Clara looked over worriedly at The Doctor. He was sitting on a park bench in 51st century London staring at the people as they walked by. They had been in London for a couple of weeks now and all the Doctor seemed to want to do was sit around.
"How about a trip to the market?" Clara suggested as she walked over from the sign she had been reading.
"You go." The Doctor said as he continued staring in front of him as he pulled some money out from his coat pocket and handed it to Clara.
"What if I get into trouble?" Clara asked as she crossed her arms across her front.
"You're in Urban 51st century London. Nothing's going to happen." The Doctor replied, still scanning the city.
Clara sighed as she sat down next to The Doctor. She gently placed her hand on his shoulder. "Doctor you can't just sit here and wait for her forever." She pointed out gently.
"She's in trouble Clara." The Doctor replied seriously. "My daughter Clara. I have a daughter. I have protected hundreds of children throughout my life and suddenly when I find out I have one I can't do anything to protect them."
Clara looked over at him sympathetically. "I know… But you have to keep living your life. You know this is in your future… If you sit here forever that future can't even happen."
The Doctor was about to respond when he saw something entirely unexpected. He quickly jumped up off from the bench and began running.
"Doctor!" Clara replied exasperatedly.
However, the Doctor wasn't listening. He had seen someone he hadn't seen in far too long and he was convinced she would have some answers for him.
After nearly five minutes of running through traffic and generally trying to avoid being killed, Clara finally caught up with the Doctor in a coffee shop.
"Doctor you can't be here." A woman was saying to the Doctor as she pulled him behind her into a booth in the back of the shop.
Clara approached the booth and saw two things she hadn't noticed before. The woman was Professor Song, and a blonde little girl, that had definitely not been the same little girl from before was sitting on the other side of the booth.
"She's my daughter River!" The Doctor replied, a slight amount of anger hidden in his voice.
River sighed. "I know… I'm keeping her safe. But you haven't done this yet."
"How can you tell that?" The Doctor replied, angry that she seemed to have a huge upper hand in the situation.
River sighed. "I can't just tell you what sort of security measures we've set up to keep Jessica safe." She sounded exasperated.
The Doctor buried his face in his hands, slightly parting his fingers so he could look at his daughter. He automatically could tell this was a different regeneration, he assumed that it was probably her first based on the way she was behaving around him. It was highly likely that they had put created a much stricter protection system after she regenerated.
This Jessica had blonde, waist length, straight hair, and deep grey eyes. Her frame seemed a bit larger than the other regeneration's, and her face was similar but definitely had more defined features. She was currently wiping whipped cream off from her nose that had come from the hot chocolate she was sipping.
It was then that he noticed Clara had sat down next to her.
"Doctor…" Clara began, clearly confused by the situation.
The Doctor quickly shook his head knowing that she was about to ask a question that River could not hear. "Later." He insisted.
Clara pouted a bit before nodding and introducing herself to Jessica.
"Hello, I'm Clara." She said confidently.
Jessica looked over at her mother for permission to reply. River smiled gently and nodded. "I'm Jessica Amelia Williams." She replied with just as much confidence.
River looked over at The Doctor, trying to gauge his reaction to the situation. When he didn't have any sort of surprised reaction to her name, she knew that he needed to leave.
"Look… I don't know where you are in your timeline for sure Doctor." River said softly. "You need to go."
"Why is that all you ever have to say?" The Doctor asked angrily. "Amy and Rory said the same thing."
"How on Earth did you see Amy and Rory?" River asked, suddenly shocked.
"They've a house in New Leadworth…" The Doctor replied as if she should know this already.
River's eyes widened. "No… They live in New York… In 1930's New York." River replied. "You've done Manhattan because Clara's with you. You have to know that."
"Well that's what I thought… But they definitely…" That's when he realized, this River, didn't know that yet. "Oh…" He said awkwardly. "I should go." He said quickly as he stood up and grabbed Clara's arm.
