the bed before he eventually lays back, with his long legs stretched out flat on the bed's mattress. She couldn't tell what was happening in that highbrow mind of his, one minute he was up for anything and then the next minute, he's behaving like a grumpy individual.

She gets up off the bed and quickly sprays directly above him; her spray leaves an eye-catching effect upon both of them.

The Doctor didn't dare to look, so he chose to close his eyes. River on the other hand, didn't feel she should because she wanted to witness for herself, how well her spray would work on a Time Lord.

"Oh don't be such a scaredy-cat. Let's just say,you've nothing to feel worried about because my spray seems to have worked an absolute treat on you."

"Why do I suddenly feel exposed?" He asks.

"Open your eyes and you will soon see the answer for yourself." She hints with a satisfying smile. He trusts her completely but then again, a tiny part of him isn't sure he likes that tone in her voice - the one which means, she's taking more control than him. He hopes he can find a unique way of getting the upper hand over her. His lashes flicker out as he slowly opens his eyes to the beautiful and breathtaking surroundings of Darillium and River's gorgeous eyes gazing down at him.

She too, marvels at the sight of her husband's new body sprawled out on their bed; his unshaven face stood out as one of his sexy features, as well as the fact he was naked.

"River! You didn't say anything about undressing me with your spray." The volume of The Doctor's Scottish voice notched up a level. She also found the sound of his voice pretty enjoyable to listen to and his accent an overpowering turn on for her.

"Why do you think I told you to lie back and relax?" She lets out a brief sigh of frustration. Despite this, she's keen not to allow any stumbling blocks get in her way this time. No more will The Doctor drag a lustful moment out with his ability to talk over and over again..

"River I'm sorry if I'm boring you..." She clambers back onto the bed and lies herself closely alongside him. Soon enough, she manages to silence him with a gentle kiss and then roll him onto his back. As this was their first proper kiss in a few months, their lips still fitted perfectly and as confidence quickly grew within The Doctor, he wasn't afraid anymore of restraining himself from expressing his love for her.

While they shared their latest of many kisses, he scoops her up in his arms and takes extra care as he lowers her down to rest across his stomach and bare chest. For over 18 months, The Doctor had stuck to his promise; he hadn't once come close to going back on his word, which astonished and delighted her because this was so unlike him, to not feel tempted to head off in his TARDIS for a brief adventure. His left and right thumbs trace circles around both of her cheeks and his fingers draw themselves across either side of her neck.

The thought of spending 24 years together felt better than ever. They had even gone as far as bringing out the best with each other, just by being love and honest as any married couple could be around one another, whilst in a crowded environment.

As the sexual chemistry between them became hotter than an overactive volcano, the kisses grew deeper and more intense between the Time Lord and his Professor wife. River sinks down closer to him, her nose merely inches away from his and her hands skillfully move across his chest and arms. She felt one of his hands coming up into her hair before it tenderly cupped the back of her head. The Doctor may have still feel relatively new to her but she was sure relishing the touch of his soft lips tending to her lips, her cheeks and now along both the tops of her shoulders. He was maturing greatly more so than his former younger self. From the looks of adoration which he's always giving her; she could tell from his body language, it was never always about the flirting with this new him, no it was something which had beautifully blossomed from within his two hearts.

"You're such a charmer, Sweetie. Tell me, at which point did you learn the tricks of the trades of setting my pulse racing and driving me wild?"

"Oh there was no need for me to pick up the skills of that. Like an old traditional sayiong goes 'Absence makes the heart grow fonder'. A saying I was taught once, thanks to an old friend of mine."

Next she undoes the buttons of her dark blue blouse and once her arms are free from the shirt, she tosses it to one side. He chips in with helping to unfasten her bra, popping the two buttons of it's strap in the process. Her breasts are soon revealed in all their glory but are then pressed up against him, as he seizes the chance to flip her over and lay her head back against the pillows.

