A/N: Sorry for the wait you guys! I'll try to update sooner for the next one! Thank you to everyone who still reads my story, I'm really grateful! To make up for the wait, and for this chapter being so short, I'll give you a hint at the next chapter's word- it begins with an 'm' and has to do with happiness. : ) Enjoy!
22: Rocks- dependable person; a stable, dependable, or supportive person or thing, especially in times of trouble
She was his rock.
He had known it all along, of course. She had helped him through so much. River was there for him when the Ponds left, when he was at Demon's Run, when he had days where he wasn't sure why he even existed. She had helped him grieve her own death, while it was unknowingly.
How could someone do so much to help him? The Doctor had been married before; he knew just how much love could heal. But River- River was different. That's what puzzled him. Everything- everything- was on a grander scale with her. All he had to do was think of her and a bad day suddenly wasn't quite so bad, at least by a little bit.
She also kept him from making stupid decisions. How she managed that he wasn't really sure, and it was likely he would never know, but she kept his prone-to-trouble self out of too much trouble. And when trouble couldn't be avoided, she was right there with him, laughing and helping to solve the problem. No matter what he was going through, she would help him, regardless of what was going on in her own life. River was the rock that kept him grounded when he was ready to let gravity take him away.
He knew that one day she would be gone- off to the Library to have her own adventures- but even then, the thought of her smile would help him through anything.