"Bye Clara!" Jessica called after them as they ran out of the shop.
The Doctor didn't stop running until they were safely inside the TARDIS.
"What just happened?" Clara asked, her eyes wide with confusion.
The Doctor didn't respond as he sent the TARDIS into flight.
"Doctor." Clara insisted again. "How was she Jessica? We just met Jessica, that was a completely different little girl."
"That was I believe, her first generation." The Doctor replied as he pulled a lever that threw Clara up against the railings.
"What do you mean generation?" Clara asked, not understanding what he was saying.
"Like, I have eleven versions of myself." The Doctor said as he pulled over the monitor which was now displaying all eleven of his regenerations.
"What?" Clara asked. "Are you telling me that's you? Eleven different times?"
"Yes." The Doctor replied as he continued to fly the TARDIS.
"Well… What makes you replace your old self, with a new self?" Clara asked as she looked carefully at all of the pictures.
"Regeneration." The Doctor replied vaguely. Clara raised her eyebrows at him, indicating that that wasn't exactly an acceptable answer. The Doctor sighed. "A Time Lord regenerates when they die." He said honestly.
"So you're saying she died?" Clara asked, suddenly feeling sick to her stomach.
The Doctor simply nodded.
"Are you alright Doctor?" Clara asked several minutes later.
"I'm always alright Clara." The Doctor replied, his tone of voice signaling that he really wasn't alright.
Clara nodded before she ducked out of the console room and headed to most likely the library.
The Doctor sighed as he placed his elbows on the console and buried his face into his hands. He sat there for several moments before the TARDIS began humming in an effort to comfort him. "I just don't know what to do with myself." He admitted out loud as he stood up. "I don't know how far into my future this is going to happen, and I can't just act like I don't know she exists. She's my daughter. If I can prevent her from regenerating then I should do that shouldn't I?" The TARDIS began trembling slightly. "What do you mean I shouldn't do that? You have no idea how much pain a Time Lord goes through during regeneration! If I could prevent that from happening to my daughter don't you think I should do that?!"
Unbeknownst to The Doctor Clara had returned to the console room, and she had heard the crack in his voice had had been the breaking point for his emotions. She gently came up behind him and gave him a hug. "I'm sorry Doctor." Clara said quietly.
The Doctor spun around. "I'm sorry Clara. You shouldn't have seen that." He said as he quickly recomposed himself.
"Doctor it's okay not to be okay with this…" Clara said softly. "You care about children, it makes sense that your own child being in danger would cause an insurmountable amount of pain for you."
The Doctor shrugged.
"Maybe you should… Go see a younger Professor Song…" Clara suggested awkwardly.
The Doctor looked at her in surprise. "Why?" He asked, his voice verging on angry.
"Well she is your wife." Clara pointed out. "If you saw a version of her that doesn't know about Jessica yet you could go and just…"
"Are you suggesting what I believe you are suggesting Clara Oswald?" The Doctor asked, his expression showing he was clearly amused.
"She makes you happy Doctor." Clara said honestly. "When you're with her, you're happy."
The Doctor smiled and nodded. "Do you mind if I drop you off in Chiswick for a bit?"
"Well I do have to actually show up there for a few days every once in a while to take care of those kids I'm supposedly in charge of." Clara replied with a smirk.
"Then we have a plan." The Doctor said, his mouth forming a wide smile but his eyes showing an abnormal amount of pain.
"I suppose we do." Clara said, putting a smile on her face as well.
River was lying down on her stomach on her bed in Stormcage. While she wasn't particularly enthralled about any of the accommodations she was given in the prison, she wasn't about to complain about the library she was given access to. She was flipping through a book on an archeology dig that had been done in the 1930s in South Africa. She found the commentary interesting if not a bit entertaining. The ability to ascertain what certain things found in the digs meant had changed drastically over the years.