He undresses her completely, freeing her off her underwear, tights and shoes. The Doctor then takes a couple of moments to admire the radiance of River's beauty which just mesmerizes him completely and that fabulous affectionate smile of hers. He tilts his head slightly to the left and after that to the right. One fact he knows about the woman he loves was - never take your eyes off River, the woman was competent enough to turn the tables on you in a flash, by ensuring most of their romantic dates ended with one of them handcuffed to the bed which resulted in him being the one who found himself being handcuffed.

He gently trails his fingers, using them to stroke her delicate skin as well as her perfect, suntanned cheeks. The two of them are unsurprisingly lost for words and their gazes instantly locked together for more longer than they'd actually anticipated. Seeing how much The Doctor's besotted with her, River feels he's understandably getting too distracted by the love she showers him with. She needs him to concentrate on making love to her. By god he really was mad about her, still she finds the attention she's getting from him very flattering.

"Earth to Planet Sweetie! I need you right now." She whispers in his ear. Surely the message will get through to him, in next to no time.

"My apologies River. Right where were again?" He questions her. He tries to pretend he doesn't have the faintest of clues, as to what was going on between them before his mind began racing with excitement and his thoughts evaporated.

"This is most certainly no time to fake a memory lapse." She knows an innocent lie when she sees one. River holds The Doctor, as the couple burst out in hysterical fits of laughter. Besides the laughter, she also willingly responds by slapping his lower back with her hand and pinching his bum. His wife's frolicsome behaviour doesn't surprise him as much as he thought could. The Time Lord was now becoming comfortable with how she behaved around him, especially in the bedroom.

"I knew you would laugh, that's why I knew I had to tell you a lie. I find it's always well worth testing you to the point of frustration. Plus it's quite a fun and handy test for me to try out on you." He admits to his guilt and fully prepares to face his punishment.

"ls that so?" She pulls him down to her and soon she digs her left toes into the back of his calf muscle.

"Ow!" The Doctor tends to his sore calf muscle and gazes down at River, giving a now that was uncalled look. Underestimating her was perhaps a wrong choice to opt for, given how she likes to give as good as she can against him.

Within a matter of minutes, they clung to each other as if this might end up becoming one of the last times they made love. The extent of The Doctor's love for her poured out so amorously, which urged him on as he tries everything he can to keep his inner emotions in check. This woman thought she knew the answers to every question in the 'Book of Love', yet she had absolutely no clue as to how much of a tremendous impact she was clearly having on him. He felt her hands softly drifting over his back; her nails were scratching his skin while he was picking up the pace, pounding into her as much as his body was able to do so, deeply filling her.

The Doctor's eyes half-lidded and languid, still had the ability to focus on her, he could see her shoulders shining in the moonlight and her cheeks blush. She matched his movements and pulled him tightly with both her legs. They rocked gently together back and forth. She emits a gasp, when pulls himself out and pushes into her again and then repeats the action, god knows how many times. She can hear him letting out a hoarse moan.

Sometime later, River is resting her head on his chest while The Doctor tries to think of something informative and funny to tell her. Only when that very moment arrives, River beats him to it and reveals certain observational thoughts she wanted to share with him.

"Don't tell me? You're listening to the many beats of my hearts again, aren't you River? They always bear the brunt of pain, regeneration and suffering but on the other hand the two of them feel so much better when we both express our love. Like feeling music healing your soul." The Doctor proclaims, he gives her a side grin in that charming and goofy way he enjoys doing so.

"I don't think I've never you seen look so enthusiastic before. Maybe I was wrong to look up on those stories that suggest this might turn out to be our last night together. Last chance for you to explain yourself, just in case there's a chance you've not been entirely honest with me; Are you in fact going to tell me otherwise and confirm I was right in the first place? "

The Doctor's smile fades to some extent. Still he's not one to let another happy ending dampen his spirits, he wants to go to great lengths to show he isn't willing to accept a future without her, while knowing one of the stories surrounding their last night together on Darillium was essentially true. Right now all he longs for is, to protect her and Emilia from the harsh reality of what was to come and for him and River to bring their daughter up in an unharmed environment.

