AN: Hi guys! I'm on time this week. Yay! Okay, this was kind of awkward to write because honestly, it's hard to imagine the Doctor lying down in bed for any long period of time and have someone talking down at him. So if this is awkward or choppy, I'm really sorry. There is some more River/Doctor fluffiness at the end. No real warnings, and, as always, I own nothing. Enjoy!

"I was in Stormcage," River began. "Which is fairly standard, I'm sure, but hear me out, because you might be surprised. When a soldier came to my cell, I thought it was peculiar. I never have visitors, or messages- at least standard, legal ones," with this she winked at the Doctor, causing him to blush slightly. "He seemed wary of me, which I suppose was warranted- I caused enough trouble after the Pandorica, I'm sure, with the whole lipstick ordeal."

The Doctor groaned at the reference to his wife's devices at that particular event and River laughed.

"Did I ever tell you how adorable you are when you're in pain?" she commented.

The Doctor gave an exasperated look that said Continue with the story WITHOUT the flirting, please so River complied to his unspoken plea and began again.

"The guard handed me a large packet, mumbling something about the imprudence of written communication anymore, and hurried away. I expected the letter inside in the least to be written in your handwriting, but it was written in the long, flowing script characterizing one of high class and noble birth." River took the message out of her characteristic dress that she had apparently changed back into after their unfortunate first meeting on the planet. "It reads as follows:

Miss Song,

On account of the empress of the Aureī Insulae, I must ask your presence for tea on April 25th, 1987 to discuss matters of some importance, I think, to you both. Enclosed is your vortex manipulator. I convinced the people here to let you have it. Do not take the privilege lightly. Also enclosed is a dress. It would do well for you to change before meeting her highness. The coordinates are already typed into the manipulator. If they are wrong, there will be a high price to pay for the incompetence of the guards of Stormcage. The empress eagerly awaits your presence.

There was no signature. The dress was the dress you saw me wearing when we first met. Naturally, I was curious, so I quickly changed and left for the coordinates entered," here River smiled, remembering. "I found myself in a wide palace corridor. A slave ushered me into a side parlor, where the empress was. But with her was another person, a person whom I would not have expected to meet in that particular place. You."

"You mean I have to go BACK?" the Doctor asked, incredulous.

"Yes," River said, smiling mischievously. "But you get to see me before ever seeing me. Isn't that worth something?"

The Doctor sighed at the prospect of re-entering that planet, but nodded anyway.

River continued, saying, "The empress left quickly, and you and I were left alone. And I suppose you can guess the rest of what occurred."

They sat in silence for a while before the Doctor asked, softly, "When do you leave me?"

River's eyes softened a little.

"Oh Sweetie," she crooned, "When will you stop running away from me, assuming I'll never come back every time I leave?"

The Doctor looked down, and for a moment didn't answer.

Then he said, "You're right, you know."

"Hm?" River asked.

"That I'm always afraid you'll never come back. Because so many don't. And you know as well as I that eventually I will never know you. And you also know that is the day you'll stop running. But when I see you never know me… that may just be the day that I stop too. So yes, I am running away from the times we meet. Because I don't want to leave either."

River smiled, smoothing his hair back from his face and kissing his forehead gently.

"But for now, that day will never come. Because I'm here with you now."

The Doctor smiled, and relaxing a little, fell asleep once more under her watchful eye.

The next morning- as far as mornings go on the TARDIS- Rory walked in to the med bay to find River had chosen to fall asleep not on her own bed, but nuzzled right next to the Doctor on his bed with her hand resting gently on his chest. Rory's cheeks flushed in embarrassment, and he stood there unsure what to do.

Of course the Doctor chose that precise moment to wake up, blearily opening his eyes. He glanced down at River, and then back at Rory helplessly. His wide, panicked eyes showed him to be as confused as Rory about the situation.

Finally the Doctor eased the tension by saying, "Just- don't tell Amy. Please?"

"Don't tell Amy what?" Amy asked, walking into the scene.

She caught sight of Rory and the Doctor's nervous expressions and the Doctor's current position and burst out into giggles.

"Oh- that," she said in between spurts of laughter. "You know, you two should form a 'I don't know what to do when it comes to any sort of love life' club."

Rory flushed a deeper shade of red and the Doctor looked about as pale as a china doll, which of course made Amy laugh even harder.

In the middle of all this, River woke up, rolling her eyes at the boy's faces.

"Really, you two, you'd think I had committed the most heinous crime that could ever be committed in the galaxy by the looks on your faces," she said, rolling off the Doctor's bed.

"Oi!" said the Doctor, "You weren't the one who woke up to your companion's face and a woman's hand lying on your chest!"

"Really, Sweetie, did you expect any less of me?" River countered with a mischievous look.

Amy collapsed into another fit of hysteric giggles.

"Come on, Stupid Face," she said, winking at the couple and dragging Rory out of the room. "Let's leave these two love birds to their devices."

Inside Amy was rejoicing

Her boys were back to normal- or as normal as they would ever be- and her Raggedy Doctor was happy.

And that made her happy.

Okay, a few notes in case anyone was confused.

One, with the letter, people might be confused as who actually wrote it. It was not the empress herself, as evidenced by the words used, but I was thinking more of a personal slave to the empress who was used to writing letters for the queen, or invitations and stuff like that. So the identification of the person is not really important- it's just some person who wrote the letter for the queen basically.

Two, in reference to the Doctor being afraid of River leaving- I know it wasn't necessarily canon, but I feel like the Doctor would be actually afraid of stopping meeting her. If you have watched Eleven's last episodes, when he made out with "River"- who was kind of dead and invisible- he mentioned that she was never dead to him. So I kind of drew from that that the Doctor was afraid of River never knowing him because that would mean he could never really see her again. And he really loved River, and once she was gone, the last part of his connection to his Ponds was gone. Of course, the Doctor didn't know that now, that's just what I drew it from. Plus, their time is limited, so he would take every opportunity he could to see her.

Three, I feel like the Doctor at this point is still kind of awkward in his relationship with River, and that's why I wrote him being embarrassed to find River literally snuggled next to him. And I feel like, even though Rory doesn't know River is his daughter at this point, he is still the kind of person to be a little awkward with relationships and thus doesn't know what to think about the Doctor being in one. And, of course, Amy is Amy, so with her natural flirtatious nature, she would find the character of "her boys" quite hilarious and cute and relate completely with River.

That was really long, and I'm sorry. I will see you next time! :)