A/N: This one is a continuation of chapter 8, Journey. I had a bit of trouble writing this one, so I hope it turned out all right. Enjoy! :)
36: Cave- a natural chamber or series of chambers in the earth or in the side of a hill or cliff
River stepped off the plane and into the Alaskan airport, the Doctor right behind her. "Thank goodness that's over with," she sighed.
The couple had taken a plane from Paris to Alaska early in the morning and planned to spend the rest of the day trekking across the frigid American state to find the TARDIS. Their ship had gotten misplaced the night before during a date in Paris and after scanning the area the Doctor had found out that it was now in Alaska. Why the TARDIS had moved herself, they had no idea, but all River could focus on now was getting the Doctor out of the airport.
The plane ride had been miserable. The Doctor had continued to fidget the entire nine and a half hour flight, never managing to sit still or quit talking. He was constantly uncomfortable, hungry, or needing to use the bathroom. Multiple flight attendants had asked as politely as they could if it was his first flight. No, he had answered, it was not. However, River was doubtful. He had kept asking the flight attendants for more pillows, water, and peanuts, and had even spent some of the time building a floor-to-ceiling sized house out of empty peanut shells. At one point he had tried to fly the plane. A tired River Song was caught somewhere between embarrassment and amusement.
She took her husband's hand and led him out into the cold Alaskan day.
"Is there any way we can track down the TARDIS' exact location?" she asked.
"I used my wibbly-wobbly detector to find it on the plane. Never let me board one of those things again, by the way. I almost died of boredom."
River just rolled her eyes. "Where is it?"
"The TARDIS? Some cave about a three hour drive from here."
"Another three hours? Just behave this time, okay?"
"Behave? What's that supposed to mean?" She just glared at him. "Oh, the plane? Why, River, I was on my best behavior on that plane," he said, sticking his chin up.
She laughed and took his hand. "Come on then. We might as well get this started.
Three hours and one very bored Doctor later, the car stopped. Stepping outside, the Doctor and River faced a large lake.
"Are you sure this is it?" River asked.
"Yep. Always trust a wibbly-wobbly detector."
"Doctor, I don't see a cave anywhere."
"Hmm…" He thought. On the far side of the cave was a high cliff. Squinting, he could just make out an opening. He pointed. "There! On the far side. The lake opens up into a cave. And look, here's a boat! I'll see if the owner is anywhere around."
By their luck, he wasn't.
"Let's borrow it anyway," River suggested.
"River!"
"What? I said borrow!"
"Yeah, 'borrow!'"
"It's not stealing if we're giving it back. And besides, do you have a better idea?"
The Doctor sighed. "Fine. But I'm rowing."
River laughed. "Fine by me."
Once on the water, the canoe was much smaller than it looked. The Doctor and River sat crammed together as they worked to row the boat to the opposite side of the water.
"'Doctor, what are you doing? We agreed, you cover that side of the boat and I'll row on this side.'
'But, River, doing both sides at once makes me look cool!'" was commonly heard on the thirty minute trip across.
When they were finally at the opposite side of the lake, the Doctor helped River climb up onto the ledge that marked the cave opening, nearly falling into the icy water. Thankfully, River had a better sense of balance than he did and saved them both.
Walking into the cave, they saw cobwebs, stalagmites, and mold. It was fairly deep, and once they turned the first corner the Doctor's sonic screwdriver was needed as a source of light.
"Doctor," River whispered. "What if this is a trap? Something luring us out here?"
"I've already thought about that. That's why I've brought this." He indicated the screwdriver, which River doubted would help if they were really in trouble. If they were, they would have to rely on her skills. Again.
All of a sudden, there was a rustling. Something had moved. The ageless couple quickly turned towards the noise, the Doctor sonicking the area and River ready to pounce. A bird-like creature flew by.
"Okay," the Doctor exclaimed. "It was just a bat."
Before he could say anything else, however, he tripped over a rock by his feet and fell, the light from his screwdriver extinguishing. He yelled as his head hit something hard.
"Wait!" he exclaimed, running his hands along the surface he had fallen against. "It's wood! Wood!" He stood up excitedly. "Wood, River! My TARDIS!" He hugged it tight, looking ridiculous with his arms wrapped around a blue box but not really caring. He picked up his sonic screwdriver and pushed the doors open, racing inside.
She followed him in. "It might not be safe. Something could be out there waiting to attack."
"Ah, yeah, about that… It turns out that the TARDIS moved because she sensed that another past version of herself was also in Paris at the same time."
River stared at him. "So let me get this straight. This is your fault. You took me to Paris at the same time as another you went to Paris." It wasn't a question.
"Well, yeah, but-"
"Because you weren't paying enough attention to when you landed."
"Yeah, but, you see-"
"And how long have you known this was the reason?"
"Um… About since we boarded the plane."
He flinched as his wife shot him a rather scary glare. "I had to endure a nine and a half hour flight followed by a three hour car ride followed by a thirty minute boat trip across frigid water with you, the king of fidgeting, because you didn't check the exact time you landed the TARDIS in Paris."
He opened his mouth to protest or, perhaps, to defend himself, but thought better of it. "Yes," he replied simply.
"I'm driving next time."
"Whatever you say, dear." And with that he ran off hastily to avoid his wife's further wrath, leaving an angry River behind.