"Your problem River is, you fancy the chances of breaking your Spoiler rules because you haven't behaved like a rule-breaker before, one who wants to know what the future holds. I just don't want to see you breaking them. Look at I've broken a few one too many in my time and I've come to regret making the mistake of thinking I was so right, when in fact I was so wrong."

"Darling, I don't know else what to say. You've actually left me speechless, even better than that time you did, you know when you won me the biggest Magnus crystal in a game of Solitaire against Strax, a Haemovore and an Auton Roman friend of my father's." River's undeniable joy was very easy to pick up on. She finds herself putting every last bit of faith and trust within him. She's the happiest she's felt in many years because they had rekindled their love, plenty of times since their arrival on this beautiful planet.

The Doctor gazes proudly at her and decides to reward her with a soft kiss to her two hands. He knows it's highly likely she might expecting more than just a sweet, loving kiss being placed across her fingers.

"As soon as Strax took it so serious enough, I thought he would end up landing the three of us in a whole of trouble. You know what our small Potato head shaped friend can be like, he'll spar for fight with anyone who doesn't think he's worthy of beating them in a game of Poker or Solitaire. Thank goodness we escaped before The Cybermen showed up, just like the Haemovore predicted."

The Doctor knotted his fingers with hers before lifting them to his lips and brushes a kiss across the one he's holding and her other fingers as well. He was such a smooth talker; her husband, intentionally flattering and intriguing her with many of his

"Tell me, how is Strax now?" She hadn't heard news of him lately, well for her in her current timeline, it was around 150 years since she had last seen him - drinking a criminal under the table and masterminding hers, The Doctor's and his escape from the planet Baltazar.

"I time traveled back to see him, bearing a present I thought he might like and guess what he wasn't staying with Vastra and Jenny. He's gone back to his roots on a temporary basis. He received a distress signal that his people were facing an impending war from outsiders. Apparently the Sontarans don't happen to hold a grudge against Time Lords anymore. By now he could be a President or Lord of Sontar."

"Good for Strax." River concludes.

The Doctor had something he wanted to ask his wife. "River, there's a rumour going around, someone's here on Darillium looking for you. Not one of your husbands I hope." The Doctor dislikes the possible thought of someone coming between him and River. He just prays she doesn't leave him for one of her many husbands.

" No one knows we're here. My husbands are part of my past. You're my future, from now until god forbid, the time comes for the two of us to say goodbye to each other." She reassures him, he has nothing at all to worry about. Little does she know, that actual goodbye may come sooner than she thinks.

"Well, who could it be then?"

"I haven't the faintest idea. For once, I'm not in the know. "

The Doctor climbs out of the bed first. River who has now propped herself up on the pillow, smiles knowingly and with delight as she gets to see a glimpse of him full frontal, while he's wandering around the bedroom, retrieving a few clothes. Her eyes are fixed squarely between his upper thighs, his splendid erection and his gorgeous well-toned torso.

"River, stop staring at me. I know you're staring. Can't those eyes of yours find themselves a new hobby to admire." The Doctor hadn't had this much attention lavished on him since his very earlier days in this new body of his; one time he had an embarrassing encounter with a can-can dancer in Paris in 1912, who tried to get him involved in a saucy, cheeky routine inside the Moulin Rouge. Thank goodness for the TARDIS being parked up around the back of the world famous nightclub. The Doctor had created a diversion amongst smartly got himself out of there at the last minute, in just his underwear, his question mark drawers on full display and earning him a few wolf whistles from potential female admirers. He was able to push home the main lever on the console, getting himself out of 1912 before trouble threatened to delay his time traveling journeys.