She was becoming hungry and was thinking about requesting a meal when she heard the familiar sound of the TARDIS materializing. She looked up with a smile on her face as she saw the blue box appear out in the hallway in front of her cell.
She quickly got up and took her hair out of the tight ponytail it had been in to keep it out of her eyes while reading. She had just assumed a standing position, with her arms crossed across her torso. As soon as The Doctor opened the door of the TARDIS her stern disposition was broken and her mouth turned up into a smile. "Hello sweetie." She said as she watched him quickly sonic the lock on her cell door.
"You would think they'd change your door to wood." The Doctor said with a smirk as he pushed the door open.
"Where are we going?" River asked as she quickly grabbed her journal from underneath her mattress.
"Wherever and whenever you'd like." The Doctor replied with a smile as he grabbed her hand and pulled her into the TARDIS.
"So where are you?" The Doctor asked as he quickly put the TARDIS into flight to avoid any sort of encounter with the Stormcage guards. They don't seem to like him very much.
River's mouth formed an immediate smirk. "You're so sure you're further than I am are you?"
"I'm positive this time River." The Doctor replied, hoping that he hadn't caught her too early in her time stream.
"Well I've just come from The Pandorica." River replied.
"Oh I'm much further than you." The Doctor replied as he moved over to wrap his arms around her, now sure that she knew they were married. "How are you, Mrs. Song?"
"I've been better Mr. Doctor." She replied before pressing her lips gently to his.
"I hope it's nothing I've done to cause this sense of uncertainty." The Doctor said as he gently ran his fingers through her curls.
"You didn't know… At Pandorica." She said softly as she rested her head on his shoulder.
"I know… I'm sorry." The Doctor replied gently. "If it makes you feel any better there are points where I know more than you."
River smirked. "I know… you have been incredibly awkward in those situations Doctor." She replied, reminding him that she had already lived through those moments.
The Doctor smiled as he pressed his lips into her hair. "You have never been particularly subtle yourself." He said with a smirk. "Now where do you want to go?" He asked, his face lighting up with excitement.
River grabbed the monitor and checked to see where they were. After pressing a few buttons, and turning off the brakes she sent the TARDIS into flight. "Five minutes." She informed him before walking into the TARDIS.
Five minutes later River returned to the console room. She had changed out of her prison uniform and into her favorite pair of jeans and a TARDIS blue blouse. She was also carrying a bag of jelly babies and a package of jammie dodgers.
"Where are we going?" The Doctor asked inquisitively as River pressed a couple of buttons on the console and pulled the brakes lever on. She then proceeded to open the door to the TARDIS, revealing that they were in orbit around Earth, about ten miles or so away from the atmosphere. She sat down with her feet hanging out of the TARDIS and she motioned for him to join her.
The Doctor smiled at her before sitting down next to her. "Sometimes you amaze me River Song." He said happily as he took the jammie dodger she offered him.
"Well I do try." She said with a smirk before leaning her head against his shoulder. "Can we just stay here forever?" She asked after several moments of silence.
"You do have a prison sentence to finish." The Doctor reminded her with a smirk.
"For killing you." She reminded him. "You don't look very dead if you ask me."
"You could always fix that if you wanted to." He pointed out.
"Don't tempt me." She teased.
They sat in silence for a few moments before The Doctor spoke again. "I wish we could."
"We could what?" River asked as she ripped open the bag of jelly babies.
"Stay here forever. Just me and you." He replied.
"Well let's enjoy it while it lasts." She replied as he pressed his lips up to hers.
"I will always enjoy my time with you River Song." He assured her after breaking the kiss. "No matter what."
"And I you Doctor." River replied before adjusting so that she was laying with her head resting on his lap.
And that's where they stayed for the rest of the night.
Author's Note: I hope you're still enjoying the story! I would love some feedback, even though I realize a lot hasn't happened yet. I just have so much I want to try to fit into this story so we'll see how things go! Thanks so much for reading!