"Well excuse me, I have a right to feast my eyes on every part of you." She believes he's just not too fond of the very thought of him being watched all the time. She loosens the bed sheet and duvet which both covered her cleavage.

"Of course I don't have a problem with you, getting a satisfying glimpse of me but not while I'm discussing with myself, what jacket I should wear..." He grins, this doesn't last long because he notices her looking extremely baffled. "Sorry I'm not making any sense am I?"

The Doctor soon swaps his maroon velvet coat and other clothes for, a dark purple silk shirt, tartan trousers, blue waistcoat, his Crombie coat along with his Doc Martens.

"You're making perfect sense to me. Well talking in riddles is one of your best hobbies afterall. One you've had for god knows how long, from what I've seen. Also one which I'm surprised you've only just acknowledged right at this moment. " She was happy to point out of one of his best and one of her favourite hobbies.

"Speaking of hobbies, yours are longer than the credits of a Hollywood movie." A knowing smile plays on his lips, as he decides to have some of his own fun with her.

"I can assure you, they're absolutely not." River denies his claim and wastes no time in giving him a playful punch in the left shoulder, the exact moment he leans in for a kiss.

The Doctor casually nods his head and smiles again only to himself, as if to say he had pulled off a worthy comeback statement.

xxxx

Two years later, The Doctor and River were taking Emilia for a walk around the restaurant's family surroundings. The Doctor is now sporting a fully-grown beard. He had overheard more rumours about the person who was meant to be searching for River. The chap was American, a charmer and a clever time traveller. Perhaps it may in fact be a future version of himself. Oh the horror, if it does turn out he's right. He's not sure, he likes the fact of possibly picking up an American accent and being a charmer around women, further into his future timeline.

River quickly picks up on his self-conscious body language.

"What's the matter?"

"Maybe I'm this mysterious visitor, I keep hearing everyone talking about."

"You can't meet yourself. The consequences would be catastrophic if you did."

"I'm well aware of that. That's why I don't want to end up making the mistake of doing so, especially if I don't know what I look like in the future.."

"Why don't I keep a look out for him instead?"

"No because he, the future for me might have an advantage over the both of us. Who knows maybe the future me might be a 5,000 years older than I am now and it might prove too risky." The Doctor felt a chance encounter between his much older self and River, was one meeting that needed avoiding at all cost. She couldn't discover her imminent fate at the library just yet.

"Fine I won't bother then."

"Why do I get the feeling, you're not going to stick your promise."

River suddenly laughs off his remark. She can tell he's worried she might want to seduce the future him, when the opportunity arises. Emilia soon wanders over to a children's activity party, The Doctor dashes after his daughter as she's holding onto his hand more than she is with her mother's hand.

"Emilia! Don't run too fast. Daddy's feet aren't quick as your tiny ones." His daughter sees a cushy miniature dolphin she likes and goes to pick it up off a table. This happened to be the first time Emilia had shown some enthusiasm for wanting to own cushy toys. The Doctor looks over towards River, hoping she would intervene and help him with talking Emilia into not taking another child's toy, she didn't. She thought he was better at taking care of matters himself in this amusing situation.

"Daddy... daddy I want a toy. I want a dolphin...please...please." Emilia's little hands tugs on the side of his trousers. Her father looks stumped with what answer he could provide her with. His daughter was nearly 2 years old and not surprisingly she was pressing her father to purchase one of these as a gift for her.

River watched from the furthest doorway and laughed fondly every few minutes; as The Doctor kept glancing over at her, begging her to help him out, with one of his many attempted persuasive looks.

While she was busy laughing and making faces at her husband, River had gained the attention of one familiar individual, who slowly approaches her while her back is currently turned.

"Well if it isn't Professor River Song. I've heard so many fascinating stories about you and your adventures with an old friend of mine.'"

"Who wants to know?" River is taken aback. Normally she didn't like an unexpected surprise being sprung on her, particularly when someone chose to greet her without showing their face first. She quickly turns to face this person.

"The name's Captain Jack Harkness, Ma'am."

River had never met Captain Jack Harkness before. She'd had certainly known of him, from many of the stories about him, described by The Doctor. She noted that, The Captain was a good-looking individual and an outrageous flirter. She could see the two of them forming a formidable friendship.

"The guy who owns this restaurant told me, you and The Doctor arrived here, a picture of happiness together around about 18 months ago. So where is he? Where's The Doctor? Is he around somewhere? and when did you get married?" Jack asks, showing he likes to ask as many questions as possible. He like River hadn't recognized the Time Lord's latest regeneration straight away.

"I think I will allow you to figure this one out for yourself, Captain." A shrewd smile plays across her lips.

"Why?"

"Because this might take you a while to work out which one of these people is him, in that room I'm looking at."

"The Doctor is one of them." Jack looked surprised to learn of this fact. "So he must have regenerated again?"

"Yes he has. To cut a long story short; I was previously and under false pretenses married to a man named King Hydroflax, who possessed a diamond known as the Halassi Androvar. I sent for a surgeon to help me with retrieving the diamond from inside his head. So The Doctor shows up, after a mistaken identity which led me to believe he was this surgeon. He tried everything to reveal his identity to me but of course I was stupidly preoccupied with my mission to defeat King Hydroflax and to retrieve the diamond. The mission was a great success, no thanks to his robot body turning on him and blasting his head into dark grey dust. So here I am, telling a Maitre'd how I love The Doctor, how he doesn't love me and how he was not stupid enough or sentimental enough and certainly not in love enough to finding himself standing in this fine mess with me. How wrong I was, when he eventually revealed his identity to me, he'd been standing there all along, alongside me. I can't tell how happy I was to know he was there with me."

"He never gave up on you. That doesn't surprise me." Jack smiles at her.

"Captain, shouldn't you be playing Spot The Doctor." River shakes her head and lets out a sigh.

"Oh right." Jack's laugh is effervescent and strong. Once he finally finds himself all laughed out, he seeks to learn which one of the five male individuals in the opposite room (from where he and River were stood facing) was The Doctor.

The Doctor himself had spotted Jack standing next to River. Just what on earth was his old friend doing on Darillium? Unless he was taking a much needed break from saving the world. He itches his beard and places his hand on hip, a grin forms across his mouth, as soon as Jack starts smiling and opens his arms out for a welcoming hug.

"Doctor is that really you? You look even older than me." Jack expresses great surprise upon seeing his Time Lord friend's new older face.

"And you still look as American as ever Captain." The Doctor remarks. He's not sure whether he approves of Jack's latest coat - a navy padded duffle coat and silk trousers.

Still the two comrades eventually hug, Jack practically gives The Doctor a few pats on the back and a bear hug, which makes The Doctor smile with amusement as he pulls away after a few minutes.

"So what are you really doing here Jack? have you chosen to sample a 24 years night on Darillium for yourself or are you still saving lives on earth in my absence?" The Doctor questions him.

"If I told you, you wouldn't like what I have to tell you." Jack hints to him, he's probably going to have an worrying or bad reaction, with the troublesome news he's come to deliver to both River and The Doctor.

"By that you mean, there's a threat elsewhere in the Galaxy. My assistance is urgently required on Earth." The Doctor is barely half right with his last-minute theory.

"Close enough. The Easter Bunny's actually an alien. You see, it's been leaving Easter eggs throughout the world but they're not any normal eggs, they hatch with aliens inside them."

"What kind?" The Doctor asks.

"Baby Daleks before they become adult Daleks. Someone obviously wants Daleks to live amongst humans or worse they want to see the start of a Dalek population on Earth."

River is now holding onto her daughter's hand, as she reacts to what Jack had just told her. The Doctor was certainly left stunned by this news.

End of Chapter

All Reviews are welcome